Siya Kolisi limped off in the 24th minute with a hamstring injury as the Springboks ground out a 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires, a result that may prove secondary to concerns over the captain's availability for the Rugby Championship series against the All Blacks.
The Boks trailed 10-3 at the 38-minute mark before a late first-half try levelled the scores, and they eventually took the lead for the first time in the 63rd minute through a scrum-driven effort finished by Cameron Hanekom. Handré Pollard, on as a replacement flyhalf, converted to give the Boks a seven-point buffer they held to the final whistle.
The equalising try before half-time came through a chain of offloads: André Esterhuizen combined power and precision to put Canan Moodie through, Moodie offloaded in contact, and Aphelele Fassi set up Edwill van der Merwe to score. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted to make it 10-all at the break.
With Kolisi off the field, Eben Etzebeth assumed the captaincy and played the full 80 minutes — his return from a lengthy absence, alongside Lood de Jager, one of the key building blocks Rassie Erasmus was monitoring. Feinberg-Mngomezulu played 60 minutes at flyhalf before shifting to fullback for the final quarter. Hanekom was the standout in the pack throughout.
The set piece told the story of the match in two halves. The Boks failed to win a scrum penalty in the first half — a rare occurrence — and their lineout was inaccurate, with the handling clumsy and the kicking game easily managed by Argentina's back three. The second half brought more forward momentum, and it was ultimately the scrum that cracked Argentina open for the decisive score.
Erasmus had pre-emptively framed the Test as a necessary grind given the number of players returning from extended injury lay-offs, and the performance reflected exactly that. Argentina, who beat the Springboks on their last visit here, were physical, disciplined, and composed in the kick-receive throughout.