Siya Kolisi's hamstring injury cast a shadow over the Springboks' 17-10 victory against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday, with the captain departing in the 24th minute and likely to miss the upcoming series against the All Blacks.
The opening 40 minutes offered little encouragement for South African supporters. The Boks struggled for fluency, failed to win a single scrum penalty — a rarity in recent years — and handled poorly throughout. Argentina's physicality and discipline stifled any momentum, whilst their back three comfortably dealt with South Africa's laboured kicking game. The visitors trailed 10-3 in the 38th minute, their set-piece dominance conspicuously absent.
Esterhuizen sparks late first-half revival
The breakthrough arrived in the 39th minute through the hybrid qualities of inside centre Andre Esterhuizen. The Sharks captain combined power in contact with precision in the offload to Canan Moodie, who continued the sequence with his own pass in the tackle. Aphelele Fassi executed the fundamentals superbly, catching, running and releasing for Edwill van der Merwe to score. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted to level the scores at 10-all by the interval.
The second half saw the introduction of the remaining substitute forwards, whose impact proved decisive. Cameron Hanekom had already stood out in the pack during the opening period, but the bench additions lifted South Africa's effort considerably. The Boks ground out seven further points to secure the win, though the performance fell well short of the standards set during recent campaigns.
The result ends a difficult visit to Argentina, where the Boks had lost on their previous tour. Yet the manner of victory — a hard-fought slog rather than the controlled dominance that has characterised Rassie Erasmus's tenure — raises questions ahead of the All Blacks series. With Kolisi's availability now in serious doubt and several players still finding rhythm after long-term injury lay-offs, the coaching staff face a compressed window to sharpen combinations before facing New Zealand.