South Africa hammered Argentina in Nelspruit to win the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019.
The Springboks scored four first-half tries, with Aphelele Fassi grabbing two before assisting Cheslin Kolbe.
Player of the match Pieter-Steph du Toit also claimed the first of his two tries, while Argentina’s score came through fly-half Tomas Albornoz.
The turning point in the second half came when Pumas replacement Pablo Matera had a yellow card upgraded to a 20-minute red for making head contact when trying to clear out Vincent Koch.
With full-back Santiago Carreras joining Matera in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on, Malcolm Marx took advantage from the back of a maul.
Du Toit scored again before centre Jesse Kriel got on the end of Handre Pollard’s dinked kick to score the final try of a ruthless display.
Victory means the Springboks also avenged last weekend’s one-point defeat in Argentina, which had denied them the title a week early.
“It has been a journey and a half. After last week the way we stood up says a lot about our team,” Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi told Sky Sports.
A shortened format in 2019 because of the Rugby World Cup means victory is the Springboks’ first in a full tournament since 2009 – prior to Argentina’s involvement in the competition.
The wins add to Rassie Erasmus’ glittering coaching CV that now includes two World Cups, two Rugby Championships and a British and Irish Lions tour win.
Despite the defeat, this was the first time the Pumas had beaten all three teams in the Rugby Championship to head into the final round still with an outside chance of the title.
They finished the championship in third place after New Zealand beat Australia earlier on Saturday to take the runners-up spot.
Springboks punish Argentina’s slow start
It was a historic 128th Springbok game for lock Eben Etzebeth, who surpassed Victor Matfield as his county’s most-capped player.
In a unique pre-game presentation, the 32-year-old’s name and cap number were set on fire, and while it slowly burnt out, Etzebeth was in tears as his teammates sang the national anthem.
“I want to say to my best friend Eben that I am so grateful to be on this journey with you,” said Kolisi after the match.
“We have been together since we were 18 and you’ve been a true friend and you have led us in so many ways, with the way you play the game.
“I am so proud of you and pleased to be your friend. I can’t wait to tell my grandkids I played with Eben Etzebeth. Cheers, my friend, I love you!”
The positive from South Africa’s only championship defeat last week was it provided an opportunity to win the first championship in five years in front of home support.
It was a special atmosphere at Mbombela Stadium and the world champions wasted no time in lifting the noise as Fassi crashed over close to the posts for an early try.
A second quickly followed when flanker Du Toit leapt over the ruck to expertly ground the ball after a slight juggle.
There was a sense of inevitability but the Pumas, who successfully came from 17 points down last weekend, sent another reminder to not rule them out because of a slow start when Santiago Grondona broke clear and sent Albornoz in for their opening score.
However, with Mateo Carreras in the sin-bin for taking out Fassi in the air, South Africa exploited the space vacated and Kolbe popped the ball off the deck to Fassi, who grabbed his second try.
The full-back quickly returned the favour, and although Kolbe had plenty of work to do to finish, his dancing feet and power could not be stopped close to the try-line.
The Boks’ ruthlessness returned following poor discipline from the Pumas in the final quarter, with the pick of the final three tries coming from Kriel, who latched onto Pollard’s delightful kick to punish Argentina for going down to 13 men.
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