Springboks captain Siya Kolisi couldn’t hide his delight after his team won this year’s Rugby Championship courtesy of an emphatic 48-7 victory over Argentina in Mbombela on Saturday.
The Boks delivered a sublime attacking performance and outscored Los Pumas seven tries to one with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Aphelele Fassi leading the way with a brace apiece while Jesse Kriel, Cheslin Kolbe and Malcolm Marx also crossed the whitewash.
Springboks’ first full Rugby Championship triumph
It was South Africa‘s first full, double-round Rugby Championship triumph since Argentina joined the southern hemisphere competition in 2012 and only the second time that they won the tournament after winning a truncated version of it in 2019.
Prior to that, the Boks were also crowned Tri-Nations winners in 1998, 2004 and 2009.
Kolisi revealed that winning the Rugby Championship this was something that the world champions have been planning for some time.
“It’s something we’ve talked about and worked for, so we’re very happy,” he said. “We’ve wanted to win this trophy for a long time, especially this one because most of us have never won the full one before.
“But don’t want to stop there, we’re not satisfied with where we are. We want to make sure that the team keeps growing and keeps winning.
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“The coach [Rassie Erasmus] has a plan and we’re happy to follow that plan. But we’re very happy, we’re just one trophy short, the one we left in Argentina last week.”
After suffering a shock 29-28 defeat against the same opposition in Santiago del Estero last week, Kolisi revealed that the Boks were highly motivated to turn the tables in the corresponding fixture in Mbombela Stadium.
“It was huge for us, I think the way we came out and started the game… our intentions were clear,” he added.
“Coach has been reminding us that the people are behind us but they’re not going to play for us, we had to go out there and play. Also, it’s the last time we’re playing at home as well and it’s the first time we’ve won it as this group, I think coach has won it.
‘It was to say thank you to the people of South Africa’
“We’re honoured to have won it like that, it was to say thank you to the people of South Africa for coming out to see us, it’s the last time they see us (at home this year).
“Obviously, we did it for Eben as well, Coach Rassie told us the occasion wasn’t going to do it for him, us playing would.
“That’s how big it was for us.”
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