South Africa hooker Malcolm Marx admitted it was a far from perfect performance as the Springboks defeated Argentina 29-27 to retain their Rugby Championship crown in London on Saturday, but another outing from which the squad will develop and grow.
The Springboks have turned knockout rugby into an art form in recent years and this had the feel of a ‘final’ in a game they had to win to keep the trophy.
Argentina made a fast start and led 13-3 deep into the first half, but the Springboks’ forward power and dominance at the scrum turned the momentum their way in the second period, with Marx scoring two tries.
“We just tried to focus on ourselves and obviously give the best performance we could,” Marx said. “There were errors, and areas where we can be better, but we’ll definitely take the victory and enjoy it.
“We definitely expected them to come out like that. They’re a great nation and a proud rugby side. It was tough, as you could see by the scoreline.
“Last year they beat us when we played away, and to beat them twice in a row is obviously something special for us.”
The Springboks retained the Rugby Championship for the first time and claimed a sixth title overall, another piece of silverware for a side that has also won the last two Rugby World Cups.
“It’s a bit surreal to be honest,” Marx said. “I’m just extremely grateful for everything that has happened over the past few weeks, the lessons learned, victories that we’ve had.
“What we’ve achieved will probably sink in over the next few days. But there’s still a lot of hard work ahead to improve ourselves.”
South Africa now look forward to a northern hemisphere tour that starts in a little over three weeks with a clash against Japan at Wembley Stadium in London on November 1.
They will then travel to Paris to face France (Nov. 8), meet Italy in Turin (Nov. 15), have a showdown with Ireland in Dublin (Nov. 22) and finish with a clash against Wales in Cardiff (Nov. 29).