Argentina 13 South Africa 24
While both teams were clearly keen to finish on a high last night’s clash at the Olympic Stadium felt like it was as much about personal milestones as Victor Matfield marked the last of his South African record 127 appearances by leading the Springboks onto the pitch and leaving it to a standing ovation midway through the second half.
His side was given a hand in gaining the ascendancy from Tomas Cubelli when the Pumas scrum-half foolishly collected a yellow card and in his absence his team fell 10 points behind through a JP Pietersen try, converted by Handre Pollard who then added a penalty to draw level with opposite numbere Nicolas Sanchez at the top of the tournament scoring charts.
It might have been more had Bryan Habana not just missed out on breaking the all-time tournament try-scoring record as Santiago Cordero beat him to the touch as they chased a Pollard grubber and thereafter the winger, second only to Matfield on that Springbok appearance list, seemed to get nervous thereafter repeatedly juggling the ball.
By the break Pollard was the clear tournament points leader thanks to two more penalties, taking his side into a 16-0 lead which disappointed the majority in an impressive crowd of 55,,925 - a record for a third place play-off - because neutrals were keen to get behind the underdogs.
A Sanchez drop goal a minute into the second half got his team on the scoreboard and revived his personal duel with Pollard who then missed a conversion attempt from wide on the left after a try by Eben Etzebeth, Habana having shown his team ethic by supplying the scoring pass.
Pollard and Sanchez then exchanged penalties, the South African maintaining his three point advantage, while it seemed evident that the Springboks were also trying to manufacture a try scoring opportunity for Habana but, to a collective gasp of amazement, he was rather ruthlessly replaced with 13 minutes to go.
With him went the last real element of interest, albeit Argentina finally got the try that 160 minutes of hard running in both their semi-final and this play-off had deserved as Juan Pablo Orlandi plunged over from close range, Sanchez’s conversion leaving him just a point behind Pollard, who looks set to finish as the tournament’s top scorer with Australia’s Bernard Foley 23 points behind him on 75.
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