After the Bulls, Lions and Springboks’ respective victories, a perfect five from five wins were on the card for South African rugby teams. But then the Sharks and Stormers lost.
SPRINGBOKS UNDERLINE STATUS AS NATION’S PRIDE AND JOY
The Springboks won the Rugby Championship for the first time in five years when they beat Argentina at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit in commanding fashion on Saturday, with a 48-7 victory after leading 27-7 at the break of a pulsating match.
The win was never in doubt after the Springboks – celebrating a new Test record for Eben Etzebeth (128 caps) – had a sublime start that had the sold out crowd of 43 578 in raptures and hardly gave them time to either sit down or catch a breath in a spellbinding first 15 minutes.
They broke the Pumas defence in the opening minute, following a deep line-out throw, and had them on the ropes for at least six minutes before Aphelele Fassi scored the first try, and would eventually add six more tries (to one) on a wonderful celebration of Southern Hemisphere rugby.
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The four South African sides experienced mixed fortunes as they entered the fray following the postponement of their scheduled Round 1 derbies because of a clash with the Currie Cup final.
The Lions and the Bulls started strongly as both Gauteng sides recorded home wins over Ulster Rugby (35-22) and Edinburgh (22-16) respectively, with the free-running Lions particularly impressive in Johannesburg.
These results, coupled with the Springboks’ triumph, made it three from three for South African rugby teams.
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Unlike their fellow countrymen also competing in the URC as well as the Springboks, the Stormers and Sharks failed to join winning party.
The other two sides from the Rainbow Nation both lost on the road, with the Stormers going down 37-24 away to the Ospreys and the Sharks being defeated 36-30 by Connacht Rugby in Galway.
IS THIS THE STRONGEST SA RUGBY HAS EVER BEEN?
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