Pollard shines as South Africa clinch Rugby Championship

South Africa's Handre Pollard in action

"BUENOS AIRES, REUTERS: A Handre Pollard-inspired South Africa warmed up for the World Cup in superb style by beating Argentina 46-13 in the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship in Salta on Saturday to claim their first major international trophy in a decade. 

Flyhalf Pollard scored two of South Africa’s five tries, five penalties and three conversions for 31 points – his best career haul – to help the Springboks to a fourth southern hemisphere title. 

There were also tries for hooker Bongi Mbonambi and wings Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe after Santiago Cordero had scored the only try for the Pumas in the second minute. 

The emphatic win gave the unbeaten Springboks a bonus point and a total of 12 points from their three matches, four more than second-placed Australia who earlier on Saturday stunned reigning champions New Zealand 47-26 in Perth. 

“It’s a fantastic feeling,” said Duane Vermeulen, who captained the twice world champions. 

“It’s the first time in 10 years that South Africa has won the Rugby Championship or Tri-Nations, and it’s a nice reward for all the hard work we’ve put in. 

“It’s also a good thing for us going into the World Cup. It’s one step up, still a lot of work to be done but yah, it’s a good feeling.” 

The Pumas, whose last test win was against the Springboks in Mendoza in the 2018 championship, have now lost their last eight test matches although close results against New Zealand and Australia had given them hopes of a winning chance in Salta. 

Pumas coach Mario Ledesma said that despite the disappointing results in the truncated championship, Argentina would not be distracted from their preparations for a tough World Cup pool that also includes England and France. 

“It’s tough to find positives with this result but it was a good week,” Ledesma said. 

“It hurts us all, in our country ... but there’s still a month of work before the World Cup and we mustn’t lose sight of our focus. 

“We’ll keep at the things we are working on. The scrum is something that needs work ... Fitting in the players from abroad was a bigger challenge than we expected.”