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South Africa overcame Argentina to claim consecutive Rugby Championship victories for the first time.

The world champions entered the game knowing that any positive result would earn them the championship due to their superior points difference.

Argentina started strongly with an early try from Bautista Delguy and secured a 13-10 lead at halftime.

However, the visitors regained control after the interval, adding Cobus Reinach's first-half try with a try from Malcolm Marx.

More tries from both Reinach and Marx increased the lead before Delguy snatched the ball and sprinted clear for his second try of the match.

The fixture was played before a crowd of 70,360 spectators, with Argentina hosting the match at a bigger venue to increase attendance figures.

Replacement wing Rodrigo Isgro touched down after catching a cross-field kick in the closing moments to obtain a consolation point.

Despite recording impressive victories over other teams, Argentina ended up at the bottom of the Rugby Championship standings.

The champions recovered from early losses in their opening three championship games to win three straight victories, including a significant defeat of a rival team.

Winning the title before a substantial crowd, which included numerous fans from the South African diaspora, provided a suitable conclusion to their season.

Springbok Forward Pack Overpowers Opposition

The winners had before demonstrated their strength against the same competition the earlier weekend, with fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu establishing a Springbok record for points scored.

While several strategies and plays had worked in the earlier encounter, the opening period in London showed more challenging.

An opening yellow card for a dangerous tackle resulted in Argentina capitalizing through precise attacking play finished by Delguy.

The hosts managed to exploit the world champions's rush defense through rapid passing and added two points either side of Feinberg-Mngomezulu's successful kick.

Despite having trouble to establish their pattern, South Africa's dominant scrum was ultimately rewarded when Reinach crossed for a vital try right before halftime.

Early in the second half, an Argentina prop was penalized for a high tackle, and Marx powerfully finished from the ensuing driving maul.

While opportunities arose for creative backline players to demonstrate their footwork, windy conditions suited South Africa's strength game through their forwards.

Reinach's follow-up try came after a powerful carry from a bench player, who expertly offloaded with one arm, while Marx then burrowed over as the opposition found it difficult stopping the offense near the tryline.

Before the most recent triumph, South Africa had only claimed the competition four times in their history.

Throughout the championship, the coaching staff rotated the squad and cultivated young talent, including upcoming players in various positions.

Now the back-to-back world champions are building an intimidating squad for future competitions, habituated to winning tournaments.

Team Line-ups

Match Officials