Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that he had gambled by leaving key players at home ahead of South Africa’s 29-28 Rugby Championship defeat against Argentina at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades on Saturday.
But he said the Springboks had only themselves to blame for not clinching the title in a thrilling match, which was decided when replacement flyhalf Manie Libbok missed a penalty goal attempt in the last minute.
The championship will now be decided when the same teams meet in a return clash in Mbombela on Saturday.
South Africa have a five-point lead over second-placed Argentina, who will need to win with a bonus point and prevent the Springboks from getting a point.
“It shouldn’t have come down to one point and one man’s kick. There were a lot of opportunities, we lost the ball in lineouts, we gave away a penalty in our 22,” said Erasmus.
“We wanted to win this game but we knew we were taking a bit of a gamble by leaving too many guys at home,” Erasmus said of his decision to travel to Argentina without seven leading players, including Pieter-Steph du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe and Bongi Mbonambi.
Regular captain Siya Kolisi was part of the travelling party but sat in the coaches box before moving to the touchline in the second half.
Erasmus said the Springboks would be at full strength for the Mbombela showdown.
South Africa raced into a 17-0 lead inside 13 minutes in Santiago del Estero but Argentina scored 26 unanswered points in the next 20 minutes and led 26-22 at half-time.
Two of Argentina’s tries came while wing Kurt-Lee Arendse was in the sin bin for a dangerous tackle.
“I’m always nervous when we start games too well,” Erasmus said of his team’s reputation for being at their best when they fall behind.
“We should have put them away there. Unfortunately we got the yellow card and they exploited that really well.”
Erasmus paid tribute to his Argentinian counterpart, Felipe Contepomi.
“He’s a really smart coach. He has to get his players from all over the world because Argentina don’t play in a big club competition. They really brought it to us.”
The teams travelled together on a charter flight to South Africa from Santiago del Estero after the match and will start training in Mbombela on Monday.