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Argentina v Springboks: Winners and losers as it almost goes ‘horribly wrong’ for Rassie Erasmus but Handre Pollard ‘steadies ship’ after Sacha’s errors Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in action against Argentina and Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus. Following a narrow 17-10 victory for the Springboks over Argentina at Estadio Jose Amalfitani on Saturday, here are our winners and losers from the international clash. Winners Springboks Bomb Squad South Africa have transformed the game by making the bench a genuine weapon and it came to the fore again. Having not been on top in the set-piece, Gerhard Steenekamp, Zachary Porthen and Jan-Hendrik Wessels changed that, while Ben-Jason Dixon and Cobus Wiese also had some big moments in the second period. That physicality overwhelmed the Argentinians and was utterly critical in claiming a narrow victory in Buenos Aires, particularly in the last stand when the hosts were pressurising the tryline. South Africa managed to hit Los Pumas and put the South Americans under enough duress for them to make a mistake and end the game. Credit must also go to fly-half Handre Pollard, who to some extent steadied the ship when Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was making error after error. Pollard made some smart decisions with the ball and that saw them over the line. Just. Cameron Hanekom The number eight did concede a couple of needless penalties, so he wasn’t faultless, but Hanekom was certainly the best of the starting South African forwards and was one of the few to enhance his claims. He was a real presence of both sides of the ball, making big hits, good carries and winning the odd turnover at the breakdown. Hanekom is unlikely to start in Johannesburg but this was a statement display and gives him a shot of being on the bench. Starting Argentina front-row It doesn’t matter who the Springboks select in the front-row, they will be strong, but massive credit has to go to the hosts’ makeshift trio for the way they held them at bay, even getting the better of them on a couple of occasions. There was no Julian Montoya for Los Pumas while Francisco Moreno was making his Test debut, but they were excellent despite those alterations. Loosehead Boris Wenger was particularly impressive, impacting all facets of the game. Argentine wings In truth there were a number of other areas where Los Pumas excelled. We liked how Santiago Carreras operated at fly-half, despite finding himself a bit suffocated after the break, while the back-row were magnificent in the opening period, but the wings were a constant threat to the Boks. Rodrigo Isgro had plenty of joy against Ethan Hooker in the air, with the kicking game causing all sorts of problems for the visitors, while Ignacio Mendy was the Argentinians’ most potent threat with ball in hand. They have real depth in those wide channels. Edwill van der Merwe His fellow scrum-capped wings, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe, will be favourites to take the 11 and 14 jerseys in two weeks’ time, but Van der Merwe would also be a justifiable inclusion if selected. The speedster finished his try excellently, was a threat with ball in hand and just did everything really, really well. That included chasing kicks and competing under the high balls, and making some excellent decisions in defence. Rassie Erasmus South Africa’s head coach may not necessarily be too happy with his side’s performance but Erasmus got what he wanted in terms of the victory, game time for some of his returning players and a few answers in terms of selection. The Boks coach will be a relieved man as it could have gone horribly wrong for him and his side, but they brought on the replacements at the right time in the second period and it made all the difference. Losers Siya Kolisi It was such a shame to see the Springboks skipper head off injured in the first half which could well put him in doubt for the first Test at the very least. Hopefully it was just a precaution but there was a noticeable limp when he departed the action. In a scrappy display, Kolisi had been one of the Springboks’ best performers, carrying with real vigour and venom before unfortunately exiting the game after just 24 minutes. No doubt an update will be provided soon enough, but let’s hope it is not serious. Injury-returnees While it is understandable that there will be rustiness, they needed better from their returning players given that the All Blacks are looming in two weeks’ time. There was the odd moment from the likes of Eben Etzebeth, whose massive hit led to a turnover, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, but they were slack in most departments. Lood de Jager in particular struggled and, on this evidence, did not do nearly enough to usurp Ruan Nortje for the first Test. Etzebeth was slightly better and did grow into the match but he wasn’t quite his dominant self, while Feinberg-Mngomezulu, despite his ability to do the spectacular, was mistake-ridden and simply has to tidy up his game. Argentina’s replacement front-row While the starters deserved praise, the bench yielded under the pressure exerted by the Springboks’ Bomb Squad. They are not the first to do so and won’t be the last, but the scrum was a key factor in the momentum switching in the visitors’ favour. Aphelele Fassi Another player who was under pressure to lay down a marker but he failed to do so, with Damian Willemse very much in line to take the full-back jersey for the opening game in Johannesburg. Fassi struggled to impact the match, especially in the first half, and made several errors, albeit he wasn’t the only Boks player to do so.