NELSPRUIT (SOUTH AFRICA): Argentina could not claim a maiden Rugby Championship title after a 48-7 mauling at the hands of South Africa on Saturday, but to even be in contention in the sixth round of the campaign is a sign of their progress under coach Felipe Contepomi.
Argentina had to beat the world champions in Nelspruit with a try-scoring bonus-point and deny their hosts anything from the game, but were outclassed as they conceded seven tries and failed to back up their 29-28 win at home the week before.
But it is the first time Argentina have beaten the Springboks, New Zealand (38-30 in Wellington) and Australia (67-27) in a single campaign and, with several new players in the squad, provides a platform from which Contepomi can build.
"It is hard to look back now when the last image was tough," Contepomi said of the campaign. "We hope to improve from game to game and this time we definitely did not improve from the last one. But it is a learning for us."
Unlike in Santiago del Estero a week ago, South Africa starved Argentina of the ball and dominated the set-pieces to provide plenty of platforms from which to strike.
"To compete (consistently) against the best teams, we need to get better at the set-piece," Contepomi conceded. "While our defence wasn't bad, if you have to defend 80 per cent (of the time), you will concede a lot of points.
"We evaluate ourselves not on the results (but on the performance). Even last week we could have lost in the last minute. We need to keep getting better and hopefully we will compete better in the future."
Argentina have a tough set of autumn international fixtures as they play away in Italy (Nov. 9) before facing world number one side Ireland six days later and then France on Nov. 22. - REUTERS