With only one round left in the Rugby Championship, South Africa and Argentina will battle it out for the title this weekend.
Argentina kept their hopes of winning the tournament alive when they edged world champions South Africa 29-28 on Saturday to temporarily deny the Springboks their first title since 2019.
The tournament now will be decided in the return match between the teams in Nelspruit, South Africa on Saturday September 28 at 4pm, live on Sky Sports.
South Africa will go into the match atop the table with 19 points and require just one point from the fixture in order to seal the deal with Argentina five points behind.
So, how can Argentina win the title for the very first time?
If Argentina do win by a bonus point and South Africa do not get a bonus point, the teams will be equal on competition points in the table – both teams will have won four matches – and Argentina will take the title based on two wins over South Africa.
If Argentina win with no bonus point, then South Africa will take the title on competition points.
If South Africa earn a bonus point, the Springboks will take the title on competition points.
If there is a draw, South Africa will take the title on competition points.
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Rugby Championship tournament rules state: “In the event of two or more teams being equal on competition points for any position on the competition table such position shall be determined by the team with the most wins in the series.”
South Africa were on the brink of winning the title when they faced Argentina on Saturday, having defeated Australia and New Zealand twice in the opening four rounds of the tournament.
However, they were stunned by Felipe Contepomi’s team as they scored four tries to turn a 17-0 deficit into a 26-22 half-time lead, before holding out in a tight second half to claim a famous win and take the Rugby Championship into the final week.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match against the back-to-back world champions,” Argentina captain Julian Montoya said after the win. “I wasn’t worried about the mistakes.
“I was worried when we were 17-0 down but I told the team we have a plan and we are going to execute it. We trusted each other. We win together and we lose together and I’m super proud of the team.”
New Zealand, who are the defending champions and have won 10 of the previous 12 editions, can no longer win the Rugby Championship but will look to finish their campaign against Australia again on Saturday September 28 in Wellington (8.05am kick-off).
South Africa will host Argentina later that day at 4pm and both matches live on Sky Sports. Stream rugby union and more with NOW.
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