Boks down Pumas, but fail in their Rugby Championship quest

In Durban

The Springboks beat Argentina 38-21 in their Rugby Championship clash, but it wasn't enough to wrestle the trophy away from New Zealand.

The display summed up the Boks' tournament and their Southern Hemisphere season in general as they simply couldn't translate their dominance into points.

This meant one of, if not the weakest and most vulnerable All Black sides of the professional era won the Rugby Championship by simply being better at converting their opportunities.

That the Springboks are a good side isn't in dispute, but in a game where they needed to be forthright, purposeful, and resourceful, they failed in all three departments.

They'll look at this tournament as the one that truly got away from them and the blame lies squarely at their door.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has plenty of thinking to do as the end-of-year tour that contains clashes against Ireland, France and England will come with its own set of pressing questions.

It was rather ironic, but also fitting that the Boks' final points tally ended up a point short of the 39 they needed if they'd kept a clean sheet against the Pumas.

New Zealand's 40-14 win against Australia in Auckland made South Africa's job a tough one considering the Boks hardly convert their dominance into points.

The Boks tried, at times too much as their distant target meant they needed to come out of their chrysalis of caution.

That led to a passionate performance that was also nervous, hurried, and thoroughly lacking in precision, especially in the back division.

Fran Steyn, playing in his first Test at 10 since 2008, epitomised the Boks' lack of clear-mindedness with an iffy showing.

Having cut his teeth at the Sharks, it wasn't the homecoming he expected, even though the