PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa, 29 June 2003 — Fly-half Louis Koen kicked a stoppage-time penalty to give South Africa a 26-25 victory over Argentina in a one-off rugby union Test here yesterday.
The kick from an acute angle completed a stirring comeback by the Springboks who appeared doomed to lose to the Pumas — who had arrived only this week after an historic 2-0 series win over France in Argentina — for the first time when trailing by nine points with two minutes of regular time left. But if the green and gold class of 2003 is a shadow of some former Bok teams, they do possess an abundance of spirit which also rescued a Test against Scotland in Durban this month.
Replacement wing Brent Russell burst between two Argentines to dive over and Koen converted before kicking the penalty to finish with a tally of 16 points on a warm, clear afternoon in the south east coastal city. Argentine Felipe Contepomi, named man of the match after scoring a try and having another disallowed by whistle-happy Welsh referee Nigel Williams, said the Pumas were saddened by the result. Koen kicked four penalties and converted tries by hooker Danie Coetzee and Russell for South Africa, who trailed 15-13 at half-time in a match that never reached great heights.
Rokocoko Grabs Hat Trick
as NZ Edge France
In Christchurch, New Zealand, rookie wing Joe Rokocoko scored a hat trick of tries before halftime to lead New Zealand to a 31-23 victory over France yesterday.
Rokocoko touched down in the 14th, 20th and 27th minutes as New Zealand exploited gaps in a poor French defense, and inside center Daniel Carter contributed 16 points with the boot.
France, who also lost two Tests in Argentina, scored tries through prop Sylvain Marconnet and center Yannick Jauzion, with fly-half Frederic Michalak and his replacement Gerald Merceron contributing 10 points. Damien Traille also kicked a long-range penalty.
New Zealand captain Ruben Thorne spent the last 10 minutes of the match in the sinbin, during which time France scored 10 points to get within five of the hosts before Carter’s fourth penalty sealed victory.
The All Blacks had dominated the first half, constantly punching holes in the French line, particularly through the middle of the breakdown with openside flanker Richie McCaw and number eight Jerry Collins to the fore. Rokocoko’s second try showed glimpses of what the public have come to expect from New Zealand from first phase possession and was the best of the match.
The forwards won a lineout on halfway and the ball was fed to flyhalf Carlos Spencer who drew the defenders outside before an exquisitely timed inside pass enabled the winger to slice through and outstrip the covering defense. After Rokocoko’s third try, New Zealand had gone out to a 19-3 lead and looked like they could run away with the game but then conceded a penalty and soft try when Marconnet rumbled through a gap from an inside pass by Michalak to send the visitors into the interval 19-13 down.
