Top 10 Greatest Matches in Rugby Championship History (2012 - 2024)

Wednesday, 13 August 2025 at 12:58

byTom Sansom

As the 2025 Rugby Championship looms, anticipation is once again electric. Since Argentina’s entry in 2012 transformed the old Tri Nations into a four-country showdown, the tournament has delivered drama, shock results, and unforgettable performances across the Southern Hemisphere.

In just twelve years, the re-vamped competition has produced historic firsts, last-minute thrillers, and moments that redefined rivalries. From Argentina’s breakthrough victories against rugby heavyweights, tactical masterclasses from the Springboks and Wallabies and New Zealand’s relentless displays of dominance, every season has contributed to a tapestry of unforgettable rugby theatre.

The Rugby Championship is is a proving ground where legends are made across four power-hungry nations. Records are broken with narratives shift in a single kick or turnover. Ahead of the opening round of the 2025 Rugby Championship that commences this weekend, we took a look back at the past twelve years of an iconic tournament. Here are the 10 Greatest Rugby Championship matches since 2012.

1. Pumas earn first Rugby Championship points

Argentina 16-16 South Africa (25 Aug 2012, Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza)

Argentina’s very first Rugby Championship home match produced a milestone: their first tournament points, earned in a ferocious 16–16 draw with the Springboks in Mendoza. Felipe Contepomi’s control and Martin Rodriguez' kicking game were matched by a bruising Pumas pack that squeezed South Africa at the breakdown and in the collisions.

The Boks, who had thumped Argentina 27–6 a week earlier in Cape Town, were rattled by the intensity and the atmosphere at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas. Morne Steyn’s boot kept South Africa in touch but Argentina’s defence, organised, disciplined, and roared on by a full house, held on when it mattered. Beyond the scoreboard, this was a proof-of-concept moment for the expanded competition, as the newcomers from South America weren’t just making up the numbers.

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The draw turbo-charged Argentine belief and set the emotional tone for future Pumas breakthroughs, not least against Australia and New Zealand in the years to come. Historically, it also marked the first time South Africa failed to beat Argentina in consecutive tests since the sides first met in 1993, an early crack in long-standing hierarchies that the Rugby Championship would continue to widen.

2. Nine-Try Classic decides the 2013 Title

South Africa 27 – 38 New Zealand (5 Oct 2013, Ellis Park, Johannesburg)

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The 2013 Rugby Championship title decider at Ellis Park, delivered a nine-try classic and secured New Zealand the trophy with a perfect record. The Springboks needed four tries (and to deny the All Blacks a bonus point) to pinch the Championship.

The requirement forced them to play a flat-out, all guns blazing attacking game, which turned pace of a Test match fixture into an Olympic track meet. Tries for the All Blacks from Liam Messam (2), Ben Smith, Beauden Barrett and Kieran Read, plus Aaron Cruden’s boot, overcame a superb South African effort, who crossed the whitewash through Bryan Habana (2), Jean de Villiers and Willie le Roux.

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Nigel Owens managed a breathless contest that many still nominate as the greatest Test match of the professional era. The All Blacks’ 38 - 27 win wrapped up back-to-back titles in the expanded format and underscored a defining truth of the era: even when dragged into chaos, the defending World Champions found a way to win.

The venue mattered too, Ellis Park’s altitude and history amplifies green and gold South African aura, so to out-gun the Boks in their spiritual home carried extra weight. For South Africa and coach Heyneke Meyer, it was bittersweet: proof their retooled attack could shred even the best defences, but also a reminder that small lapses against the All Blacks are more often than not, a fatal mistake.

3. Argentina's first Rugby Championship win

Argentina 21 - 17 Australia (4 Oct 2014, Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza)

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Two years in the making, Argentina’s first Rugby Championship win arrived in front of a delirious Mendoza crowd. The Pumas overturned a 14–8 half-time deficit to beat Australia 21–17, snapping a 17-match losing run in the competition. Nicolás Sánchez’s game management and Juan Imhoff's counter-attacking were matched by scrum-time grit and an implacable Pumas maul.

Michael Cheika would be appointed Wallabies coach days later, but here Ewen McKenzie’s Australia were out-hassled, as penalties conceded under pressure gifted Argentina territory and points. When the Pumas sniffed blood late on in the match, their composure told of an apex predator. This victorious Argentine moment mattered beyond one night, as it validated Los Pumas' place at the top table with Mendoza holding firm as a 'Sudamerica' fortress.

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This foreshadowed the Pumas’ giant-killing ceiling in the years ahead. For Australia, it was an inflection point that accelerated change in the coaching box and selection approach. For the tournament, it felt like the expansion had fully “landed”, as a fourth nation was now capable of beating anyone. The scenes at full time, Argentine players in tears, fans spilling over railings to sing their national anthem, are still replayed whenever Los Pumas’ modern rise is charted by the record books.

4. Argentina's first ever win over South Africa

South Africa 25 – 37 Argentina (8 Aug 2015, Kings Park, Durban)

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History lesson again, this time in Durban. Argentina’s 37–25 upset was their first ever victory over the Springboks, and it arrived with style. A Juan Imhoff hat-trick shredded South Africa out wide while the Pumas pack disrupted set-piece rhythm and slowed ruck ball to a crawl.

Daniel Hourcade’s side mixed precision kicking with ruthless transition attack, punishing Springbok errors and loose exits. For a South African team in transition under Heyneke Meyer, the loss highlighted defensive fractures and a lack of composure when forced to chase a game. For Argentina, it showcased a blue (and white) print, discipline, pressure, and strike running, which they would carry into subsequent Rugby World Cup campaigns and future Championships.

The setting mattered once again in the land of the Springboks, as winning in South Africa is a rarity for visiting sides yet alone in Durban. To alter a Lord of the Rings quote from Boromir, 'One does not simply win at Kings Park', especially against a Springbok group with the pedigree like the class of 2015. This underlined how Argentina's 2014 Mendoza breakthrough was not a one-off.

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Imhoff’s finishing and the Pumas’ late-game control stand as enduring images of a night that tilted the rivalry. The scoreline flattered no one; it was the better rugby played by the bolder team, regardless of whether history favoured the men in gold and green.

5. Springboks end the All Blacks' 3-year reign

New Zealand 34 - 36 South Africa (15 Sep 2018, Westpac Stadium, Wellington)

Rassie Erasmus’ rebooted Springboks authored a shock for the ages in 2018, as South Africa bagged their first win in New Zealand since 2009, and handed New Zealand their first Rugby Championship loss since 2015. South Africa survived a 75% possession and 79% territory onslaught, leaned on scrambling defence (235 tackles), turnover nous, and opportunism to edge a 36–34 thriller.

Aphiwe Dyantyi’s brace and Cheslin Kolbe’s interception try became instant folklore, as Beauden Barrett’s late conversion miss preserved the margin after Ardie Savea’s try set up a grandstand finish. Tactically, the Boks proved you could beat peak All Blacks without owning the ball, if the tackle and turnover counts were superhuman and the line speed was nothing short of perfect.

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For New Zealand, it prompted a period of self-reflection on decision-making (notably around late drop-goal options) and the risk around an inconsistent kick-pass. For the Rugby Championship, it restored jeopardy after a near decade of All Black dominance as South Africa were back as genuine title protagonists. Wellington’s wind inside Westpac’s bowl only added to the theater, as this game helped power the Boks’ belief on the run-in to the 2019 World Cup, in which they reclaimed their crown as Word Champions.

6. Australia score 38 unanswered points to win

Argentina 34 - 45 Australia (6 Oct 2018, Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta)

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As comeback yarns go, few can match this. Argentina led 31–7 at half-time, playing irresistible, offloading rugby and still lost to the Wallabies 34 - 45 back in 2018. Te Wallabies produced one of their great second-half surges, as Michael Hooper skipped the side through a flippant contact zone to tighten up the discipline. Australia unleashed Bernard Foley and Israel Folau to find edges out wide, with a relentless attrition ensuing after the break.

The 38-point swing is the largest second-half turnaround in Wallabies Test history and felt, in the moment, like a reprieve for a team under heavy scrutiny. For Argentina, it was a harsh lesson in game management and the impact of the bench. The Wallabies pace and ambition deserved more, but turnovers and exit errors fed Australian momentum.

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Context elevates the moment, as the match was played in Salta’s intimate cauldron, the fixture capped a 2018 Championship where the Pumas had already won in Brisbane and pushed New Zealand to the limits. The match is still cited whenever coaches preach “play the full 80” or analysts explain how quickly scorelines can move with territorial swings and quick-tap tempos. Chaos rugby at altitude, with everything running on fast-forward. One of the all-timers from the Rugby Championships.

7. Argentina beat the All Blacks for the First Time

New Zealand 15 - 25 Argentina (14 Nov 2020, Bankwest Stadium, Parramatta, Western Sydney)

A first after 35 Test defeats, as Argentina beat the All Blacks for the first time in their history and did so with emphatic clarity. In a pandemic-compressed Tri Nations (South Africa withdrew in 2020), the Pumas arrived in the neutral setting of Parramatta, Western Sydney, Australia after an extraordinarily disjointed preparation, to then produce a defensive masterclass against the All Blacks.

Nicolás Sánchez scored all 25 points for Los Pumas (a try, a conversion, and six penalties), while Marcos Kremer and Pablo Matera headlined a tackle clinic that frustrated New Zealand across 80 minutes. In the wider narrative, this upset re-wired the belief systems about Argentina's ceiling and the tournament’s competitive balance. For New Zealand, it was a jolt mid-coaching transition and forced plenty of scrutiny upon the attacking variety against rush-defence.

For Argentina, the images of players crying during the anthem and celebrating at full-time remain among the Championship’s most powerful moments. The venue, Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta, added novelty along with the eerie pandemic backdrop. But the rugby was timeless: pressure, poise, and a fly-half who could kick the lights out of the empty stadium.

8. Quade Cooper's unforgettable comeback

Australia 28–26 South Africa (12 Sep 2021, Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast, Robina)

Enter Quade Cooper, stage left. Recalled after four years in the wilderness, Cooper steered Australia with a calm composure to push the Springboks to their very limit. Then, after the siren had sounded and with the clock in the red, Cooper nailed a 45-metre penalty on the 80th minute, to beat the reigning world champions at 28–26.

The Wallabies had targeted the Boks’ set-piece and breakdown all night. When the last scrum penalty arrived, the ball, and the weight of narrative fell to the veteran experience and capeable boot of Cooper. The 33-year-old didn’t blink, as he nailed the penalty to seal a script beyond cinematic value. It was structurally important, as Dave Rennie’s Australia needed a signature win, and they backed it up by beating South Africa again the following week.

For the Boks, the match was a reminder that discipline under pressure is everything in tight games. For neutrals, it was a tonic of bliss after months of stop-start pandemic rugby, as two heavyweights scrapped at pace with a finish for the ages. The Gold Coast setting and late-night drama amplified TV reach in Australia, where the union code craved good news. Cooper’s post-match interview, in which he thanked his teammates, noting his personal journey, helped the moment travel far beyond rugby circles.

9) Argentina bag first win on New Zealand soil

New Zealand 18 - 25 Argentina (27 Aug 2022, Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch)

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Two years after Sydney, Argentina went one better with a first-ever win on New Zealand soil. Emiliano Boffelli kicked six penalties and converted Juan Martín González Samso's momentum-swinging try, as Michael Cheika’s plucky side outlasted the All Blacks 25–18 in Christchurch. New Zealand dominated territory and led 18–12, but Argentina’s breakdown craft; as Pablo Matera and Marcos Kremer we both again immense, along with Boffelii's clutch goal-kicking flipped the script.

The significance is hard to overstate, as New Zealand’s aura at home is arguably rugby’s strongest, and Christchurch rarely gifts visiting fairy tales. This result placed Argentina atop the Championship table that weekend and deepened New Zealand’s 2022 identity crisis, prompting renewed debate about balance in the 10 jersey and late-game decision-making.

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For the Pumas, it authenticated Sydney 2020 as more than a lucky win and gave a new generation of Pumas their own folklore moment. The record will forever show the where and when: a cold night in Christchurch, a defensive wall in blue and white, and the All Blacks, again, unable to land the finishing blow.

10) Argentina hand Wallabies their record defeat

Argentina 67–27 Australia (7 Sep 2024, Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López, Santa Fe)

The Rugby Championship’s wildest scoreboard. Trailing 20–3, Argentina detonated a nine-try avalanche to hand Australia their heaviest defeat in Test history, as they won 67–27 in Santa Fe. Julián Montoya marked his 100th Argentina cap with a pivotal try before half-time, and then after the break, Los Pumas shredded the Wallabies in contact and transition, to pile on 64–7 across the last 50 minutes.

Context elevates this beyond mere carnage, as the win arrived a week after Australia had pinched a last-gasp 20–19 victory beyond Argentina in La Plata. This flipped the mini-narrative and kept Argentina in the 2024 Rugby Championship title hunt. It also showcased a renewed depth from the Pumas bench, as impacts from Juan Cruz Mallía, Lucio Cinti, and Joaquín Oviedo, tightened up, kicked smart, then cut loose when the Wallabies' dam burst.

For Australia, Joe Schmidt called the collapse a sign of inexperience. Domestically it became a by-word for the rugby union's existential angst, when battling for promience in Australia against Aussie Rules and Rugby League (NRL). For the Championship, it set new records and re-centred Argentina as box-office once again. Santa Fe’s “Cementerio de los Elefantes” lived up to its nickname, this was giant-slaying of epic proportions in the revered Northeastern city.