The Pumas confounded once again by playing below their abilities, while the Wallabies rebounded with their best performance of the tournament. Decent game, but not at all what was expected.
It was a dream start for Australia as Israel Folau went over in the corner barely 3 minutes into the match. The slick passing of the backs were winding the wide out spaces early and had the Argentinean defense in fits. It looked ominous indeed but a loose pass forced Quade Cooper to take the ball over his own goal line and force a five metre scrum.
Most pundits would have banked on a Pumas pushover try and after three collapses and an early engage James Slipper was sent to the bin. Benn Robinson was summoned to bolster the scrum and it still looked creaky but Juan Manuel Leguizamon failed to control the ball at the base and Will Genia was able to clear the ball, a huge psychological boost to Australia.
With the ball back in their hands the Wallabies launched their assault and earned a penalty for Christian Leali’ifano. They looked poised to keep going but a loose pass was intercepted and instead it was a penalty chance for Nicolas Sanchez, who made no mistake to get the Pumas on the board.
Australia weren’t phased and kept the pressure on, and Scott Fardy made break and nearly made the corner but was chopped down by Pablo Matera. Unfortunately there were no arms in the tackle and the Argentine flanker was sent to the bin, with Leali’ifano hitting the penalty from a tough angle.
The Wallabies caught a break when some more loose passing somehow found Israel Folau, and he stepped and passed back inside to Genia who handed Adam Ashley-Cooper a try. Referee Wayne Barnes asked the TMO to review a suspected knock on from a previous phase and the replay seemed to suggest that it did indeed come forward from the hands but the officials awarded the try. Within moments it was Folau again causing havoc as he weaved his way over for another try.
Just when it looked as though Argentina were dead and buried, Leguizamon offloaded to Marcelo Bosch, and the centre cut back inside to touch down under the sticks. Sanchez converted to make the score more respectable, but Australia were still three scores ahead at the break.
The Wallabies had no intention of giving them any more than a sniff, however, and within two minutes of the second half Folau had gone over for his hat trick, and the Pumas were looking more and more ragged.
Stunningly, Argentina came back and Martin Landajo dove under the posts from close range. A silly off the ball tackle by Rob Simmons on Felipe Contepomi earned the Australian a yellow card, and a tremendous touch finder put the Pumas on the 5 metre line but they stuffed up the lineout and Cooper cleared. The rest of the match was virtually all Australia as Robinson, Joe Tomane, and finally debutant Bernard Foley all crossed the tryline.
It was a disappointing end to a tournament that could have been so much better for Argentina. Their defense was poor and there were far too many mistakes. Some of the players looked disinterested and others just weren’t good enough. With a new coach on the way and two years until the World Cup, there should be an influx of fresh talent, especially with the u20s performing so well this past year.
The Wallabies should be more than satisfied with the result, the most points they have ever scored against Argentina and a complete turnaround from a week ago. The backline looked dangerous and the halfback pairing of Genia and Cooper looked to be regaining their confidence. With a third match against New Zealand on the way in two weeks, the outlook has taken a dramatic turn and we might just be in for a decent game of footy after all.
SCORING
Argentina – N. Sanchez 2c 1p, M. Bosch 1t, M. Landajo 1t
Australia – C. Leali’ifano 2c 2p, Q. Cooper 1c 1p, B. Foley 2c 1t, I. Folau 3t, A. Ashley-Cooper 1t, J. Tomane 1t, B. Robinson 1t
CARDS
Argentina – P. Matera yellow (30)
Australia – J. Slipper yellow (15), R. Simmons yellow (51)
ARGENTINA 17
J.M. Hernandez; H. Agulla, M. Bosch, F. Contepomi (S. Fernandez 66), J. Imhoff (L. Gonzalez Amorosino 66); N. Sanchez, M. Landajo (T. Cubelli 73); M. Ayerza (N. Lobo 73), E. Guinazu (A. Creevy 47), J.P. Orlandi (M. Diaz 45); J. Farias Cabello (M. Carizza 60), P. Albacete; J. Fernandez Lobbe (capt.), P. Matera, J.M. Leguizamon (B. Macome 75).
AUSTRALIA 54
I. Folau; A. Ashley-Cooper, T. Kuridrani, C. Leali’ifano (M. To’omua HT), J. Tomane; Q. Cooper (B. Foley 66), W. Genia (N. White 75); J. Slipper (B. Robinson 60), S. Moore (S. Fainga’a 47), B. Alexander (S. Kepu 47); R. Simmons, J. Horwill (capt.) (S. Timani 60); S. Fardy (B. Robinson 15-25, B. McCalman 71), M. Hooper, B. Mowen.
