The Wallabies headed to Rosario to take on the Pumas with the unwanted wooden spoon of The Rugby Championship at stake.
The Match
The Wallabies put on an impressive display against Argentina with a 54-17 win in Rosario, scoring seven tries in the process.
The win was built on the back of a hat-trick to Israel Folau and a display from Quade Cooper that we haven’t been seen for some time. Will Genia also found his mojo and his attacking runs gave the backs the front-foot ball they needed.
In the early stages the Wallabies took the emotion out of the crowd and were on the board after just three minutes with an Israel Folau try.
The try was setup by Quade Cooper who attacked the line and found gaps in the Argentinian backline and a few phases later, Folau took a pass from Joe Tomane to go over on the left wing.
Another try went begging shortly after but again it was Quade Cooper who was finding the gaps and giving the backs room to move in.
The Argentinians then had their best chance to get on the board and attempted to exert their scrummaging skills with a series of scrums on the Wallabies’ five-metre line with referee Wayne Barnes penalising the Wallabies scrum at least three times and threatening more with the Wallabies scrum under immense pressure.
And after the fourth penalty, Barnes lost patience and sent James Slipper to the bin but Argentina could not take advantage against the seven-man pack and Michael Hooper snapped up the ball to get the Wallabies out of jail.
After that scrum fest the game opened up slightly and Argentina looked likely to score next. A tackle from Ben Mowen and the ruck work from Michael Hooper got the Wallabies off the hook on that occasion.
Christian Leali’ifano extended the Wallabies’ lead to 10 with a penalty from in front but Argentina were able to get their first points in the 29th minute.
The Wallabies’ next attacking raid into the Pumas 22 was led by Scott Fardy who found space down the left hand side and just short of the line was hit by Pablo Matera in what referee Barnes deemed dangerous enough to warrant a yellow card.
The next Wallaby points came via an unconventional method with Adam Ashley-Cooper awarded the try in the right corner after the move looked to have broken down in the lead-up. After some attempted razzle dazzle Israel Folau showed his class and picked up the loose ball, drew one defender and some great interplay with Genia and Ashley-Cooper saw him go over.
Soon after Folau claimed his second try of the half after a great pass from Rob Simmons in the lead-up and Folau stepped his way through the Argentinian defensive line to score.
Argentina then hit back just before the break with Marcelo Bosch stepping his way through the defensive line to score under the posts to give his side a chance with the score at 25-10 at half time.
The second half started with the Wallabies further extending the lead with Israel Folau claiming his hat trick try – the first Wallaby to do so since the World Cup in 2011.
Ewen McKenzie called for fresh legs around the 50th minute with Saia Fainga’a and Sekope Kepu coming on in the front row.
The Pumas didn’t seem too concerned with the score and were prepared to throw the ball around to close the gap and they were rewarded with a try to scrum half Martin Landajo under the posts and with the conversion from Nicolas Sanchez, the gap was down to 15.
Rob Simmons was the third player to be shown yellow with an off-the-ball hit on retiring great Felipe Contepomi but Argentina blew a great chance to close the gap after blowing the lineout in the Wallabies 22.
Quade Cooper, who had taken over the kicking duties from Leali’ifano after he appeared to suffer a knee injury, added another penalty to keep Argentina out of reach as the gap grew to 18 points with more than 20 minutes left to play.
With 15 minutes remaining, winger Joe Tomane put the game out of reach for the hosts with a brilliant individual run to score the fifth Wallabies try of the night.
The scoring continued as the game wound down and replacement prop Benn Robinson capped off a good game and scored the sixth try from close range after a great run from Hooper.
The last try was counter attacking at its best as the Wallabies went coast to coast after an Argentinian knock on on the Wallabies line. The ball was spread wide and a chip kick from Tomane was regathered and then Bernard Foley ran untouched to score a try on his Test debut.
The big win will give the Wallabies some confidence before they take on the All Blacks in Dunedin on 19 October in the third Bledisloe Cup match.
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The Game Changer
Folau’s third try early in the second half was enough to keep Argentina at bay.
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[one_half last=”yes”]
The G&GR MOTM
A tough choice with many playing well but with three tries, Israel Folau gets the nod.
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The Details
Score & Scorers
[one_half last=”no”]ARGENTINA: 15
Tries: Bosch, Landajo
Conversions: Sanchez
Penalties: Sanchez
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[one_half last=”yes”]AUSTRALIA: 54
Tries: Folau 3, Ashley-Cooper, Tomane, Robinson, Foley
Conversions: Leali’ifano 2, Cooper, Foley 2
Penalties: Leali’ifano 2, Cooper
[/one_half]
Cards & Citings
James Slipper (Aus) – Yellow card – 15 mins
Pablo Matera (Arg) – Yellow card – 21 mins
Rob Simmons (aus) – Yellow card – 50 mins
