Argentina will have another crack at picking up a win on Wallabies soil when they tackle Joe Schmidt’s men in the fourth round of the Rugby Championship at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.
Saturday 13 September
To Win
Australia | Draw | Argentina
Handicap
Australia | Argentina
In many people’s eyes, Australia were lucky to have snuck past Argentina last week in a match Los Pumas were leading 24-21 until Angus Bell’s 85th-minute try. The hosts started exceedingly slowly and weren’t helped by several inaccuracies in their game, including handling errors and poor decision-making at crucial times.
While Argentina weren’t error-free themselves (their 13 handling errors was three greater than Australia’s tally), they scored some beautiful tries in that first-half to race into a 21-7 halftime lead. Unfortunately a much less impressive second forty yielded just a single penalty as the men in gold and green came charging back.
With Tom Lynagh cleared of his concussion issues and expected to be back at flyhalf, Schmidt’s team have been boosted in their bid to avoid a similarly slow start. The likes of Len Ikitau, top ball-carrier last week with 16, will again be looking to stand up the Pumas’ defence and create space and opportunities for the likes of Joe Suaalii and Max Jorgensen outside of him.
Ill-discipline was another big problem for Australia last week and Schmidt has come out to say how disappointed he was at that aspect. But if they can tighten up that department and give the South Americans less time and space to weave their attacking magic, they can build their own lead and won’t have to rely on captain Harry Wilson’s calm head to steer them back on course.
For Felipe Contepomi’s side, big questions will be raised at a second-half display that saw them miss as many as 19-tackles compared to just seven in the first-half. While players like Marcos Kremer, who made a stonking 31-tackles and missed just one, will be looked to again for inspiration, they will need a collective effort over the full 80 to keep themselves in the title hunt.
Verdict: Australia on the board
The hosts to pick up back-to-back wins over Argentina and set themselves up for a massive Bledisloe Cup series.
