Lasers leave Foley seeing red

While Argentina celebrated a maiden Rugby Championship victory, Australia flyhalf Bernard Foley lashed out at laser beamers after fluffing a simple penalty.

Several lasers were trained on him as he prepared for a routine second-half kick at goal that would have given the Wallabies a 20-18 lead.

But his attempt rebounded off the post, the Pumas scrambled the ball clear, and a late penalty from flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez sealed success at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas.

"It's not great," Foley told reporters after contributing seven points from two conversions and a penalty. "It was happening all night on all of my kicks.

"How do you stop it? Maybe a rekick will teach them. Who knows?"

Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie was equally angry after a match in which his team surrendered an early 14-point advantage.

"It's a problem and only seems to happen at certain grounds. We have talked about this in the past and it has cropped up again."

Lasers beamed mainly at goalkeepers and free-kick takers is an on-going problem in football, but rare in rugby.

There were several controversial decisions by Welsh referee Nigel Owens during the match.

He yellow-carded two Wallabies, scrumhalf Nick Phipps and skipper and flank Michael Hooper, in the second half while reversing decisions to sin-bin lock James Horwill and fullback Israel Folau.

Hooper was unlucky to be sent to the touchline late in the second half having unavoidably collided with Argentina fullback Joaquin Tuculet.

Australia centre Tevita Kuridrani, who claimed the third-minute opening try, appeared to have scored another during the second half, but the television match official could not see the grounding.

New Zealand topped the final Championship standings for the third consecutive year with 22 points despite a 27-25 final-round loss to South Africa in a Johannesburg thriller.

The Springboks came second with 19 points, the Wallabies third with 11 and the Pumas last with seven.

SAPA