Player ratings: Drought broken
There will be plenty of celebrations all around Argentina, after they finally won their first Rugby Championship match – after three years of trying.
The 21-17 triumph in Mendoza was not pretty, not by any stretch of the imagination.
However, any win is a thing of beauty, especially if it is your first.
And the Pumas will gain so much from this, as they start to build towards the World Cup next year.
Jan de Koning rates the Argentinean players!
15 Joaquín Tuculet:
Coming along in leaps and bounds as an international fullback. Always safe under the high ball.
6/10
14 Juan Imhoff:
Went on a couple of mazy runs and scored a crucial try.
7/10
13 Horacio Agulla:
His defence remains woefully inept and detracted from the great work he did with ball in hand.
5/10
12 Juan Martín Hernández:
His defence also let him down too often and he struggled to make ground with ball in hand.
5/10
11 Lucas González Amorosino:
Didn't make much of an impact with ball in hand and missed more tackles than he made.
4/10
10 Nicolás Sánchez:
Kept the Wallaby defence honest, even though he did not always make much ground with ball in hand. Just a pity his goal-kicking was not up to par.
7/10
9 Martín Landajo:
Made some sniping runs that caught the Wallabies off-guard, although he slipped a couple of tackles.
6/10
8 Leonardo Senatore:
You can always rely on his physicality, but it is often his line-out work that is underrated.
8/10
7 Benjamín Macome:
Lasted just 13 minutes before leaving the field.
6 Rodrigo Báez:
A real workhorse – taking the ball up repeatedly, making all his tackles, winning a liner-out and generally making a huge contribution to his team.
8/10
5 Tomás Lavanini:
His workrate is poor and some of his options shocking.
4/10
4 Mariano Galarza:
Some really powerful carries, made his tackles and won a number of line-outs.
7/10
3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro:
So much more than just a powerful scrummager, although that is an important attribute in the context of how the Pumas play.
7/10
2 Agustín Creevy:
Does so much of the hard work in the dark, inner circle – plenty of carries and tackles to boot.
6/10
1 Marcos Ayerza:
His workrate outside the set pieces can improve, but it is the basics that he does so well.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Matías Cortese:
Not used.
17 Bruno Postiglioni (on for Ayerza, 66th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
18 Ramiro Herrera (on for Tetaz Chaparro, 63rd min):
Continued the powerful scrumming, but no real impact elsewhere.
6/10
19 Matías Alemanno (on for Galarza, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Javier Ortega Desio (on for Macome, 13th min):
Plenty of carries and a mountain of tackles. Rock solid.
7/10
21 Tomás Cubelli (on for Landajo, 58th min):
Did the basics well, but nothing special.
6/10
22 Marcelo Bosch (on for Agulla, 69th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Jerónimo De la Fuente (on for Tuculet, 74th min):
Not enough time to be rated.
