Player ratings: Late lift-off
A flat first half cost the Pumas their first ever Rugby Championship win at Patersons Stadium, Perth on Saturday.
The visitors were lackadaisical in the first 40 minutes, simply going through the motions, which meant they had to chase the game for the most part and ultimately fell agonisingly short, with the Wallabies holding on for a 14-13 win.
The Pumas grew in stature as the game progressed and dominated the second half but just couldn’t land the knockout blow and would be justified in feeling they let a golden opportunity slip in the wet conditions.
Quintin van Jaarsveld rates the Pumas players.
15 Juan Martín Hernández
His often underrated kicking out of hand came to the fore in the wet conditions and he made the most metres for the visitors on attack. Solid showing.
7/10
14 Horacio Agulla
Battled to control the high ball in the swirling wind and conceded a penalty.
5.5/10
13 Gonzalo Tiesi
Had a tough day, albeit not for a lack of effort. Just couldn’t make headway with ball in hand and conceded a penalty.
5/10
12 Felipe Contepomi
Excellent offload in the tackle to spark Juan Manuel Leguizamón’s try, beat a couple of defenders and was a rock on defence.
7/10
11 Juan Imhoff
Very quiet on the left wing. No notable mistakes but just not active enough.
5/10
10 Nicolás Sánchez
Like his opposite number, he put a number of kicks in behind the backline with little success. It kept the Wallabies guessing, though, and allowed him to make some ground with a couple of darting runs.
6/10
9 Tomás Cubelli
Slow in clearing from the base, found wanting in the tactical-kicking department and cost his team three points.
5/10
8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón
A faultless and talismanic performance in his 50th Test. Personified the passion of the Pumas, almost cut Nick Cummins in half with a spectacular hit, made several carries and scored the try that got the visitors back in the game. My personal man of the match.
8/10
7 Pablo Matera
Uncompromising in the tight loose. A peerless nine runs and eight tackles for his side, but his timing at the breakdown was off, which saw him concede two penalties.
7/10
6 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe (captain)
Strong in all aspects. Fine leadership, led by example as a ball carrier, made a number of crucial tackles and featured in the line-out.
7/10
5 Julio Farías Cabello
Channelled all his energy into the line-out, which saw him neglect his other responsibilities.
5.5/10
4 Manuel Carizza
Impressive performance. Ruled the line-out, with three takes and two steals on Australia’s throw, and got through a mountain of work on defence.
7/10
3 Juan Figallo
A key cog in the dominant Pumas scrum and had a high success and workrate on defence.
7.5/10
2 Agustín Creevy
Hooked a heel against the head but disappointed his team with his line-out throwing. Granted it was difficult conditions, but he was still well below par in this department.
5.5/10
1 Marcos Ayerza
Mauled both Ben Alexander and Sekope Kepu at scrum time to keep the Pumas on the front foot.
7.5/10
Replacements:
16 Eusebio Guiñazú (on for Creevy, 51st minute)
Had the same line-out worries in the strong wind than Creevy and continued their scrum dominance.
5.5/10
17 Nahuel Lobo (on for Ayerza, 75th minute)
Not enough time to be rated.
18 Juan Pablo Orlandi
Not used.
19 Mariano Galarza (on for Cabello, 56th minute)
A busy cameo off the bench both in the line-out and on defence.
6/10
20 Benjamín Macome
Not used.
21 Martín Landajo (on for Cubelli, 61st minute)
Not enough time to be rated.
22 Santiago Fernández
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Lucas González Amorosino (on for Agulla, 52nd minute)
Did a lot of ball watching where he could have gotten more involved.
5/10
