Argentina stun Australia in dramatic Sydney test
REPORT: Argentina clocked back-to-back victories over the Wallabies for the first time Saturday in a stirring 34-31 win to ramp up pressure on Australia coach Eddie Jones.
A last-gasp try to No.8 Juan Martin Gonzalez broke Australian hearts after recalled wing Mark Nawaqanitawase appeared to have saved the Wallabies’ blushes with a 95-metre intercept try with five minutes remaining on Saturday
*As it happened: Wallabies v Los Pumas
A risky selection call from coach Eddie Jones hurt Australia badly as former Wallabies mentor Michael Cheika masterminded the historic Los Pumas victory at Western Sydney Stadium.
The stirring comeback win from 10-0 early, then 31-27 late, marked the first time Argentina conquered Australia in successive Tests between the two nations.
The Pumas pumped the Wallabies 48-17 in San Juan last August before Dave Rennie was sacked as coach and replaced by Jones after an unsuccessful spring tour of Europe.
Now, though, Jones faces the grim prospect of taking the Wallabies to France for this year’s global showpiece without a win.
Unless Australia can rebound from Saturday’s defeat and a 12-43 hammering at the hands of South Africa to open the Rugby Championship with success in either of their two looming Bledisloe Cup clashes with the All Blacks, Jones will be winless in his second coming as Wallabies coach heading to the World Cup.
Early on, Jones’ five team changes from last week’s pounding in Pretoria looked like being a masterstroke as Nawaqanitawase, powerhouse centre Samu Kerevi and giant lock Will Skelton all excelled to help the Wallabies to their 10-0 lead.
A quick tap and sharp footwork from Nawaqanitawase put Australia deep on the attack and, with the Pumas defence stretched, Quade Cooper found Kerevi lurking out wide and the centre’s inside ball was enough for Len Ikitau to dive over in the corner in the fourth minute.
But the try came at a huge cost, with Ikitau forced off shortly after with a shoulder injury sustained while scoring and sent to hospital for scans.
His departure and having no outside backs on the bench forced the Wallabies into a reshuffle with Carter Gordon’s introduction at inside centre breaking up the potent Cooper-Kerevi midfield partnership.
The entire complexion of the match changed.
Suddenly the Wallabies attack was clunky and disjointed while Cooper and Gordon, two playmakers, defensively looked vulnerable alongside each other.
Gordon tried his heart out and was only denied a breakout try by a desperate ankle tap, but the 22-year-old was playing out of position in the biggest match of his life.
The Wallabies found themselves hanging on at halftime with a player down following the sin-binning of lock Richie Arnold for deliberately slowing the ball down.
The Pumas had fought their way back into the game through a try to fullback Emiliano Boffelli, who converted and added a penalty to leave the match evenly poised at 10-10 at the interval.
The visitors hit the front for the first time when hooker Julian Montoya forced his way over five minutes into the second half before Wallabies scrumhalf Nic White darted over to level the scores again.
When wing Mateo Carreras beat a fatiguing Dave Porecki to score out wide in the 68th minute, Argentina led 26-17.
But a Kerevi try, then Nawaqanitawase’s rousing solo effort had Wallabies fans in raptures before the Los Pumas snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
The scorers:
For Austalia:
Tries: Ikitau, White, Kerevi, Nawaqanitawase
Cons: Cooper 4
Pen: Cooper
For Argentina:
Tries: De La Fuente, Montoya, Carreras, Martin Gonzalez
Cons: Boffelli 4
Pens: Boffelli 2
Yellow card: Richie Arnold (Australia, 39 – Slowing down the ball illegally)
Teams:
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Richie Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 David Porecki, 1 James Slipper (captain).
Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Matt Philip, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Josh Kemeny, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Carter Gordon.
Argentina: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Hahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matias Moroni.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
