Wallabies secure second spot
Oct 08,2012
Australia ended the inaugural Rugby Championship with a morale-boosting 25-19 win against Argentina in Rosario.
It wasn't pretty but one feels the Wallabies won't mind that as the success supersedes a forgetful period of injuries and off-field issues (hopefully).
What was noticeable at the final whistle was a togetherness in the squad as they celebrated their gritty victory over the passionate Pumas.
The result leaves them level on points with South Africa but they ultimately finish the tournament in second position due to their higher win count.
Conditions were difficult at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito as the humidity was 93%, which made for an error-strewn contest particularly in the first-half.
There was also a phenomenally high penalty count blown by the match referee Craig Joubert as a total of sixteen marred the opening stanza.
Subsequently it was a half dominated by the boot of Mike Harris and Juan Martin Hernandez, with Harris slotting fifteen points to El Mago's nine.
The second-half in Rosario thankfully saw a reduction in penalty offences but what it lacked in infringements it certainly made up for in spillages, with wing Digby Ioane a regular culprit.
However, all was forgiven in the Wallaby camp when first-phase ball came back swiftly to fly-half Kurtley Beale in the 65th minute and Ioane drifted in from the left to take a pass that split the home defence for an easy run-in. It was a seven-pointer that cut the Pumas deep.
Assured Reds full-back Harris converted to give Australia a 22-12 lead that he increased eight minutes later with a penalty which lifted his personal contribution to 20 points.
Argentina set up a tense finish after Australian replacement scrum-half Brett Sheehan was sin-binned when wing Juan Imhoff claimed a pushover try that Marcelo Bosch converted.
Beale missed a late penalty, offering Argentina a chance to snatch a late win by running the ball the length of the pitch and scoring a converted try, but it was not to be as a knock-on quickly ended the move and the final whistle blew for a much-needed win for the Wallabies.
Man of the match: Mike Harris kicked well while Scott Higginbotham performed strongly when he arrived onto the field as a replacement. But for a towering defensive effort in the midfield, we go for Brumbies centre Pat McCabe. Had someone else been defending in the 12 channel then it is likely Argentina would have scored more than just their one try today.
Moment of the match: It has to be Michael Hooper's breakout from his own 22 up to the opposition's. Impressive pace from the openside as he left plenty of backs floundering.
Villain of the match: The person(s) with the laser in the crowd. It's not big, it's not clever.
The scorers:
For Argentina:
Try: Imhoff
Con: Bosch
Pen: Hernandez 3, Bosch
For Australia:
Try: Ioane
Con: Harris
Pen: Harris 6
Argentina: 15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 18 Leonardo Senatore, 19 Tomas Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Nicolás Sánchez, 22 Juan Imhoff.
Australia: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Sitaleki Timani, 5 Nathan Sharpe (capt), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Dave Dennis, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Dominic Shipperley.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Comments (6)
Oct 09, 2012 at 00:31:36
The boks are extremely lucky to be third. It's only thanks to their regular schedule of playing NZ that artificially inflates their world ranking. When you constantly play teams ranked higher than yourself, even a loss doesn't have much impact on your overall ranking score but the occasional win over a higher placed team will disproportionately inflate your ranking score.
Argentina illustrate this point perfectly. Before the start of the Championship they were ranked eighth with a score ( July 30 th) of 79.25. 5 losses and a draw later (to higher ranked teams) and they are STILL ranked eigth and their overall score actually improved fractionally, going up several hundredths to 79.34. Both Australia and SA benefit in a similar manner with their regular encounters ( losses) with the worlds # 1 team. I suspect if NZ s SANZAR partners played the ABs as infrequently as most NH teams that their positions on the IRB table would plummet dramatically.
Oct 08, 2012 at 12:51:35
LMAO!!!!!! Yikes.............now THAT'S gotta hurt for the Bok fans!! The Aussies have been the laughing stock and yet they still finished ahead. Funny thing is, I thought SA have improved since last year, what gives! I still believe SA are the worlds #2 team despite what people say. SA will always be the All Blacks biggest foe - always. When the two teams meet, previous weeks games are all but forgotten and it's a fresh slate. You'll bounce back SA and you're going to need to as unfortunately, the All Blacks have still yet to find their higher gears. They're playing awesome but still a lot left in them so if you guys plan to "catch up", you best get a move on......
Oct 08, 2012 at 22:59:57
Yes, they came 2nd, officially, but we all know we scored the exact same amount of log points so it's the same position, it's almost like T2 in golf but the other guy wins cause his drive was longer.
You don't have to believe we're #2 either, we officially are.
Oct 09, 2012 at 00:01:52
" You don't have to believe we're #2 either, we officially are"
Bwahahahaha. There is dumb, there is dumber, then there's Nancy (Nukies "official" forum bitch). "Officially" SA are THIRD einstein ( and are extremely fortunate to hold that position). Do you want to post a link to an "official" site confirming the boks alleged #2 position? I suspect you're far to much of a cowardly prat (noob) to deliver the requested credentials.
Bwahahahahahaha! Keep em coming Nancy. I haven't laughed this much since you're last post.
Oct 09, 2012 at 00:38:37
Doesn't take much to make you laugh does it! I bet you came all over yourself when you spotted my little error - as usual the real winners are your wife and child lol
Oct 09, 2012 at 01:01:33
Cheap and desperate attempt to get a rise outta Nukie by bringing my family into the discussion. Mind you, it's par for course when trying to school the debauched and morally bankrupt fanboys from a third world hell hole. Lol. You realise if the globe were represented as a human body that Seth Efrica would be its herniated, pus infected, syphillitic asshole. Shame.
Come now Nancy. I'm interested to see how low you can actually get. Maybe you can make some more disgustingly inappropriate comments about my 3 year old son and his mother. Lol.
Sh