Australia: Digby Ioane try lifted weakened Wallabies to victory
The weakened Wallabies pulled off one of their most courageous triumphs in defeating Argentina at intimidating Rosario, Australian newspapers reported.
Laser beams were shone in the faces of Australian place kickers Mike Harris and Kurtley Beale as the Wallabies downed the Pumas 25-19 at the weekend to finish runners-up behind the All Blacks in the four-nation tournament.
The makeshift Wallabies, without many of their influential stars and backing up after a week in South Africa, had to dig deep to beat Argentina, who were playing in their first southern hemisphere series.
"A battered Wallabies line-up, nearly a second XV, stood up to this massive challenge and achieved one of Australian rugby's most courageous triumphs in recent times by defeating the Pumas in a grim, gritty Test at Gigante de Arroyito stadium," reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Apart from saving their coach Robbie Deans, the Wallabies again showed they are the masters of excelling when everything is seemingly against them. They are the ultimate backs-to-the-wall merchants."
The Australian angled its report on the under-siege Wallabies' coach Robbie Deans, who has been fighting to hold on to his job ahead of next year's tour by the British and Irish Lions.
"The Wallabies' against-the-odds win against Argentina in Rosario has almost certainly saved the job of coach Robbie Deans," the paper wrote.
"After losing the first two Rugby Championship Tests to the All Blacks, the Wallabies needed to finish second in the Rugby Championship and regain their No. 2 world ranking for Deans to be secure.
"The fact the Wallabies achieved both objectives in extraordinary circumstances means Deans will see out the last year of his contract."
The newspaper added that if the Pumas had won, Deans' position would have been almost untenable and the reality check could come in the final Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand in Brisbane later this month.
"Deans can now point to the fact that the Wallabies, for all their trials and tribulations, still finished second behind the All Blacks on the championship table," it said.
"And no one else managed to defeat the All Blacks, even though the Springboks gave it a far better shake than the Wallabies.
"The reality check might well come in the final Bledisloe Test in a fortnight but by that stage the (European) tour will be only two weeks away - too late, Deans supporters would argue, to make a change of coach."
The Daily Telegraph said there was a "new low" for spectator behaviour when some Argentine fans pointed lasers at Australian goalkickers.
"The lasers cast a shadow over an occasion the Wallabies had wanted to use to strengthen ties between the two rugby playing nations."
Comments
Trinats2 says...
Ramage:
Didn't catch all that with your spitting.
Cooper was so wrong in what he said about Deans, Yet McCaw says the same in his book !!! (that seems like"logic" to me !!!)
I'm confused, can you enlighten me, Is Richie McCaw wrong or right ???
We all know he cheats on the field, but surely he wouldn't cheat the NZ public (Oh and the NZers living in Aus !!!) ???
For what it's worth, Coopers approach was worng and should have gone through the correct process instead of social media.
Cheers
No1 Wallaby supporter
The balls in your court !
Posted 21:53 10th October 2012
sandal says...
""Australia played very poorly against wales (NH) champions yet still beat them 3 -0 ""
touche
Posted 01:46 10th October 2012
Ramage says...
Dont know why everyone is getting so excited with all the different bounces Trinuts takes in his posts as it is par for the course. He bounces around like one of those compacted rubber balls where the angles and deflections, the highs and lows are so over the top you just don't know where its going to go. Don't look for logic from Trinuts as there isn't any. Oh and the one thing I've learned over the last few weeks is he is NOT a true Wallaby fan. For when they were down and almost out and needed him the most he, like Cooper, put the boot in. Its sad when ego gets in the way of support but then Trinuts has shown his true position as being a fairweather Wallaby supporter and not a true one. Quick to make the smart comment about other countries and its players. However he stands condemned for some of those negative posts about the Wallabies so ready to condemn them and join the the sycophantic fan club of Quade the fifth columnist in the team. The player more worried about himself than his team mates. Trinuts you are a disgrace to your country and should never call yourself a Wallaby supporter ever again.
Posted 23:21 09th October 2012
brands says...
@ trinuts2
yes, we would have fielded our under under 8s to give your lot a fighting chance but unfortunatly they were unavailable as they were touring the UK at the time!
Posted 20:55 09th October 2012
Trinats2 says...
melkdave:
Australia played very poorly against wales (NH) champions yet still beat them 3 -0
brands:
Mental ages ?
Posted 13:45 09th October 2012
melkdave says...
@Trinats2
Yes i did say if they lost to Argentina ,they could be 4 th in the rankings .and that a bad aurtum series would see Australia slip to 6-7th Also are you saying that wasnt the worst Argentinaun performance for years.If they had played only half as good as they did on the gold coast ,they would have thrashed the wallabies.While the wallabies played like they did against SA to be honest so no improvement there..If Australia play any thing like that this aurtum ,then a whitewash and thrashing are guarenteed by every nation.,they play against..You say the injuries have brought out the depth of OZ rugby,i agree and what a shambolic lot they are..Only new stars for the future are S.Timani and M.Hooper,the rest atm journeymen players imo.and mo where near the standard of JOC,Genia McCabe ect
Posted 10:39 09th October 2012
sandal says...
@ Trinats
"With 20 first choice players still to come back from injury ..."
Your hyperbole knows no bounds. The most first-choice players any team, any country, can have is 15. Subs are at best second-choice.
Keep the facts and figures coming, fella.
Posted 07:45 09th October 2012
brands says...
@ Trinats2
yes but that was the Australian U17s v New Zealand U12s, and I hear it was a close one!
Posted 21:15 08th October 2012
BDAUSSIE says...
@ Meldave not sure this proved Deans is a good coach. The fact remains the wallabies have been a shambles since last year's world cup and Deans has made a lot of poor tactical and personnel blunders since then. Deans is a competent coach, but the wallabies arent playing to their potential and need a change
Posted 14:28 08th October 2012
Trinats2 says...
melkdave:
Also forgot to mention the Australian school boys Beat New Zealand school boys recently in Auckland. So ARU are doing something right with developing "talent" !!!
Posted 13:44 08th October 2012
heathy says...
I have to say that it was an awful game of rugby as mistakes were far to numerous for international rugby but a win is a win and the Wallabies deserved it. Pumas were uncharacteristically out of sorts on home soil and made many bad decisions. Clearly the rugby championship was as much high level rugby over a short period of time than they had ever played and it showed. The Wallabies will be better in November and better for the Lions Tour. One last point is that this laser thing is a massive disappointment and Argentinean supporters have started to go down the soccer route. These people need to be caught and banned for life. There is no place for sh*t like that in rugby at all.
Posted 13:22 08th October 2012
Trinats2 says...
melkdave:
Did you not just predict last week that Australia would be 4th this week and 6th or 8th by end of year ??
"owed alot to a very under par pumas performance" same could be said for the Wallabies shock loss to NZ and SA this year !!!
Due to the injuries, it has brought out the depth in Aus rugby !! The 22 in Argentina includes 12 players with less than 15 test caps and 11 with less than 10 caps. 7 of 9 backs have less than 15 caps between them. 5 of the 13 forwards have only 27 caps between them (8 of those Dennis). With 20 first choice players still to come back from injury, it will be a very competitive training ground and local S15 derbies come next year. I can only see the Wallabies move up one in the rankings !!!
Posted 13:18 08th October 2012
melkdave says...
Well for once the press ,are reporting without the hype , it was a courages win ,and showed what a good coach Deans is ,It wasnt pretty,it wasnt a fantastic game ,and it owed alot to a very under par pumas pweformance.But a win is a win ,and it puts australia back as the 2nd team in the IRB rankings.Expectations of beating the ABs where always just that expectations ,and had no basis in reality,espically in the circumstances of a massive injury list.It still doesnt solve australias problems though,of a ARU failing in its primary job ,of developing talant with the S15 clubs,and getting that talant a competion ,so they can learn /hone their skills ,I still feel that australia in the next 5 yrs will struggle and slowly drop down the IRB rankings.
Posted 10:13 08th October 2012