20 points: Mike Harris
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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)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
By Adam Kyriacou
@PlanetRugbyAK
Comments
NHSaints says...
Well done Oz, I knew that they'd win (winning is a habit afterall), they may have finished ahead of SA but considering how both teams have developed I still think SA are the better side. Anyway fantastic AGAIN from McCabe, definitely a class player. Had all passes ect gone to hand in the second half the pumas would have run away with it...4 wasted scoring chances because they couldn't hold on to the ball.
Posted 10:46 07th October 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
Good result Australia, full credit where it's due.
Posted 10:21 07th October 2012
hellovanite says...
Well done Australia. Hey you kiwi trolls show some humility. Players like Mike Harris and Quade Cooper have made their decision just like Steve Devine did when he chose to play for the ABs. Get over it.
Posted 10:18 07th October 2012
georgesmith says...
N. Sharpe was below average in the game. M Hooper was superb along with K.. Beale, who is traditionally a no.10 and only the hopeless coach R.. Deans put him out of position at fullback. This Kiwi clown is destroying Wallabies by putting players out of position and also depriving quality young players invaluable game time. R. Simmons should have played against the Pumas and not K. Dougles or Mr. Over-rated lazy-being N.Sharpe. What about the gamble to put poor S. Timani at no.6. Jesus Christ! R. Deans, what is wrong with you. Just get lost to Kiwiland.
Posted 10:05 07th October 2012
georgesmith says...
A win is a win so all good. Now tis time to give R. Deans a sack. If he remains, Wallabies will continue to struggle every game without a game plan just like today.
Tis nothing personal. R. Deans had his give or-so years and he failed to deliver. Next up is the ABs next month. Two Australian coaches have won Wallabies wold cup and E. McKenzie is waiting on the wings to takeover. Core of the Reds of late is where the future of Wallabies belongs. .
Posted 10:00 07th October 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Well done Wallabies. Injury ravaged you put the Boks back in their place with a win they could not achieve. Definitely the second best team in the world. Without injuries you're the only team to pose a threat to ABs domination in the short term future.
Posted 09:15 07th October 2012
KiwiLad says...
As hard to admit as it is, Well done Wallabies, they showed guts, guits and more guts to keep battling their way through this Tournament, and the Aussie fans should be proud of them
And what a trooper Nathan Sharp is, held this side together, when media and X players wanted to tear it down, With a fair bit of help fron the Dingo.
Posted 08:18 07th October 2012
brands says...
and all the points were scored by Kiwi,s, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Posted 08:02 07th October 2012
Rostick says...
man this team is lucky
Posted 07:56 07th October 2012
wolfgang says...
Well done boys...with limited available players,u still come away with a win...thats GOLD...aussie aussie aussie!!
Posted 06:16 07th October 2012
jonesy2 says...
argentina rugby has to be held accountable for that pathetic act with the laser. australia just confirming their status as the greatest rugby nation on earth (AB's on another planet, obviously) and dishing up a huge serve of humble pie to all those pathetic wallaby haters, what have you weasels got to say now? hearing that australia has no depth is like saying george w bush was a great president. the best things for the wallabies is that with all the injuries it has opened up a significant field of depth in all positions. finished ahead of SA after 30 players were injured. wallabies are the only team that are going to be able to challenge the all blacks in the next year or so.
Posted 05:42 07th October 2012
Wallaroo says...
A fantastic result for the Wallabies and above all for Aussie rugby. Given the injury list and reshuffle of the team it was never going to be pretty or easy. Nathan Sharpe showed great leadership and all the players showed heaps of commitment, one cannot ask for or expect more than that.
IMO Deans has proved that despite everything he is an excellent coach. Hopefully this now clears out the toxic waste that is Quade Cooper.
@not_the_real_George_Smith - get stuffed you unAustralian idiotic troll.
Posted 05:13 07th October 2012
startledwombat says...
Good write-up PR and in particular McCabe's contribution.
The wallabies backline showed some fluidity in the last horrific injury-strewn 20 minutes at Loftus last week and there were more patches of it this week. Great to see a try from a set piece. Cooper's being out of the team is causing some comment but I think it's just as important to note that Barnes is not there either.
Excellent captaincy today, too. Well done Nathan Sharpe.
@Ramage, fair comment but on some soft targets. Maybe look to the trolls to point out that Harris was pretty handy for North Harbour before deciding to go overseas?
Posted 05:07 07th October 2012
KiwiJoe says...
What would the All Blacks have done with so many injuries???
Win their second World Cup that,s what...
Glad to see Robbie finally got the Wobblies to remember who they are but they need to spend some quality time at the gym and have a long hard look at their dietary requirements to prevent injuries.
Throw away that Queensland bison, Wallaby White and Kanga Rouge and replace it with choice NZ Lamb and fine Kiwi wines for a start.
The potential is still there however, how many games did Wales promise to win against them only to lose at the last gasp, I bet the French wish they could do the same.
A good result in coming 2nd, they should do OK in the Autumn, and the All Blacks would do well to take their next game with them very seriously, a wounded Wallaby, guided by a Kiwi has done us in before.
Cheers to the Pumas as well, you have enlightened this Championship.
Posted 05:06 07th October 2012
mikeyj9 says...
All the injuries, all the b@#$lcrap, lack of form in super rugby, players out of position....still number 2, still better than boks, still better than six nations. things aren't so bad me thinks.....
Well done boys.
Posted 04:48 07th October 2012
bk47 says...
Error-ridden and boring. Thats all you can say about that game. Gutted I missed the NZ vs SA and instead watched this crap. At one point I lost count the amount of times both sides knocked the ball on. Surprised how the aussie scrum got the better of Argentina. I think the toll of their first season of Rugby championship became a factor for them. The looked like a tired team.
But for a first showing at this high level of competition Argentina can be proud. Got a draw against SA, pushed NZ in NZ and should have beaten Aussie twice. Not bad at all
And yes what a new low for a crowd member shining lasers into kickers eyes.
Posted 04:39 07th October 2012
Nahpoowee says...
chisel68... well written mate. The AB's are missing some players but don't let that get in the way of a good story. Great game today, well done Aussie.
Posted 04:38 07th October 2012
tha_mai says...
chisel68 - Wallabies say they have used 38 players through 2012; read that Springboks have used 40, All Blacks 33.
Each squad is 30, so there's your starting point.
The squeaking wheel, anyone??
Posted 04:05 07th October 2012
tha_mai says...
minkusbc, tvaddict, hobo - no, not a new low. Happened last week v NZ as well: http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3562_8130217,00.html
One for trinats2 - note all the Wallabies points scored by overseas-born players! Wellington and Auckland can be proud. Can't wait for Henry Speight from Fiji fronting in green and gold next year! Cheap shot i know - but you are the master of those, and at least these are fact!
Posted 03:57 07th October 2012
Trader2 says...
Actually I think I predicted the Wannabies by 8, not 11, dammit I am better than I thought I was.
Posted 03:54 07th October 2012