Wallabies player ratings: Brilliant bench ‘blasts’ Argentina off the park after three starters’ ‘mares’
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson and an inset of Tom Lynagh.
Following the Wallabies’ last-gasp 28-24 victory over Argentina, here is how we rated Joe Schmidt’s charges in the Rugby Championship clash in Townsville.
Wallabies player ratings
15 Andrew Kellaway: Replacing the injured Tom Wright at full-back, Kellaway rose to the occasion and managed to deal with some insanely difficult positions in the backfield. He threatened on attack too. Solid is the word often used to describe the outside back, and it’s apt. 6
14 Max Jorgensen: Wallabies legend Michael Hooper lavished praise on the youngster throughout the match, and it was well deserved. He was outstanding under the high ball and has an uncanny ability to weave his way through some heavy traffic. He found himself isolated at times on defence, but some of that was a domino effect from the rest of the backline’s errors. 7
13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii: Grabbed two tries courtesy of his midfield partners’ excellence, but that is not to disregard how sublime those finishes were. There remain some rugby league tendencies or shortcomings, like his ruck work, which is somewhat understandable. However, there is no doubt about his brilliance, and he had some superb moments. 7
12 Len Ikitau: The Wallabies are building a seriously good combination in Ikitau and Suaalii, and it showed today. Sure, some areas need ironing out, but that’s why Schmidt continues to field them together. Ikitau was excellent once again today. He might not be the classic build of a crashball centre, but boy, he does it well. His link-up play and offload ability are of a world-class level, and it showed in both of Suaalii’s scores. The best bits of the Wallabies act involved the brilliant centre, while the defensive issues weren’t his doing. His head-to-head with Santiago Chocobares was worth the entrance and some. Both players were outstanding. 8
11 Corey Toole: Argentina also targeted the newly capped speedster and did get some purchase from doing so. On attack, he was largely kept quiet. Not a poor performance overall. 5
10 Tom Lynagh: His first game back in the Gold jersey after Dan Sheehan attempted to hammer his head into his torso, and it was far from perfect for the young playmaker. His kicks were wayward, particularly after the Pumas rattled him and he rushed his punts. Argentina targeted with their set plays from the scrums and exploited him twice to score two tries in quick succession. He also conceded a penalty with a silly bit of play in the backfield. Was it a game too soon to return, or perhaps he should have come off the bench? 4
9 Nic White: It was rather interesting how early Schmidt called White’s number after yet another outstanding performance from the ‘retired’ halfback. Frankly, Australia don’t have a better kicking number nine than the cheeky scrum-half and it was a serious weapon again for the Wallabies. His kick-offs caused all kinds of havoc for the Lions when they faced the Western Force, and the Pumas had similar issues today, while his clearances and contestables were just as brilliant. As with all whily half-backs do, he punished the lethargic Argentine defence to sneak over the line to score. He played a pivotal role in the second try with another wonderful contestable that led to Suaalii’s try. Why is he retiring again? Another masterclass, and had it not been for him, the Wallabies would have been even further behind at the break. 8
The forwards
8 Harry Wilson (c): Work-rate, work-rate, work-rate. It’s Wilson’s bread and butter as the Wallabies skipper gives his all every single time he takes the pitch. His left boot remains an underrated weapon, while he regularly beat defenders with the ball in hand, too. 7
7 Fraser McReight: Argentina’s loose trio was brilliant yet again, they usually are, but McReight was right up there with them. The back-rower is all-court. His breakdown work earned the praise of his predecessor, Hooper, and rightly so. 8
6 Rob Valetini: Rarely has a poor game, and while today wasn’t his finest shift, he was still solid. He had an uncharacteristic fumble in a carry, but was strong on the other side of the ball. 5
5 Tom Hooper: Filling Will Skelton’s void is a tough gig, but Hooper made a good fist of it. He was a sound lineout option and got through his usual massive workload. He will be livid with the pair of turnovers he conceded. 6
4 Nick Frost: The most underrated lineout operator in Teset rugby right now. Frost played a pivotal role in the set-piece’s success despite the threats that the Pumas posed in that area of the game. Adding to that, he was a willing carrier and tackler. Quietly brilliant. 8
3 Taniela Tupou: A tough day at the office for the tighthead prop who impressed against the Lions and then twice in South Africa. While he did seem to get the upper hand in the scrum, it wasn’t really rewarded, and he struggled with his discipline, conceding two penalties – the first perhaps a bit harsh. He did offer himself up as a carrier but was largely shut down and was quiet on defence. By his recent standards, it was a real mare from the powerhouse forward who didn’t return to the park after half-time. 3
2 Billy Pollard: Strong and accurate shift from the hooker. His set-pieces were accurate, and so was his breakdown work. Tidy, tidy performance. 7
1 Tom Robertson: Much the same as his fellow prop forward, as he conceded two penalties in an ill-disciplined first-half performance from the team as a whole. Rather anonymous around the park, too and hooked at the break. 3
Replacements: The Wallabies needed a big shift from the bench after staring down a 14-point deficit, and Schmidt was not shy to make the changes and make them early, replacing his struggling prop at half-time. Angus Bell made a massive impact from the onset and went on to grab the winner. Tate McDermott upped the tempo and picked up nicely from White, while James O’Connor was a vast improvement on Lynagh. Carlo Tizanno was brilliant too as the Wallabies’ bench blasted Argentina off the park to seal a glorious victory. 8
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