Wallabies player ratings v Argentina: Australia bench ‘obliterated’ in ’embarrassing’ second-half display
The Wallabies fell to their heaviest-ever defeat in their history against Los Pumas
Following their 67-27 defeat to Los Pumas, here is how we rated the Wallabies players after the embarrassing display in Santa Fe.
Wallabies player ratings v Argentina
15 Andrew Kellaway: Started off well, and even scored a try, but disappeared in the second-half as Los Pumas ran riot. Also copped a yellow card late on, which helped the hosts grab that record-breaking try. 3
14 Max Jorgensen: Posed plenty of questions to the Pumas defence when given the ball early on, but was starved of possession in the closing stages. 3
13 Len Ikitau: Added plenty of punch to the Wallabies backline, and had a nice balance with Stewart through midfield. Was missed when taken off. 6
12 Hamish Stewart: Feels like a broken record here, but again he made a bright start to the game before completely falling off in the final exchanges. He’s still in his Test infancy though, and will only learn from this experience. 4
11 Marika Koroibete: Expected better from an experienced head. He made a decent start to proceedings in attack, and was denied a try by a sensational cover tackle; but he was at fault for a couple of tries at the other end in those crucial minutes. 3
10 Ben Donaldson: The Wallabies have been crying out for a more expansive attack, and he brought exactly that. Looked to utilise the wide channels early on, which allowed them to get around the intense Pumas defence. Kicked well both in-hand and from the tee. 7
9 Jake Gordon: Looked a lot more comfortable playing alongside Donaldson, and connected well with the fly-half. Was able to generate consistent quick-ball too, which in turn helped the Wallabies attack flourish. 6
Back-row
8 Harry Wilson: A tough lesson in his early captaincy spell, but the only way is up from here. Was solid for 60 minutes, but was a victim of his side’s capitulation in the latter stages. 3
7 Carlo Tizzano: Like Wilson, gave a good account of himself for large chunks of the game; but dropped off completely in the final chunk of the game. A harsh lesson for the youngster. 3
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6 Rob Valetini: Yet again superb in the tight, and was able to consistently drive his side over the gain line. Is quickly becoming their most important player, and his absence was massively noted in the end. 8
Tight five
5 Jeremy Williams: Came up with some decent defensive efforts, notably hitting Pablo Matera hard to deny a try at the end of the first-half, but was unable to halt the Pumas momentum in the latter stages. 3
4 Nick Frost: Proper work-horse display from Frost, and when he went off there was a notable drop-off in the defensive work. 7
3 Taniela Tupou: Fairly quiet showing from the Tongan Thor, and was taken off prior to half-time. 5
2 Matt Faessler: An industrious showing from the hooker. Made plenty of work for himself on both sides of the ball, and was accurate with his lineout throws too. 6
1 Angus Bell: Proving why he is one of the best loosehead’s currently in world rugby. Was so effective with ball-in-hand, and contributed to a lot of what went right for his team. His side fell off a cliff following his departure from the game. 8
Replacements: The bench made a good impact last time out, but they were absolutely OBLITERATED by their Pumas counterparts this weekend; and will take most of the blame for the manner of the defeat to be completely honest.
The replacement front-row was torn apart by the Pumas pack, who put in their best scrummaging showing for a while, and this failure played a HUGE role in the embarrassing defeat. The Wallabies probably had the better of the tight exchanges in the first-half, but when Bell, Faessler and even Tupou came off they lost virtually every contact in defence and were humiliated in the scrum. This is even worse when you consider the experience Slipper and Alaalatoa have under their belts. The dominance the Pumas pack had in the latter stages generated so much momentum for them, and it allowed them to run riot in those final minutes. Have some of them played themselves out of Wallabies contention?
McDermott did score a try, but that’s about it for positives from the bench. 1
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