‘We fell off a cliff’ – Joe Schmidt after Wallabies’ huge defeat to Los Pumas
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and fly-half Ben Donaldson.
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt was left to pick up the pieces after his side suffered an embarrasing 67-27 defeat to Argentina in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash in Sante Fe.
It is the most points Australia have conceded in 135 years of international rugby, passing the 61-22 thrashing they received against the Springboks in Pretoria in 1997.
Fine start from the Wallabies
Australia will be wondering how they managed to lose by such a big margin as they made an excellent start and raced into a 20-3 lead by the half hour-mark after Carlo Tizzano and Andrew Kellaway crossed the whitewash.
However, Argentina finished stronger during the opening half courtesy of tries from Mateo Carreras and captain Julian Montoya which meant the match was evenly balanced with the visitors holding a 20-17 lead at half-time.
Los Pumas continued to dominate after the interval and scored three further tries which gave them a 41-20 lead before Tate McDermott narrowed the gap with a five-pointer of his own in the 69th minute but the hosts finished stronger and scored a whopping 26 points during the game’s dying moments to clinch an emphatic win.
The result was in stark contrast to the corresponding fixture in Buenos Aires last week where the Wallabies sealed a narrow 20-19 triumph.
Australia butcher 17-point lead as Julian Montoya’s milestone inspires Argentina to record win
Saturday’s victory means Argentina move into second position on the Rugby Championship table – eight points adrift of pacesetters South Africa – while New Zealand drop to third spot and Australia are firmly rooted at the bottom of the standings.
“We probably put three reasonable halves together then fell off a bit of a cliff,” said Schmidt of the Wallabies’ two-Test tour.
‘Over-chasing the game’
“The last 10 minutes, we were over-chasing the game with a young group and there’s always the risk the score will blow out.
“But at 41-27 we were only one score away from picking up a couple of bonus points at worst and chasing another chance at the game.
“We over-reached at the back end and it didn’t look good.”
Argentina’s record score against the Wallabies follows after they also clinched a 38-30 win over the All Blacks in Wellington last month – the most points New Zealand have ever conceded on home soil.
“Records are going to happen,” said Schmidt.
“That’s what they’re capable of. They can score quickly and as soon as you’re not making the first tackle and scrambling… it’s very hard to plug the holes.”
