Wallabies to claim narrow victory over Pumas

David Skippers
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Australia and Argentina will bring down the curtain on this year’s Tri Nations when they face off in what promises to be an entertaining encounter in Sydney on Saturday.

With New Zealand sitting pretty atop the standings, and with it being virtually impossible for them to be overtaken, this fixture between the Wallabies and Pumas will be a battle for second place with the losers having to be satisfied with the wooden spoon.

Low-scoring affair

And if recent meetings between these sides are anything to go by, then we can expect a low-scoring affair with the result in the balance until the game’s closing stages.

Australia claimed a hard-fought 16-10 triumph when these sides met in Brisbane last year and their previous Test, in Newcastle a fortnight ago, ended in a 15-15 draw with Wallabies fly-half on the day, Reece Hodge, failing with a last-gasp penalty which would have sealed victory for his side.

That result followed Australia’s 24-22 win over New Zealand in Brisbane after they kicked off their Tri Nations campaign with a 43-5 defeat against the All Blacks in Sydney in the tournament opener.

The opening loss proved costly for Dave Rennie’s men as it means they must beat the Pumas by 101 points to wrestle the Tri Nations trophy off the All Blacks while Argentina can only be crowned champions if they beat the Wallabies by 93 points. Both scenarios are highly unlikely but despite that, the two teams will still be competitive as they aim to claim second position in the final standings.

There will be extra motivation for Australia to be victorious as they have not won their final Test of the year since 2013 and are hoping to use the match as a springboard for 2021.

The Pumas camp was in turmoil earlier this week after their captain Pablo Matera was sacked from his position for posting discriminatory and xenophobic tweets and also suspended alongside team-mates Guido Petti and Santiago Socino, who also made disparaging remarks on social media between 2011 and 2013.

The trio will miss this match but have been reinstated by the Argentine Rugby Union, who said that their punishments were “unnecessary” following the players’ apologies.

Despite those players’ absence, Pumas head coach Mario Ledesma has named a strong side with experienced inside centre Jeronimo de la Fuente taking over the captaincy.

Although they suffered a 38-0 loss to New Zealand last week, Argentina were competitive for long periods before the All Blacks pulled away during the latter stages of the second half.

The Pumas might have started the tournament on the back foot, after several of their players and coaching staff were struck down by Covid-19, but they have done well with their 25-15 win over the All Blacks an undoubted highlight. They will be determined to match that feat by finishing their campaign on a high with a win over the Wallabies.

Players to watch:

For Australia: One of the Wallabies who has come on in leaps and bounds during the Tri Nations is rookie flyer Tom Wright. The 23-year-old made his Test debut in his side’s 24-22 triumph against the All Blacks last month and had an immediate impact as he crossed for his first Test try with his first touch of the ball. Wright continued to be a handful to the All Blacks’ defence, finishing with a match-high 92 metres gained from eight runs which included three clean breaks and as many defenders beaten. Although he had a quieter game against the Pumas in Newcastle, he still caught the eye with deft touches and impressive carries with ball in hand. He will be keen to build on those performances this weekend.

For Argentina: If Argentina want to win this game then their fly-half Nicolas Sanchez will have to deliver a top class performance. The veteran fly-half did just that during his side’s tournament opener against the All Blacks – a game in which he dominated proceedings from the outset and eventually scored all his team’s points in that historic 25-15 win for the Pumas. Apart from being an outstanding goalkicker, the 32-year-old is also good tactical kicker and a brilliant playmaker who has the ability to create try-scoring opportunities. He is sure to keep the Wallabies’ defenders on their toes.

Head-to-head: After an unimpressive return to the Test arena, in last weekend’s defeat to the All Blacks, Facundo Isa has been shifted from number eight to the openside flank where he will come up against one of the world’s best flankers in Wallabies captain Michael Hooper. Isa is a renowned ball carrier, who usually wreaks havoc once he builds up a head of steam but Hooper is a shrewd operator, who is a strong defender and he will relish taking on the challenge of taking on a rampaging Isa. Apart from his excellence on defence, Hooper is also one of the game’s best breakdown operators and Isa will have to be at his best in that department to keep the Wallaby at bay.

Previous results:

2020: The teams drew 15-15 in Newcastle
2019: Australia won 16-10 in Brisbane
2018: Australia won 45-34 in Salta
2018: Argentina won 23-19 on the Gold Coast
2017: Australia won 37-20 in Mendoza
2017: Australia won 45-20 in Canberra
2016: Australia won 33-21 at Twickenham
2016: Australia won 36-20 in Perth

Prediction: Like the previous encounter between these sides, this one will also be evenly contested and don’t be surprised if it goes down to the wire. Although it will be close, the Wallabies will finish stronger. Australia to win by three points.

The teams:

Australia: 15 Reece Hodge, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Rob Valetini, 21 Jake Gordon, 22 Irae Simone, 23 Tom Banks

Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (c), 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Facundo Isa, 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Jose Luis Gonzalez, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Francisco Gorrissen, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Domingo Miotti, 23 Santiago Chocobares

Date: Saturday, December 5
Venue: Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 19:45 local (08:45 GMT)
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Nic Berry (Australia)
TMO: Angus Gardner (Australia)

 

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