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Five talking points from Wallabies vs Argentina

Roar Guru
17th September, 2016
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A more winning Wallabies? It's as easy as kicking goals. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
Roar Guru
17th September, 2016
121
5001 Reads

Australia has completed a comfortable fourth round Rugby Championship victory over Argentina by 36 points to 20 in Perth in an open, if somewhat scrappy, affair.

The Wallabies will be very happy to have finished their domestic season off with a good win and a solid second stage of the rugby Championship while Argentina will be dissatisfied with their Australasian tour in 2016.

More of the wash-up from Wallabies vs Argentina:
» LORD: When Genia fires, the Wallabies fire
» Pocock sidelined by broken hand
» What changes should the Wallabies make?
» DIY Player ratings
» Read the full match report
» Watch all the highlights

There were a number of quality individual performances from the Wallabies last night, there were none more so than halfback Will Genia who seems to be going from strength to strength this season with the more games he plays. His running game caused havoc for Argentina while young lock Adam Coleman continues to impress with his work rate and aggression adding great value to the Wallaby tight five.

Here are a few talking points I would nominate from this encounter.

Wallaby defence
Many were hesitant to praise the improvements in this area last weekend against the Springboks, preferring to look at the South Africans’ inability to exploit rather than the Wallaby effort however last night demonstrated that the Wallabies have made significant progress in this area.

Forced to make 143 tackles in Perth, the defensive line was committed and at times vigorous; Reece Hodge catching the eye for some cracking tackles in midfield, halting Puma momentum.

The Pumas had the majority of possession, 67 per cent worth, and made a whopping 34 offloads yet the Wallaby defence scrambled well and held firm, and is a pleasing aspect of the Wallabies recent matches.

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Wallaby set piece
Another good night for the lineout, 100 per cent secured on the Wallaby throw while the scrum had a few issues at times which is a little bit of a backward step for an area that has been reasonably good for the Wallabies and will potentially see a grumpy Mario Ledesma in training for the next few weeks.

Wallaby discipline
The Wallabies were absolutely caned by referee Wayne Barnes, conceding 16 penalties to seven by Argentina and a further two yellow cards for good measure.

While debate may rage around the quality of some of the decisions made, it does not change the fact that the Wallabies struggled to adapt to the interpretation during the match and let themselves down in this area.

I imagine this will be a major area of focus for the squad before heading overseas.

Puma consistency
Into their fifth season of the Rugby Championship, the Pumas have still to learn how to produce consistent performances and certainly seem to have some mental barriers to overcome. While the style of play is at times exhilarating there is no hiding from the fact that they have lost both recent matches comfortably.

They will be a different proposition playing at home but they are still battling to produce consistent performances over 80 minutes and week to week. There is no doubting the talent and potential of the side; however the mental application of the squad seems to be a weakness for the Argentinians. This was epitomised by a soft start to last night’s match, down 21 zip within 15 minutes and the game essentially lost at that point.

I would suggest dropping you’re in form halfback, who had just out played Aaron Smith the week before, does not help with the sides belief nor consistency.

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Diving
Have had to get this off my chest for some time now but look, cut it out, just stop it Pumas, it is embarrassing and a blight on the game. There is no issue raising concerns with a ref, none at all, there is a captain for that. But feigning injury and causing stoppages? Enough please.

Five points there worth chewing the fat over and significant ones at that.

What were your big areas for discussion from last night’s encounter?

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