Australia’s hooker curse struck again with milestone man Tatafu Polota-Nau injured as the Wallabies’ survived an Argentine comeback for a nerve-wracking 32-25 victory on Saturday night.
Polota-Nau, playing his first match in six weeks, only lasted until halftime before succumbing to an ankle problem that has him in doubt for the rest of the Rugby Championship.
The Wallabies remain alive in the tournament (six points behind New Zealand), but only just after the Pumas threatened to steal a late draw in front of a paltry crowd at Cbus Super Stadium.
The strong Argentine pack had a big chance with a 5m scrum on the Australian line, against the Wallabies reserve front-row, in the last minute but were penalised for an early engagement.
It left the 14,281 Gold Coast fans – the lowest home Test attendance this century – breathing a huge collective sigh of relief.
Skipper Michael Hooper scored a double but it was halfback Nick Phipps who shone as bright as any player, setting up what seemed to be the match-sealing try to winger Peter Betham for a 29-13 lead with 20 minutes left.
But the Pumas stormed back, punishing Wallabies’ mistakes with tries to outside backs Marcelo Bosch and Joaquin Truculet for a 29-25 scoreline and tense finish.
Man-of-the-match Bernard Foley made it a seven-point gap when he kicked his fifth penalty goal with five minutes to go on a slippery night.
For the third straight home Test, the rain came down as the game kicked off but it didn’t deter Australia, looking to rediscover their attacking mojo, from playing a fast, ball-in-hand game.
And they did it brilliantly to start with, producing an opening six minutes of exquisite rugby.
Hooper scored after 10 straight phases that rolled the ball forward 60m from the opening lineout of the game, finished when the skipper burst on to a perfect cut-out pass from Foley.
But, when they made their first error, failing to secure the ball from a Sekope Kepu charge, the Pumas “Panther” – Manuel Montero – pounced.
The lanky winger, who is a target of the Western Force, showed his class with a 55m sprint down the sideline, leaving Betham, Hooper and Foley in his wake.
From there, Australia, not helped by the slippery conditions, lost their precision and some of their nous.
Argentina’s line speed pressured them into errors but the Wallabies were also their own worst enemy – shown by Foley butchering a certain try by ignoring Rob Horne 5m from the line.
The home pack dominated the lineout and held their own in the scrum for 78 per cent of first half possession but had to be satisfied with just three Foley penalty goals for a 14-7 lead at the break.
Hooper extended the lead with an opportunistic try just after halftime, and at that stage it looked like his side was in for an easy night.
OneJayBee
Roar Rookie
Kasey You've given me the opportunity to throw in that old chestnut - Gold Coast, The Bermuda Triangle of Australian sport.... go through the failed sporting franchises there and tell me it's not true.... The Titans (small) and Suns are proving something of an exception [to date] but when Ablett goes I wonder how the latter will fare....
kesmcc
Roar Pro
i read somewhere last week that the outcome of the wallabies v argies game wont have any impact on australia's ranking. because they are playing at home against #12. that they didn't win by a big margin couldn't help either. might be wrong but i thought it stays the same.
Armchair sportsfan
Guest
You obviously haven't watched much (any?) of the six nations....
Thunderguts
Guest
Steve, you are a man after my own heart but we are definitely in the minority. The bulk of comments here from Roarers and so called experts continue to focus on the mechanics of the game rather than the big picture strategic issues. The ARU are a group of navel watching Chardonnay sippers who would not recognise a targeted marketing plan if it hit them in the face and grabbed their family jewels. You only need to look at how the various 7,s groups promote their game. A good current example is the marketing program for the upcoming Noosa International 7,s , they have the right teams coming and have tied in with key local and international sponsors and are creating great expectations with the local populace One can only hope that the lights will come on a ARU Headquarters before they get to the point that they will insufficient fund to even turn the lights on..
kesmcc
Roar Pro
not a bad thought. wouldn't hurt the ARU to try and lift the profile in some of the other states. another venue to consider would be AAMI park in melbourne. i went to the wallabies v france game at etihad and there was hardly anyone there. better to have a smaller stadium packed out than a big one half empty. pretty good to watch there too because its a rugby/soccer stadium and you're much closer to the action
Chan Wee
Guest
last week, wait till the new ranking comes after this weekend matches :)
Chan Wee
Guest
@ PeteRob : and how did they win the super title. thru a penalty which the referee himself had admitted to being wrong :) as for knocking on in the rain, good lck playing in Great Brittain ; even the weather service have no idea when it rains there :P
Chan Wee
Guest
it did not help the Pumas that some of their beter forwards had to go off like the starting prop and 6. i guess only 2 teams can manage well with injuries - NZ & SA. all others have a gulf between the first and 3rd choice players.
Chan Wee
Guest
he is good at running but a pathetic defender. let in a try , almost another (but for an OZ knockon ) and his tackle on the OZ wing was also not great. what was he thinking, keeping the guy in play ? the touchline was the only option he had. as for the try , again another poor defender in the OZ wing. u dive or lunge as the last option not the first !!!
AndyS
Guest
But unlike the ARC, they'd be carrying that cost themselves. Players would either move for the opportunity or they wouldn't - they'd still put 23 players on the park. It is not like they don't have a state team, management and staff there, and from a logistical point of view it would be no different from competing in the ARS. They've managed a team in a nation-wide competition before, can't see how this would be different. If no-one is game to give them an NRC team, they're certainly never going to be given a Super Rugby team. It is the other way around - they need an NRC team to allow an informed decision if and when there were further expansion (although I suspect that is unlikely). They could do with checking, as the previous front-runners in Western Sydney and the Gold Coast aren't doing anything to enhance their claims at the moment.
Bakkies
Guest
A few things you sound so ungrateful. - Your small stadium won't attract bigger games. - No game in the 4 N is second tier. - Get off your backsides and go to the 7s. You will lose that too. - That attitude is exactly why Canberra don't get tests. They demand bigger games despite a small venue and can't sell it out when tests do go there. There were empty seats at the Lions game ffs.
Bakkies
Guest
The reason why Hanson is 5th choice is that McKenzie didn't give him enough starts at the Reds and the bloke he gave a truckload of time too he now won't select to start for the test side (Faingaa). Great logic.
Bakkies
Guest
This team is streets ahead of Greg Smith's.
Bakkies
Guest
It is played at this time of year to satisfy your beloved Shute Shield.
Bakkies
Guest
The problem that Pulver has that he has to fix the pathways to develop players to replace thise that are leaving.
Bakkies
Guest
I don't like the new Adelaide Oval at all. Yes it resembles a Baseball stadium. Even if you got 30,000 there will still be 20,000 empty seats. At this stage it is too expensive to have a team in Adelaide without a Super Rugby team based there. That's why the 2007 Rebels were so expensive to run. They had to move a whole squad and staff down from Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. It was one of the biggest costs.
AndyS
Guest
It is why I think it was a mistake not having an NRC team there and something they should change as quickly as possible. Adelaide is not taken at all seriously yet are never given a chance to disprove the notion. They may or may not set the world on fire, but I doubt they'd do any worse than West Sydney or the GC in terms of support at the moment.
nickoldschool
Roar Guru
Agree kasey. I dont get that a place like the GC is ahead of Adelaide in the rugby pecking order. I think just the buzz of having a first RC test in SA would be enough to surpass the 15k crowd we had last night. No idea how the aru can justify their choice.
Magic Sponge
Guest
I turned it off at half time. and went to AFL. Glen has it spot on, I cant recall a worst wallaby side. How is our scrum so bad, it is not like the other scrums are that good.
Magic Sponge
Guest
We use to get 5-10k to a local club game between the wicks and the Beasts. 1063 is farcical and dream on if you think this tournament staged at this time will grow. Fox wont cover it, it is an organisational joke, why would you play it at this time of year. Insane.