Roar Guru
Argentina secured an historic victory against the Wallabies in the final round of the 2014 Rugby Championship.
Australia led the match early, but Argentina were able to get on top in the second half and hold on to win 21-17.
FINAL SCORE:
Argentina 21
Wallabies 17
MORE:
>> Full Wallabies vs Argentina match report
>> Sloppy Wallabies woes continue in Mendoza
After a strong showing against the Wallabies in their last meeting, Argentina will be confident they can cause an upset when they host Australia in the Round 6 of the Rugby Championship. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 9:30am (AEDT).
Following a series of line breaks against the Wallabies in Round 4, the Pumas pounced on the All Blacks’ defence last week.
Although conceding four tries, Argentina had more offloads, almost matched their line breaks and ran over 500 metres.
The Pumas will aim to repeat this today, in front of 40,000 home spectators.
Early in the competition, the Pumas’ backs ran the metres. Last week, their backrow became a major source of territory gains. This includes the honorary backrower/hooker and Captain Agustin Creevy.
Eightman Leonardo Senatore is the lone backrower from last week’s game, where he was soft in defence. He needs to cause damage today.
Scott Higginbotham finds himself in the same situation, but he will be aided by flankers Scott Fardy and Captain Michael Hooper. If Higginbotham contests rucks successfully, Fardy will be free to deliver bustling runs of old.
105kg Manuel Montero, courted by the Western Force, recently smoked Wallabies speedsters for a runaway try. He is not playing today, for reasons not immediately apparent.
Replacement Lucas Amorosino will run with wingmate Juan Imhoff. They face off with Smoking Joe Tomane, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Israel Folau.
Game of two halves: Part 1
A few weeks ago, Martin Landajo and Nicolas Sanchez would have not bothered any opposing teams or fans.
Today, they will be heavily marked.
Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley are accustomed to playing behind a pack that totally dominates, so their judgement in contentious situations, along with Hooper’s, will make a big difference in improving the Wallabies fortunes.
Game of two halves: Part 2
Since the Gold Coast, the Wallabies second half performance has been a huge disappointment.
They will be expected to turn things around against Argentina.
This needs to happen not just in the loose but also the scrum and lineouts – the main reason Australia is last place in set piece statistics.
Last Chance:
The Wallabies need to look beyond survival. They need to deliver an 80-minute ensemble masterpiece, as a launchpad for next year’s World Cup campaign.
On the other hand, the Pumas have home ground advantage and have learnt how to score tries against the top three teams in the world.
This is their last chance to get first blood. Will it happen today?
Join The Roar at 9:30am (AEDT) to find out as all the action unfolds.
If you are following the match live, be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.