Improved Wallabies must find more to beat the Pumas

A win does a lot for one’s outlook in sport and on the weekend we’ll see what’s changed about how the Wallabies see themselves – and the world – against Argentina.

A 23-17 win against South Africa that left me and many others without many fingernails during the last 15 minutes is still a win. The end was scratchy but it will build self-belief.

And that win is the first positive for the Wallabies since their great first 20 minutes in the first England Test – how long ago does that feel now?

During the Brisbane Test, Rod Kafer reported one of the messages in the Wallabies rooms during halftime was not to be so surprised when they play well. It’s an odd message to pass on, but anyone who has been on the end of multiple losses knows it makes you question everything.

Now the Wallabies have a win under their belt, it can be expected that they will have a bit more self-belief. And they’ll need it.

The truth is hosting Argentina this weekend is going to be another step up from the Springboks if the Pumas play anything like they did against the All Blacks.

The Pumas played with a speed, skill and consistency that made the All Blacks work hard. The final score line doesn’t show how well the Pumas played for a lot of that game.

On Twitter during the match, I questioned whether any team could keep up over 80 minutes the speed and adventurous play the Pumas tried on against New Zealand. The answer for the Argentines – like the Welsh who tried a similar gambit in their first Test – was no.

But the first half was enough to show the Pumas have the game to trouble anyone, and their victory against the Springboks is further evidence.

Here are two pleasing Wallabies improvements against South Africa, then two areas on which they must improve.

Lineouts
The Wallabies were able to secure more of their lineout ball against the Boks than in the two Bledisloe Cup matches.

In those two matches, Australia won 71 per cent and then 67 per cent of their own throws. The second figure is a debacle at Test level.

That figure improved to 86 per cent in Brisbane, which should climb to at least 90 per cent before you are content, but the leap back to respectability was important.

The lineouts weren’t pretty, but they were more effective.

Stealing a lineout was never going to happen – the Wallabies were always late and hardly ever in line with the South African leaper – but winning your own ball is a baseline to grow from.

Composure
Australia conceded a try just four minutes into the Brisbane Test, then conceded a second after an intercept while they were hot on attack 15 minutes later.

Despite falling behind 14-3 early, the Wallabies played like they still believed they could win, and worked hard to find a way to do so.(Click to Tweet)

They showed composure when they could have wilted in the face of a sizeable deficit, with a sixth straight loss looming.

Against England and then New Zealand it wasn’t just falling behind that threw the Wallabies off their game, although it did. They got caught into niggle and argy-bargy action that sent them spinning as well.

Against South Africa there was about the usual amount of physicality, in the game and after the whistle, but even when they got involved it didn’t change the Wallabies’ play. It didn’t greatly change their demeanour and they remained focused on finding a way to win the match instead of the next fight.

Midfield ruck support
The first of the tries the Springboks scored, and other good attacking moments, came because they secured turnovers at the ruck in midfield.

The Aussie combination of Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley at 10 and 12 leaves them somewhat vulnerable to ruck turnovers in space. Flankers and other bigger backs will be hard targets to remove if either Cooper or Foley are the first person to a ruck in support.

The Springboks were good at targeting those opportunities. Turnovers and slow ruck ball are a worry for the Wallabies in midfield.

Foley and Cooper must be accurate and effective in backing each other up at the ruck. But the Australian forwards have to be wary of the threat and plan ways to arrive quickly, especially of set piece ball.

Defence around the ruck
The Wallabies’ defence wasn’t especially bad around the ruck in Brisbane, as they made 87 per cent of their tackles – a decent and improved statistic on the previous two matches.

But the Pumas were extremely effective around the ruck against the All Blacks, meaning the task will be hard for the Wallabies too.

Great offloads, short passes, and wing runners around the ruck will be part of the Argentine gameplan again. If they do it as well as they did against the All Blacks, holding them to their 22 points of last weekend will be a challenge.

Will Genia will have to make some more clean-up tackles as well, but ideally the forwards will stay on their game and prevent traffic getting through.

Forwards are going to have to stay vigilant in the first and second channels from the ruck. Lazy and tired forwards will be punished on the inside if they don’t stay in the line or turn their shoulder across the field too early.

The Wallabies just tasted victory for the first time this year. They’ll want to get that winning feeling back for a second week in a row after a drought.

They should have the tenacity and confidence to scrape home in this one, but nothing can be taken for granted against this Pumas side.