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A brave Argentina fought to win a brutal 15-15 Tri Nations tie with Australia On Saturday and they reinforce their credentials after an epic win against the All Blacks last week.
HOW IT HAPPENED | Australia 15-15 Argentina
The Pumas looked in trouble when they slipped nine points back in the second half at Newcastle, north of Sydney, but Nicolás Sánchez’s golden boot rescued them to keep the tournament open.
After his 25 points against New Zealand, he pocketed them all again, and his Australian number Reece Hodge missed a penalty in the closing minutes to secure a victory for the Wallabies.
Mario Ledesma’s team entered the game high after their first win against New Zealand in 35 years last weekend, and their passion and intensity carried them again.
It dropped all three teams to six points on the Tri Nations ladder, but Argentina has a game in hand with a return clash against the All Blacks in a week before facing Australia once again.
Australian coach Dave Rennie maintained the same bottom line that helped orchestrate his own loss to the All Blacks two weeks ago and, led by number 10 Hodge, once again ran the show at a sold-out McDonald Jones stadium.
They dominated possession in the first half, but were plagued by poor execution that saw two attempts disallowed and other opportunities wasted.
Australia took a 9-6 lead in the second leg and stretched their lead to nine points, but the Pumas refused to give up.
The odds were always against Argentina, who entered the game after losing 17 of their last 19 to the Wallabies, including 14 of their previous 15 in Australia.
But they were full of confidence as they sought a fourth victory in five events.
Australia applied the initial pressure and got the first points on the board with Hodge nailing his first penalty of the night after just three minutes, only for Sanchez to cancel it almost immediately.
– On the hunt –
The Wallabies began chaining attacking runs and thrilling center Jordan Petaia was desperately unlucky to have an acrobatic attempt rebuffed after his foot drifted over the chalk chasing a deft Paisami hunter kick.
Argentina was on the defensive, absorbing the pressure as Australia dominated the territory only for mistakes to appear at critical moments.
Poor discipline cost them another 32-minute penalty against the game’s streak as frustration slipped, with Sanchez converting before Hodge leveled the scores.
It set a frantic finish in the middle as tempers frayed and skirmishes broke out, with the hulking Taniela Tupou and Sánchez among the culprits.
Wallaby Marika Koroibete had a try disallowed for a forward pass just before the break and her pressure finally paid off with Hodge kicking another penalty after the horn for a 9-6 lead.
He got his fourth minutes after the restart when Pumas hooker Julian Montoya was sent to the sin bin for persistent offense and hit five of five to further extend his lead when the drizzle fell.
But the irrepressible Sánchez kept the Pumas on the hunt, taking three consecutive penalties to level the scores as momentum shifted.
Hodge had a golden opportunity to win the game with two minutes remaining, but he sent his kick drifting to the right.
Scorers:
Australia 15 (9)
Penalties: Reece Hodge
Argentina 15 (6)
Penalties: Nicolas Sanchez
EQUIPMENT
Australia
15 Tom Banks, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Reece Hodge, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Rob Simmons , 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements: 16 Sailors, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Valetini, 20 Liam Wright, 21 Jake Gordon, 22 Noah Lolesio, 23 Filipo Daugunu.
Argentina
15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (captain), 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti , 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Emiliano Boffelli, 23 Santiago Cordero.
