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Argentina will be in a confident frame of mind when they face Australia in a crucial Tri Nations encounter in Newcastle on Saturday.
That confidence comes from the Pumas’ 25-15 triumph over New Zealand, which was the first time they defeated the three-time world champions, with that result being regarded as one of the biggest upsets in the history of test rugby.
Mario Ledesma’s charges delivered an almost impeccable display against the All Blacks with great physique and excellent defensive effort laying the foundation for their historic victory.
In good situation
By beating New Zealand, Argentina is pretty much second in the Three Nations table with four points earned after playing a match. New Zealand is in first position with six points but has already played three games, while Australia is just behind, tied with the Pumas on four points.
Although the South Americans are up high, the Wallabies will not be easy prey and Dave Rennie’s troops will also head into this game looking confident as they also managed to beat the All Blacks earlier this month.
However, Australia’s tactics were different than Argentina’s as they brought the fight to the All Blacks with their attacking game. However, Wallabies head coach Rennie believes that approach won’t work when his charges go head-to-head with the Cougars.
Rennie feels that his team’s tactical kicks and discipline will have to be accurate as he hopes his opponents will try to replicate the defensive effort that worked so well against New Zealand.
“I think the Pumas are happy to play without the ball,” he said.
“They really dominated the kicking stats last week, which was surprising (28-16), so the All Blacks held on to a lot of ball, made mistakes and got punished.
“We expect them to kick us a lot and then try to put a wall in front of us, so we have a plan around that. Our kicking game must be sharp. Our ability to generate a fast ball will be really important. And then the discipline will be enormous. They are happy to play three at a time, and if we make mistakes in discipline, they can kick from far or start their starting line and their driving game, which was quite effective last week.
Players to watch:
For Argentina: If the captain of the Pumas, Pablo Matera, you can repeat what you did against the All Blacks in Sydney, then the Wallabies are ready for a tough day at the office. The Stade Francais are proud to represent their country and led from the front in that memorable victory over New Zealand. Matera, a strong ball carrier, is expected to step over the lead line with ball in hand and when he does, he should give his teammates a lot of confidence and he won’t be surprised if they follow suit. The 27-year-old is also solid on defense and a threat in collapse, while his leadership is outstanding and, if he shines in all those facets of the game, the Pumas should secure another victory.
For Australia: Although Australia have had some mixed results, all against New Zealand this year, one player who has played consistently well is the star wing. Marika koroibete. The 28-year-old is John Eales’s current Australian medalist after several outstanding shows in 2019 and has continued that form in 2020 with more brilliant attacking performances at the test level. In the Wallabies’ 24-22 win over the All Blacks, Koroibete received a yellow card for a cynical defensive foul just before halftime, but that setback did not stop him and when he returned to the field of play, he delivered a good complete game. . effort. Offensive brilliance (he gained 83 yards in 11 runs with two defenders defeated) and bravery on defense (he came out with some crucial tackles) helped the Wallabies seal their victory and he will be determined to pick up where he left off in that test. .
👑 Tries, scrums, crucial tackles. @MarikaKoroibete can do it all#Wallabies #eToro # TriNations2020 pic.twitter.com/IW16nsEFhx
– RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) November 12, 2020
Head to head: Argentina, once again, will look for its fly half Nicolas Sanchez to lead his charge in this encounter and his duel with the Wallabies number 10 Reece hodge it should have a great influence on the outcome of this match. Sanchez showed his class with a superb performance against the All Blacks, scoring every point for the Pumas, and also turned heads with his wide range of playmaking skills, as well as excellent game handling. He easily won his direct battle with the highly rated Richie Mo’unga, but this week he faces a different challenge from Hodge, who is a more direct player and should test Sanchez’s defensive capabilities with some strong carries. Hodge is only playing his third midflight test for Australia but despite his inexperience in that role, he gave a good account of himself when the Wallabies defeated the All Blacks in Brisbane and will be determined to build on that demonstration.
Previous results:
2019: Australia won 16-10 in Brisbane
2018: Australia won 45-34 in Salta
2018: Argentina won 23-19 at Gold Coast
2017: Australia won 37-20 in Mendoza
2017: Australia won 45-20 in Canberra
2016: Australia won 33-21 at Twickenham
2016: Australia won 36-20 in Perth
2015: Australia won 29-15 at Twickenham (RWC semi-final)
Prediction: Argentina will be under pressure, after last weekend’s excellent result, but will take up that challenge head-on. Will be close but Argentina will win by five points.
The teams:
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 (c), 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti , 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chapparo
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
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 (c), 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
Date: Saturday November 21
Venue of events: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Kick off: 19:45 local time (08:45 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO: Nic Berry (Australia)
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