Argentina Storms to Top of Rugby Championship u20

Argentina were comfortable and convincing winners over Australia on Thursday. Los Pumitas outscored the home side by three tries to zero, winning 25-6. The result means Argentina are top of the Rugby Championship u20. The other week one match was a 13-13 draw between New Zealand and South Africa.

The Sunshine Coast Stadium did not live up to its name. The match was played under torrential rain. The tropical down pour meant ball handling was high complicated. Handling errors saw many scrums, of which Los Pumitas had the upper hand. Argentina’s dominance in the scrum was a crucial component of the win.

There were few scoring moments in the opening half. Joey Fowler opened the scoring for the Junior Wallabies with a penalty. His opposite, Santino Di Lucca, responded almost immediately to mark it a 3-3 scoreline after 9 minutes.

With the fall reaching its end, Los Pumitas went over for the opening try. Following waves of raids on the Australian try zone, Tomás Rapetti went over for a pick-and-go try. Di Lucca landed the conversion for a 10-3 lead.

The rain picked up notably in the second-half. Ball-control and avoiding penalties began the key points. Argentina did better than Australia in both areas. Hooker Juan Manuel Vivas threw a long lineout for an attacking maul. N8 Juan Pedro Bernasconi split off to fool the defense and score. Di Lucca missed the conversion but slotted a penalty minutes later to extend the lead even further.

Australia could not get it together in response. The Junior Wallabies had a one-man-advantage with Los Dogos center Faustino Sánchez Valarolo off the field for ten minutes. Fowler contributed with a penalty to close out the third quarter.

With the minutes winding down, Los Pumitas went about securing the final blow. Good work at the scrum was rewarded with penalties and replacements Julián Rossi and Mateo Fossati joined the scoring. Rossi burst over for Los Pumitas with Fosati converting.

The 25-6 win will now see New Zealand and South Africa paying attention. In their next match, Los Pumitas face New Zealand on Wednesday, May 07. It will be a 4am kick-off time in Argentina. The other week two fixture will see Australia and South Africa both looking for their first win of the tournament.

SCORING

AUSTRALIA (6)
Pen (2) – J Fowler 2 (7′, 59′)
YC (1) – J Harley (36′)

ARGENTINA (25)
Try (3) – T Rapetti (38′), JP Bernasconi (43′), J Rossi (76′)
Con (2) – S Di Lucca (39′); M Fossati (77′)
Pen (2) – S Di Lucca (9′, 45′)
YC (1) – F Sánchez Valarolo (50′)

LINEUPS

AUSTRALIA
1 Jack Barrett, 2 Bryn Edwards, 3 Tevita Alatini, 4 Toby Macpherson (capt.), 5 Harvey Cordukes, 6 Aden Ekanayake, 7 Joe Liddy, 8 Jack Harley, 9 Doug Philipson, 10 Joey Fowler, 11 Xavier Rubens, 12 Ronan Leahy, 13 Jarrah McLeod, 14 Will McCulloch, 15 Shane Wilcox

Replacements: 16 Nathaniel Tiitii, 17 Tavi Tuipulotu, 18 Nick Bloomfield, 19 Ben Daniels, 20 Ben Di Staso, 21 Hwi Sharples, 22 Cullen Gray, 23 Angus Staniforth

ARGENTINA
1 Diego Correa, 2 Juan Manuel Vivas, 3 Tomás Rapetti, 4 Efraín Elías (capt.), 5 Álvaro García Iandolino, 6 Juan Penoucos, 7 Santos Fernández de Oliveira, 8 Juan Pedro Bernasconi, 9 Tomás Di Biase, 10 Santino Di Lucca, 11 Franco Rossetto, 12 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 13 Tomás Bocco, 14 Valentín Soler Filloy, 15 Benjamín Elizalde

Replacements: 16 Marcos Camerlinckx, 17 Gonzalo Gargallo Bazán, 18 Gael Galván, 19 Luciano Asevedo, 20 Julián Rossi, 21 Genaro Podestá, 22 Mateo Fossati, 23 Timoteo Silva

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Griffen Colby (ZA)

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS