Argentina come to life with record win against Australia in San Juan

Los Pumas were big winners over the Wallabies no Saturday in San Juan. Argentina came to life with a record 48-17 win over Australia. A strong start, solid chasing of high balls and good use of replacements contributed to Argentina’s biggest ever win over the Wallabies.

As if a spell had been cast on the Estádio del Bicentenario, Los Pumas had a 14-0 lead inside the opening ten minutes. Early tries to Juan Imhoff and Thomas Gallo had Argentina in a dream position.

First, Imhoff put a kick through and chased. The pressure on Jordan Petaia saw the star Wallaby juggling the ball and Imhoff gathered to run in for a try. Second, Santiago Carreras kicked a 50-22 from which the forwards attacked. Gallo broke a two-man tackle to score under the posts. Emiliano Boffelli converted both tries.

Rather than being a one-sided contest, the Wallabies roared in response. Australia won two penalties and kicked their way downfield. An attacking lineout saw the ball moved through phases with captain James Slipper catching the Pumas defense asleep. James O’Connor landed the simple conversion.

Play restarted from halfway following an error from the restart. Australia advanced from the scrum, eventually winning a penalty five meters out from the try zone. O’Connor landed to make it a four-point ballgame. A disallowed try to O’Connor followed as the opening quarter came to a close.

Argentina recovered to retake control. Jerónimo de la Fuente broke clear but felt his quad. An ordinary man would have stopped there and sat on the floor. The Rosario center found it in him to get over the pain barrier and score. He was immediately replaced by Lucio Cinti as Boffelli took Argentina beyond 20 points.

Argentina’s intensity on attack continued as their ran in another. Following an exchange of kicks, Juan Cruz Mallía put up and chased his own up-and-under. The Wallabies again were unable to control the ball and this time Juan Martín González was on hand for the loose pass. The flanker’s try followed his from seven days earlier in his native Mendoza.

Australia were not handling the Pumas high-ball well. Emiliano Boffelli was over for another; however, Marius van der Westhuizen overturned the try despite it having cleared been grounded on the line. Boffelli would have to wait for his try.

Los Pumas were ahead 26-10 at half-time. The second half scoring took considerable time; Boffelli landed a 54th minute penalty after Imhoff won a turnover penalty.

Argentina then added their fifth try. Gallo did what he had done on debut; he scored a double against the Wallabies. The score from a pick-and-go underlines how important he is now and in the future for his country. Argentina had the win but there was time for Australia to respond. They did so with Len Ikitau crossing for a simple try.

It was Argentina’s day though and the South Americans finished with two late tries. First, following a turnover, Lucio Cinti kicked through for Boffelli to outrun Marika Koroibete. Second, one replacement kicked for another; Tomás Albornoz got the bounce from Tomás Cubelli’s kick to score. Boffelli converted for the 31 point win.

The win was Argentina’s third in the Rugby Championship against Australia. Previous wins were in Mendoza in 2014 and Gold Coast in 2018. Both were won by four points. Argentina’s previous record winning margin against Australia was 15 points. Hugo Porta captained Los Pumas to a 18-3 in 1983.

The 2022 Rugby Championship will resume on August 27. Argentina travel to New Zealand to face the All Blacks in Christchurch while the Wallabies will be at home against South Africa in Adelaide. All four teams have a 1-1 record after two rounds of the tournament.

 

SCORING

ARGENTINA 48
Try – J Imhoff (2′), T Gallo 2 (6′, 64′), J de la Fuente (25′), JM González  (32′), E Boffelli (78′), T Albornoz (80′)
Con – E Boffelli 5/7 (3′, 7′, 26′, 65′, 80′)
Pen – E Boffelli 1/1 (54′)

AUSTRALIA 17
Try – J Slipper (12′) L Ikitau (67′)
Con – J O’Connor 2/2 (13′, 68′)
Pen – J O’Connor 1/1 (16′)

TEAMS

ARGENTINA
1 Thomas Gallo, 2 Julián Montoya (capt.), 3 Francisco Goméz Kodela, 4 Matías Alemanno, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 6 Juan Martín González, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Pablo Matera, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Santiago Carreras, 11 Juan Imhoff, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 13 Matías Moroni, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 15 Juan Cruz Mallía

Replacements: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Facundo Isa, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Tomás Albornoz, 23 Lucio Cinti

AUSTRALIA
1 James Slipper (capt.), 2 Lachlan Lonergan, 3 Taniela Tupou, 4 Rory Arnold, 5 Darcy Swain, 6 Jed Holloway, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Rob Valetini, 9 Nic White, 10 James O’Connor, 11 Marika Koroibete, 12 Lalakai Foketi, 13 Len Ikitau, 14 Jordan Petaia, 15 Tom Wright

Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Matt Gibbon, 18 Pone Fa’amausili, 19 Nick Frost, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Irae Simone, 23 Reece Hodge

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Karl Dickson (UK)
Assistant Referees: Mike Adamson (UK); Chris Busby (IR)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (ZA)