All about NZ showdown

Wallabies focus switches straight to great rivals

“I CAN’T wait to play them in two weeks,” Wallabies captain Michael Hooper said with a smile when asked about the All Blacks.

Barely an hour had passed after Australia’s 37-20 victory over Argentina at Estadio Malvinas to clinch second place in The Rugby Championship, but already the Wallabies fans and their captain were relishing the Brisbane clash on October 21.

Tied 13-13 at halftime, the Wallabies found another gear in the second stanza to beat Los Pumas five tries to two.

Australia surpassed South Africa in the final round of the Championship after the Boks fell 25-24 in Cape Town to the undefeated All Blacks.

The Wallabies will face the All Blacks in a fortnight in the final Bledisloe Cup match, and while they can be pleased with a win, they cannot afford to make the same early errors against New Zealand.

Can they win the dead rubber against a team they haven’t toppled since August 2015?

“We’ll see in two weeks won’t we?” Hooper said.

“Everyone is putting their hand up for selection, making Michael (Cheika’s) job really tough.”

Against Argentina yesterday, winger Reece Hodge was a two-try star, with Marika Koroibete scoring the opener, and Bernard Foley and Will Genia also crossing in a dominant second half.

“It definitely wasn’t a complete performance and there is plenty to improve on before the Bledisloe,” Hodge said.

“Obviously everyone wanted to finish first [in TRC] but we just wanted to finish as well as we could, finish off the championship and get as much confidence as we can going into the last Bledisloe in a couple of weeks.”

Bernard Foley, who had kicked 19 straight goals before the match, missed four straight before ending the night with five goals from nine attempts.

After being locked at 20-20 early in the second half, Australia produced some set-piece magic when Hooper ran off the base of a maul and passed the ball back inside to Hodge, who broke clear.

Hodge drew the final defender and passed outside to Will Genia, who sprinted over and with Foley’s conversion Australia was ahead 27-20.

Pumas lock Marcos Kremer was sin-binned for a lifting tackle in the 70th minute and Foley’s ensuing penalty gave the Wallabies a 10-point lead.

Hodge did get his second try eventually, crossing out wide with two minutes left.