Wallabies' killer instinct eventually emerges in win over Pumas
Michael Cheika’s grin stretched from ear to ear. And who could blame him? The Wallabies had just beaten Argentina 45-20 in chilly Canberra on Saturday night, their first win in the Rugby Championship and their first victory against anyone since beating Italy in June.
After challenging the All Blacks in Dunedin and drawing with the Springboks in Perth, the Pumas offered the Wallabies an opportunity to learn how to win again and they took it, scoring six tries to two, including a double to fullback Israel Folau.
But this is a win that needs to be put into perspective. The Pumas are the 10th-ranked team in world rugby. Argentina has a policy of not selecting its Europe-based players, who are some of its best. They have recorded just one win this year, against minnows Georgia in July.
This Test was non-negotiable for the Wallabies. Losing to Argentina on Australian soil for the first time since 1983 would not have been tolerated by a disenchanted rugby public.
Yet, at half-time former Australia captain and current Australian Rugby Union director John Eales claimed the Pumas had the blueprint to beat the Wallabies. Argentina led 13-10 at half-time after successfully attacking the transition zone close to the ruck with hard, straight running and short passing.
The Wallabies missed 17 tackles in the first half, Cheika admitting they were lucky to be behind by only three points. If they were playing the All Blacks, they would have been down by 30. But the second half gave the Wallabies a chance to demonstrate a quality that most observers believed they lacked, a killer instinct.
Cheika often talks about identity, but this Wallabies team has multiple personalities or at least dual personalities.
The Wallabies were appalling in the first half, their attack let down by poor handling skills and simple errors. Their kicking game was also very ordinary: either aimless or misdirected, it was hard to tell.
There was one touch of brilliance from the Wallabies in the first half when Folau scored in the 28th minute after an attacking movement that swept from one side of the field to the other and involved several pairs of hands. It was really quite beautiful and showed what the Wallabies were capable of, but it was just a fleeting moment in an otherwise unimpressive display.
Cheika claimed he did not have to saying anything to the players at half-time. Instead, he asked them what they thought was wrong and they replied a lack of urgency. Coincidentally, that was exactly the problem the coach had identified. Great minds think alike.
The Wallabies increased their urgency in the second half and looked like a completely different team. And they were. The difference between the Wallabies’ play in the first half and the second half had nothing to do with any great tactical manoeuvres or rousing motivational speeches. They simply held onto the ball, that’s what did the trick.
It took the Wallabies only 12 minutes to gain control of the game, leading 24-13 after tries to prop Sekope Kepu and Folau. Midway through the second half the Wallabies’ scramble defence denied the Pumas a try in the right hand corner. That was the game. Argentina was never coming back from there.
The Pumas are only a 60-minute team. They have been outscored 80-6 in the last 20 minutes of their previous Tests this year. It was all over, but the question was would the Wallabies relax? They didn’t, putting the Argentinians to the sword with the kind of ruthlessness the All Blacks are renowned for.
So which Wallabies team will show up in Bloemfontein when they play the Springboks in two weeks? And which South African team for
that matter after the Springboks’ 57-0 loss to the All Blacks in Albany last Saturday.
The answer to the latter question can be found in the Wallabies’ own experience. After their 54-34 loss to the All Blacks in Sydney the Australians rebounded to nearly pull off a major upset against New Zealand in Dunedin. That is the response the Wallabies should expect from the Springboks.
As for the Wallabies, if the team that played the first half against Argentina shows up in Bloemfontein, they will lose, but if it is the team that played the second half, they might just have a chance to record a rare win at altitude.
And that would certainly be something to smile about.