Wallabies dedicate win to absent skipper

The Wallabies opened their Rugby Championship campaign with a rousing 41-26 victory over Argentina, dedicating the performance to absent skipper Michael Hooper.

But the win looked to have come at a huge cost with playmaker Quade Cooper believed to have ruptured an Achilles tendon, an injury which could rule him out of next year’s World Cup and possibly end the 34-year-old’s career.

Centre Len Ikitau crossed for the Wallabies’ fifth try five minutes after fulltime in Mendoza to snare a bonus point as they rallied from a 19-10 halftime deficit and piled on 31 points after the break.

The Australians entered the test without talismanic captain Hooper, who withdrew from the tour the day before the game for mental health reasons.

Stand-in skipper James Slipper said they wanted to make Hooper, who had already flown home to Australia, proud.

‘‘It’s a real proud moment for me and also the team because we really wanted to put in an effort that our fans could be proud of and also our captain Hoops,’’ Slipper said.

‘‘We were thinking about him all day and playing for him.’’

The Wallabies lost another of their most experienced players when Cooper slipped on the turf while in attack seven minutes into the second half.

The 34-year-old had already missed the losing England series with a calf strain, however the injury appeared far more serious as he was assisted from the field in obvious pain.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie praised his team’s resilience and poise after the late withdrawal of Hooper and then losing Cooper.

‘‘We created first-half opportunities that we didn’t take but I thought we were far more clinical and applied a lot more pressure [in the second half],’’ Rennie said. ‘‘I was really happy with the way we finished.

‘‘We’ve got more in us but I was really happy with the character. The thing about this group, a lot of character and courage. and they stood up.’’

The Wallabies face Argentina again this weekend in San Juan.