AUSSIES WALLOP PUMAS
“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 showdown on October 21.
Australia were pummelled 40-0 by New Zealand in the first half of the first Championship and Bledisloe game in Sydney in August.
They won the second half, eventually beaten 54-34, then narrowly lost the return match 35-29 in Dunedin in the final minute, and have been undefeated since, with two draws against South Africa and two wins over the Pumas.
Yet with the clear improvements made since the horror show at ANZ Stadium, they’re still facing a team that went undefeated in TRC and have not lost to Australia since August 2015, so can they really win the dead rubber at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium?
“We’ll see in two weeks won’t we?” Hooper said.
“I’ve been impressed with the commitment not by just 1-15 but 1-30 and even the guys that did come to BA (Buenos Aires), everyone is putting their hand up for selection.
“That’s what’s going to get us results going forward.
“Who gets the privilege to play that game in two weeks will have to do a job. I’m excited to turn up for that week in the Gold Coast and face these guys on the Saturday in Brisbane.”
The Wallabies defeated Argentina five tries to two after the teams were locked at 13-all at halftime.
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.”