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Argentina secure second successive win in warm-up fixture against Rugby Australia XV

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

A Rugby Australia XV including Wallabies Fraser McReight, Isi Naisarani and Joe Powell has been beaten 57-24 by Argentina in Sydney as the visitors gear up for their first test since 2019’s Rugby World Cup.

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In a game of three 30-minute periods, Mario Ledesma’s Pumas piled on the tries at a closed Leichhardt Oval against a team of fringe Wallabies and a selection of players from the NSW Waratahs and other clubs.

No.8 Naisarani was a standout for Australia, scoring two tries and lending a powerful physical presence.

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Argentina play their first match of the three-nation Rugby Championship next weekend against New Zealand in Sydney, having prepared for a month and completed a two-week quarantine under COVID-19 rules.

They will take on the Wallabies on November 21 in Newcastle, with a return match scheduled for December 5 at Sydney’s Bankwest Stadium.

Australia and New Zealand opened their Rugby Championship campaigns last week, with the All Blacks thrashing the Wallabies 43-5 in Sydney to clinch the Bledisloe Cup.

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cw 8 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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