Best of 2020: Looking back at the two upset wins from the Tri Nations
The Tri Nations was in itself an event which transcended sport, as it brought three nations together in a year without precedent due to the impact of COVID-19. New Zealand, Argentina and hosts Australia competed on the field, with the title race going down to the wire.
While all three teams were competitive, it was the All Blacks who ultimately claimed the crown.
The men in black got their Tri Nations campaign off to a fantastic start in Sydney, recording a 38-point win over the Wallabies. But back-to-back losses so nearly ended their hopes of winning the competition until other results went their way.
Even though the All Blacks have the trophy tucked away, both the Wallabies and Pumas had famous wins which need to be celebrated in their own right. Here are the two significant upset wins from the Tri Nations, and my view on what made them special.
Resilient Wallabies beat All Blacks in Brisbane
Across the first three Bledisloe Cup fixtures, the All Blacks simply went from strength to strength each week. They survived a shock in Wellington, managing to leave with a draw, before claiming a win the week after at Eden Park.
In the first test between the Trans-Tasman rivals in Australia though, the All Blacks were very impressive, which resulted in a record 38-point win. The victory also saw the men in black hold onto the Bledisloe Cup for an 18th straight year.
With the odds very much against them going into Bledisloe IV, the Wallabies had one last chance to avoid a clean sweep.
Utility Reece Hodge was named to start at flyhalf while Tom Wright was also a notable inclusion on the wing. It only took a couple of minutes for the two to help hand the advantage to the hosts. After Hodge put a kick through, Tom Banks collected the ball on the bounce before passing it to Wright who scored with his first touch on debut.
While the All Blacks managed to respond soon after through Rieko Ioane, the Wallabies regained their lead in the 22nd minute (8-5). But just a minute later, the match took a dramatic turn when All Blacks prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi accidentally hit Wright high with a tackle attempt – and was shown a red card soon after.
But 12-minutes later, after the visitors had drawn level, Lachlan Swinton became the first debutant in Wallabies history to be shown a red card on debut. Winger Marika Koroibete was also shown a yellow card just before the break, seeing the Wallabies go down to 13-men.
But the Wallabies didn’t panic, they even managed to take the lead through a Hodge penalty just before their star winger returned to the park.
After conceding a try, another Reece Hodge penalty saw the Wallabies trail 14-15 with just over 20-minutes to play.
But there was to be one more card in this test match which gave the Wallabies all the momentum, with All Blacks lock Scott Barrett shown a yellow card for a cynical foul. Less than 90 seconds of gameplay later, Hodge converted a penalty from close range to give his side a two-point lead.
A try to powerful prop Taniela Tupou with just over five and a half minutes to play was the icing on the cake for the Wallabies, who led by as much as nine before All Black Tupou Vaa’i scored just before full-time.
With time up on the clock, then 20-year-old Noah Lolesio (turned 21 on the 18th of December) kicked the ball into the stands to cement a famous win. The Suncorp crowd were sent into a frenzy; the cheer that was let out by Australian fans at full-time was incredibly loud and proud – and was also a great recognition of the resilience of the players who’d overcome plenty of doubt to record the famous win.
Full-time: Australia 24 – New Zealand 22
Pumas’ first-ever win over All Blacks
Los Pumas made incredible sacrifices to even be in Australia, but their commitment to the sport and their desire to represent their country was there for all to see. Incredible videos emerged of Pumas players training while in lockdown and quarantine, that showed both the restrictions that they faced, but also the innovative spirit and commitment to compete.
Fuimos capaces de hacer esto y mucho más. Somos capaces de honrar la camiseta de @lospumas. #PorLaVuelta#VamosLosPumas pic.twitter.com/bxkkY9h2Pu
— Los Pumas (@lospumas) November 13, 2020
Once they got out of quarantine in Sydney, they faced a Rugby Australia XV twice and won on both occasions. But their biggest test would be their match against the All Blacks, a team they had never beaten, culminating with the fact that they’d also not played an international match for more than 400 days.
Flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez was the standout performer from the match, scoring all of his sides 25-points. He opened his account with a penalty from halfway early on, before scoring what turned out to be the Pumas’ only try of the match 19-mintues in.
Playing with a penalty advantage, the Argentinian pivot opted for a kick and chase. He managed to retrieve the kick and score under the posts.
The underdogs were also boosted by the defensive performance of Marcos Kremer, who made a monstrous 26 tackles.
Incredibly the Argentinians made 156 tackles in the game.
The flyhalf simply took his chances with the boot, with his side leading 16-3 at half-time. One penalty extended their lead to 16, before All Blacks captain Sam Cane crossed in the 53rd minute.
With only a few minutes left on the clock, and with the Pumas leading by 12, Sanchez stepped up and converted a long-range penalty to make it a three-score game.
The match was well and truly over at this point.
A Caleb Clarke try after the siren was mere consolation for the All Blacks, who had been outplayed for a majority of the test match.
The scenes after the match were unbelievable as well, with the Argentinian fans, coaching staff and players rightfully celebrating this historic feat. Not only was this their first-ever win over the All Blacks, but considering the sacrifices, this was truly a special moment for the team and the country.
Sanchez earned justifiable praise after his performance, which was nearly identical to a unique piece of Argentinian rugby history. Pumas legend Hugo Porta scored 21-points in a draw with the All Blacks in 1985, all of his side’s points, much like Sanchez at Bankwest Stadium.
For the All Blacks, the loss also brought with it more unwanted history as they recorded not only their first-ever loss to the Pumas, but also back-to-back losses for the first time since 2011.
Full-time: New Zealand 15 – Argentina 25
Comments on RugbyPass
Pot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
19 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
4 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
19 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
19 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
19 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
1 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
19 Go to commentsSA sides should do the right thing and leave the champions cup, they are lowering the standard with completely one sided games, not up to the right level. The greatest club tournament in the world is being banjaxed by the weak SA sides.
19 Go to commentsCouldnt agree more. SA sides need to show more committment and really have a go at the Champions Cup. Its quite possibly the most prestigious title in Europe and SA sides need to respect that prestige and serve up their best. EPCR needs to do more to ensure that sides from South Africa and sides travelling to and from SA have a better chance in this competition. The Bulls were put in a really difficult position of having to travel there and back in one week. One could argue that this is what the SA sides signed up for and that La Rochelle didnt complain or send out weakened sides despite having to travel to SA and back and play on successive weekends but surely the situation is also unfair on La Rochelle as well and so EPCR needs to think about successive gameweeks and the travel effect of the competition
19 Go to comments