Wallabies player ratings vs Pumas | Rugby Championship
It proved to be an arm wrestle of an affair between Australia and Argentina at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday evening, as the Rugby Championship entered its final stages. The Wallabies entered the clash looking to build upon their recent good form in the tournament, whilst Los Pumas aimed to take something tangible from the positive glimpses they had shown in previous weeks.
Whilst an early penalty attempt from Argentina winger Emiliano Boffelli drifted wide, it served to set the tone for the match to come as Argentina refused to let the Wallabies get away from them. It was the Wallabies who ultimately demonstrated clinical edge however, as following a period of strong defence, Samu Kerevi surged upfield, setting the basis for an Australian attack. Reece Hodge proved the beneficiary, neatly finding his way to the line to take the Wallabies to a 7-0 lead, with Quade Cooper adding the extras.
Cooper was on hand with a piece of brilliance soon after, his deft grubber in behind the defensive line claimed by Len Ikitau, leading to Kerevi powering his way over from 3m out a phase later and take the Wallabies to a 14-0 lead. Boffelli did grab three points back for Argentina as his side looked to work their way back into the game but it was Australia, through Cooper, who enjoyed the last points of the half, heading in with a 17-3 lead.
It was Argentina who came out firing in the second half, a fantastically worked lineout maul seeing Julián Montoya dot down to bring the score back to 17-8. The Wallabies however soon found another level, as Argentina, not helped by a yellow card to flanker Marcos Kremer, started to see the Wallabies pull away.
The necessary impact came in the form of Dave Rennie’s substitutions, a change of pace provided by the likes of James O’Connor, in the side for the first time in 2021, proving decisive. O’Connor claimed a penalty and an assist in a try for Andrew Kellaway as the match finished 27-8, taking the Wallabies to second in the Rugby Championship table.
Here’s how the Wallabies rated:
1. James Slipper – 6.5/10
Took the charge to Los Pumas, trucking it up in attack when asked. Got into his work at scrum time and exerted his dominance over Santiago Medrano throughout the night, drawing the set piece penalty from his counterpart on several occasions. Off after 52 minutes.
2. Folau Fainga’a – 6.5
Played a large role as part of a generally very positive night at scrum time for the Wallabies, although did fall foul of a few set piece penalties. Made good metres with ball in hand, but not his best night at lineout time as Argentina looked to compete aggressively. Off after 71 minutes.
3. Taniela Tupou – 8
Another big night of aggressive carries for the 25-year-old as he made the most metres and beat the most defenders of any Wallaby forward on the night. A crucial part of how the Wallabies were able to gain attacking momentum and stayed energetic throughout. Equally as devastating in defence and enjoyed a strong performance at scrum time. Off after 67 minutes.
4. Izack Rodda – 8
A very handy performance from the Western Force man, running effective blocker lines as part of his pods and managing the rolling maul well. Showed great energy across the park, working hard to make every breakdown and put in a big shift in defence notching up ten tackles.
'I don’t know if it was Rugby Australia, SANZAAR or whatever, but it’s just disrespectful' ?#AUSvARG #RugbyChampionship https://t.co/k2LR4lQnla
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 25, 2021
5. Matt Philip – 7.5
Put in a big defensive shift on the night and showed off an impressive skillset in attack with a couple of nicely timed passes. Fronted up to a scrappy and aggressive Los Pumas at lineout time. Off after 61 minutes.
6. Rob Leota – 6
Made a handful of big carries in this, his first start for the Wallabies. , but mainly found himself involved in Australia’s link play, providing several nice passes as part of Australia’s screening pods. Off after 52 minutes.
7. Michael Hooper – 7
Not at his influential best on the night but still carried time and time again for his side, illustrating an unwavering work rate. Conceded a couple of early penalties, but on the whole performed his duties in both defence and attack.
8. Rob Valetini – 8.5
Put in some very good hits early on and worked in tandem with Hooper defensively. Continued in these efforts throughout, racking up the most tackles for any Wallaby on the night and in attack was fearless in the carry. Also offered crucial variation at lineout time.
9. Nic White – 6.5
Marshalled the Australian attack well, varying the speed of ball as required around the park and showing some nice touches. Made a good defensive contribution from the edges as he looked generally to make a nuisance of himself. Did unfortunately have a bit of a brain fade in forgetting that the base of the post is no longer fair game for a try under the laws. Off after 57 minutes.
10. Quade Cooper – 8
Looked to play on the front foot and seemed to have time in abundance on the ball to really pick his options – often enjoying great return from his choices. Once again showed his capabilities as a game manager, scanning and assessing play constantly in attack and defence. Perfect off the tee. Off after 57 minutes.
11. Marika Koroibete – 7
Ran hard with ball in hand and also ably demonstrated the variety of his skillset with a few nice passes and territorial kicks, showcasing a real completeness to his game. Also on hand to provide a few of his trademark big hits.
12. Samu Kerevi – 9
So often able to provide the vital injection of pace and directness to really get the Wallabies attack moving forwards, straightening the line and punching holes in the Argentinian defence. Beat the most defenders and made the most metres of any Wallaby on the night. Took a well deserved try of his own from close quarters in the first half, showing both strength and presence of mind to crash over and dot down quickly.
13. Len Ikitau – 9
Showed excellent defensive communication with Kerevi and Cooper throughout. Was selfless in attack, prepared to run the necessary lines and give the ball at the right time to maintain the speed and directness of Australia’s play. Made a couple of great attacking surges late on as the Wallabies went in search of a bonus point try.
14. Andrew Kellaway – 8.5
Worked well early on in the defensive pendulum with his back three. Also provided a nice bit of variation to the Wallabies backline, popping up at first receiver on several occasions and generally looking to get stuck in with ball in hand going on a few nice runs. Gained 85m and grabbed his fifth career try in eight tests, narrowly missing out on his sixth.
Tempers flare in Townsville ?#AUSvARG | Credit: @SkySportsRugby pic.twitter.com/jprPnSEq8P
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 25, 2021
15. Reece Hodge – 7.5
Showed great impetus to bust through a tackle and fleetness of foot to step inside the final defender for the Wallabies first score. Consistently provided himself as a second playmaker in attack, regularly linking up with those around him and bringing directness and structure to the game. Off after 73 minutes.
Replacements
16. Feleti Kaitu’u – n/a
On after 71 minutes. Had a few wobbles at lineout time.
17. Angus Bell – 6.5
On after 52 minutes. Carried the ball hard at close quarters when required and enjoyed the defensive side of things.
18. Tom Robertson – n/a
On after 67 minutes. Provided a few good pieces of work in the closing stages.
19. Darcy Swain – 7.5
On after 61 minutes. Brought superb impact to the Wallabies lineout, both defensively and in attack, taking the fight to Argentina in this area. Also provided himself as a big ball carrying option in the latter stages.
20. Pete Samu – 7
On after 52 minutes. A work horse at ruck time, as he sought out the breakdown with devastating effect. Also on hand with a few surging attacking runs in the second half.
21. Tate McDermott – 6
On after 57 minutes. Along with O’Connor, was the injection of pace that the Wallabies needed in the final quarter of the game. Looked to attack the line but perhaps suffered from an overly scrappy closing stage.
22. James O’Connor – 7.5
On after 57 minutes. Came on and provided instant impact, taking the ball to the line with pace and showing a great range of passes, one of which being a neat inside ball, the assist for Kellaway’s try. Perfect off the tee.
23. Jordan Petaia – n/a
On after 73 minutes and had a good run.
Comments on RugbyPass
Does a blitz defence not have a weekness against a well-placed grubber kick, perhaps angled cleverly. All the defence is up and the full-back can only cover so much ground. Thoughts?
28 Go to commentsWhile Iose is destructive in the Canes set-up, he is not big for an international 8 and could struggle against the top teams. With his speed, he could be developed into a seven but, as Ben points out, he doesn’t show a scavenging game with the Canes or make dominating tackles. Sotutu has shown a step up this year and attitude plus motivation seems to be the big areas of growth. Deserves another AB shot imo.
3 Go to commentsNaholo is my only question mark for this side. He wasn’t the only one who had a forgettable game against the Brumbies but he was passive, defensively poor and generally lacked energy. Needs to get a whole lot busier for me. I would have liked to see Sullivan on that wing with Higgins on the bench (if staying with a 6-2 as BeegMike points out on here!)
3 Go to commentsWell, I am sure that Eben said exactly what he meant to say, exactly how he meant to say it. Does he strike you as a man that doesn't know arrogance when he sees it. He should know it because he has shaken the arrogance out of many foes before.
130 Go to commentsPls get it into your thick arrogant heads that the final was played by two Southern Hemisphere teams. The best against the best and that Argentina was just unlucky otherwise non of the Northetn Hemisphere teams would have seen the light of day.
130 Go to commentsAs long as New Zealand youth are involved in sport they are passionate for, and are well supported, it’s all good. I love league as well as rugby. NRL clubs have long since scouted the First 15 competitions, the NH and Japan scout super rugby and NPC. It’s a miracle there’s any players left for the all blacks to pick from.
4 Go to commentsI'm a Bok fan, so I don't say this lightly, but he is one of my all time favourite players. I am really going to miss watching him play. Thanks for many great memories. You are a true legend of the game.
3 Go to commentsBest way to deal with all of this is to play another game.
130 Go to commentsIt’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
5 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
5 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
3 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
130 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
3 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
4 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to comments