It was a record obliteration, a nightmare defeat low-lighted by a half hour from hell. But the Wallabies must take heart from three good halves of football in Argentina and try to forget the final one that cost them 50 points in 33 minutes on Sunday. At least that’s the message from coach Joe Schmidt after Australia’s spectacular implosion in Santa Fe.
The 67-27 beatdown – the most points scored against the Wallabies in 125 years – is all the more demoralising for the fact Schmidt’s men looked so comfortably in control early in the Test. After 29 minutes they were up 20-3 and, despite letting Los Pumas in for two tries before the break, still had their noses in front 20-17 at half-time.
But after 47 minutes they fell into a pattern familiar for the long-suffering fan base. Simple skill errors, possession kicked away, collisions lost, and soft penalties gifted. Los Pumas smelt the panic and pounced, crossing for seven slick tries in a horror half hour, scoring 37 unanswered points and blowing the Wallabies to kingdom come.
The loss scuppers Australia’s quest to win consecutive away Tests and send a warning shot to the world that they can again be a threat to the top sides. Instead of a victory lifting them to second in the Rugby Championship, they now sit in last place and with any confidence they might now overturn 20 years of Bledisloe Cup pain all but zapped to zero.
Unlike his side in Santa Fe, Schmidt isn’t panicking. “Records are going to happen,” the coach shrugged. “I mean, no team has ever scored 38 points against the All Blacks in New Zealand. That’s what [Los Pumas] can do. They can score quickly on the back of really powerful ball carriers, athletic backs and smart passing and linking play.”
Those very same factors initially powered Australia to a position of dominance.
In the early clinches Angus Bell and Harry Wilson made powerful charges, Jeremy Williams’ aerial skills dominated the restarts and Matt Faessler’s fast darts to Nick Frost weaponised the lineout. In the backs, Jake Gordon and Ben Donaldson were damaging in the halves, and Max Jorgensen and Andrew Kellaway lethal on the edges.
But the second-half absence of Bell and lock Nick Frost hurt the Wallabies, with scrum veterans Allan Alaalatoa and James Slipper, in his record-equalling 139th Test, badly exposed in defence and discipline. Even powerhouse winger Marika Koroibete, 32, was made to look ordinary, forced into touch at full tilt and guilty of fumbles and missed tackles.
Australia soon stopped winning collisions and, with fast hands and 17 offloads to two, Argentina shredded them up the middle and then out wide. “We were very much disorganised,” Schmidt said. “It was frustrating because we actually gave ourselves half a chance but then gave them the ball back and ended up chasing them around.”
Under Schmidt, Australia’s set-piece has improved – they won 100% of their scrums and lineouts in Santa Fe, and even stole two of the latter. But the composure that squeaked them home in the 20-19 victory at La Plata last week deserted them in the Santa Fe frenzy as they conceded 11 penalties – 10 in their own half – and a yellow card.
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“As soon as you’re not making the first tackle, you’re scrambling to make the second or third and they’re through your line, and it’s very hard to plug the holes after that,” Schmidt said. “Once they had us going backwards, it was hard to stop them coming through the middle [and] as we condensed our defensive line, they stretched us out.”
Reflecting on the 17-point first-half lead that became a 40-point deficit at full-time, a “gutted” Wallabies captain Wilson admitted the Santa Fe smash-up will leave scars. “It hurts all of us [but] we’ve got to take this feeling and use it for motivation,” he said. “We’re going to regroup, have a few days off and get ready to rip into the All Blacks.”
That date with destiny – or demolition – comes on 21 and 28 September in Sydney and Wellington respectively. Can Australia snap 21 consecutive series of Bledisloe Cup defeat? Schmidt believes so: “I’m not going to bury the squad on the basis that one half is well beyond expectations. I think the team are building a real pride in what they deliver.”
But pride won’t be enough against a wounded New Zealand side beaten 18-12 by South Africa on Saturday – the Springbok’s fourth-straight win over the All Blacks, a 75-year first. The Rugby Championship may be gone for Scott Robertson’s young team but you can bet they will fire up against the old enemy and Kiwi compatriot Schmidt.
