The Wallabies played some sublime rugby — then completely capitulated

Australia scored a sublime try, using slick hands down the short side to open up a 17-point lead against Argentina inside 30 minutes in Santa Fe — they then shipped 38 unanswered points on their way to a record Test match defeat.

The Wallabies’ growing pains under Joe Schmidt continued on Sunday morning [AEST] as they saw a 20-3 lead blow out to a 67-27 defeat, as the Pumas snaffled the momentum late in the first half and never relinquished it thereafter.

The hosts played some breathtaking rugby on their way to running up the biggest score Australia has ever conceded, eclipsing the 61 points the Springboks piled on in Pretoria in 1997.

The genesis of the momentum swing? Two separate bits of brilliance from Argentina fullback Juan Cruz Mallía, both from kicks, which quickly turned a sensational piece of Australian play, kick-started by Ben Donaldson and finished by Andrew Kellaway, into a try for Mateo Carreras; the Pumas winger cutting back onto a short ball from Pablo Matera, who was typically in everything, as Argentina marked skipper’s Julian Montoya 100th Test in the grandest of fashion.

“You definitely learn a fair bit, they learn a fair bit I think as well, there was a fair bit of youth out there, particularly coming off the bench, and it was very tough period of time to play out that last 30 minutes,” Schmidt said.

“Until then, the game was very much in the balance. To lead 20-3 in the first half and then to be 20-17 at halftime, it had swung a bit but we were still in front — really disappointing to fall off the edge in that second half.”

Australia simply had no answer to the onslaught that followed Carreras’ try. The hosts added another before halftime to leave the gap at just three points, and then immediately put Australia under the pump from the resumption.

From a promising first 30 minutes when they stretched the Argentines from side to side off the back of powerful carries through the middle of the paddock from Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou and Carlo Tizzano, who grabbed Australia’s opening try, the Wallabies completely disintegrated.

What will be of chief concern for Schmidt was that his half-time substitutions added nothing; and not only was there a lack of energy, but also veterans Allan Alaalatoa and James Slipper gave away soft penalties, as the Pumas scrum established second-half ascendancy.

With their forwards rolling through the middle of the Australian defence, the Pumas backline dazzled in the open space out wide; their back-rowers, too, galloped in the wider channels. Replacement Joaquin Oviedo completed his double after fellow back-rowers Matera and Juan Martin Gonzalez had earlier grabbed five pointers.

Montoya, too, added his name to the scoresheet to cap a memorable afternoon under the Santa Fe sun, the large local crowd in raptures as their heroes ran in nine tries to etch their names into the history books – and issue a brutal reminder to Australia of just how much work they have to do yet.

Earlier, the Wallabies produced some of their finest rugby yet under the Kiwi, before they then completely crumbled under the crushing weight of a surging blue-and-white wave.

Standing in for the injured Noah Lolesio, Donaldson enjoyed several nice touches and appeared more confident in challenging the line than his fellow playmaker, while Jorgensen also showed what he was capable of playing on a dry track for the first time in his fledgling three-Test career.

But the Pumas, too, were also threatening through that period and you always had the feeling that if the passes stuck, the speed of the hosts’ recycle and their willingness to play was eventually going to garner rewards.

“I thought our discipline was good, we got the opportunity to play off a few really good, solid set-pieces, and I thought some of the running lines and timing and breakdown work was really positive,” Schmidt reflected on his team’s first 30.

“I think the biggest contrast for me was that we really struggled to win collisions in the second half, either side of the ball really, but particularly defensively. And once they had us going backwards it was very hard to stop them, either coming through the middle or as we tended to condense our defensive line, they tended to stress us on the edge.

“There were a couple of times where I thought we got the ball back and then they got it back off us and we were very much disorganised as we actually gave ourselves half a chance and then gave them the ball back and ended up chasing them around.”

Mallia’s skill — he first kept the ball in play from the Wallabies’ clearance and then raced through to field the returned high ball — after Kellaway’s try certainly started the rot for Australia, but halftime should have given the visitors a chance to regroup.

Instead, they turned the ball over cheaply immediately after the resumption when centre Len Ikitau snatched at a pass Kellaway had planned for Jorgensen. That error was compounded when Marika Koroibete casually stuck a left hand out for a Pumas clearing kick that required far more attention than the veteran winger afforded it.

Then came the first sign that the Wallabies’ scrum was going to come under significant pressure and while Australia navigated the territory and possession that followed Slipper’s set-piece indiscretion, their inability to clear their own 22 ultimately ending in Gonzalez’s five-pointer.

Then came the sequence of turnovers that Schmidt referred to.

Australia would pay a heavy price for an almost unforgiveable infringement as several players failed to retreat back downfield amid a kicking duel shortly after Gonzalez’s score.

Making matters worse was the fact that Jeremy Williams, who had earlier produced strong carries of separate restarts, picked off back-to-back lineout steals; the turnover ball however yielded nothing and when Australia were pinged for the lazy offside, Argentina’s scrum option deep inside the Wallabies 22 gave Matera the perfect platform to add his name to the scoresheet.

Had it not been for Tate McDermott’s try, which at 41-27 gave Australia a moment of respite, the Wallabies would have shipped 64 unanswered points.

The Pumas and coach Felipe Contepomi deserve plenty of credit for their attacking endeavour and execution; they did after all run in a record 38 points against the All Blacks on their home deck last month, too.

But Australia’s meek second-half resistance, and the lack of impact off the bench, will be front of mind for Schmidt on the long journey back to Australia.

With the All Blacks similarly stinging after they suffered a fourth straight loss to the Springboks for the first time in 75 years, the stage is set for an intriguing Bledisloe opener in two weeks’ time.

“It’s a good question, but I think that’s maybe one of the advantages of being quite pragmatic about it, getting the stuff that we did well, particularly in that first 30 minutes, looking to build a bit of confidence on that,” Schmidt said when gazing ahead to the trans-Tasman clash.

“And then making sure that we steel ourselves for what’s coming with some of the things we didn’t do well in that last 50. And I think the last 10 minutes, we were over-chasing the game with a young group, and there is always the risk that the score will blow out.

“But at 41-27, we’re only one score away from picking up a couple of bonus points at worst, and maybe chasing another chance at the game. But I think we just overreached at that back end and it didn’t look great in that last eight to 10 minutes.”

While Schmidt’s “pragmatism” is well known and a welcomed change from the chaos of the Eddie Jones era, rest assured that if Australia give New Zealand the opportunity to get a roll on, like they did Argentina, then a similar blowout might well be on the cards.

And the Pumas’ record could be shortlived, too.