Argentina stun Australia with late try, NZ coach Ian Foster delights in Rugby C’ship win over S. Africa

SYDNEY/AUCKLAND – Juan Martin Gonzalez scored a late winner, as Argentina shocked Australia 34-31 in the Rugby Championship on Saturday, to leave the Wallabies in disarray and without a win two games into the second Eddie Jones era.

Australia had scored two quick tries late in the game to overturn a 10-point deficit and take a 31-27 lead with five minutes remaining but the Pumas’ loose forward dived over a ruck on the Wallabies line to secure a famous victory.

Cheered on by a small but noisy band of their compatriots at the same Parramatta Stadium where they first beat the All Blacks in 2020, the Pumas grabbed only a third win over the Wallabies on Australian soil.

Samu Kerevi, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Len Ikitau and Nic White scored Australia’s tries, while Jeronimo de la Fuente, skipper Julian Montoya and Mateo Carreras also crossed for the Pumas.

But Jones insisted that his team can turn the corner by the time they meet the All Blacks in a fortnight. The former England and Japan coach said he was convinced the Wallabies remained on the right path and that their fortunes could change quickly.

“Sometimes what you’re doing doesn’t come out in performance and it takes another game or one moment in the game,” he said.

Talking about the positives in the performance, Jones praised the team for battling, but noted how they were a bit like an old car at the moment.

“You fix the handbrake and then the next day the windscreen wipers break and we’re a bit like that at the moment,” he said.

“Last week our set piece wasn’t good, this week our set piece was good. Last week we didn’t attack, this week we did attack but our decision making around the ball was poor.”

Argentina coach Michael Cheika, meanwhile, was not getting carried away and said he would have been happy even if the Pumas had not scored a late try. 

“What we were looking for was improvements from what happened last week,” he said, referring to their 41-12 humbling at home by All Blacks.

Earlier, attitude and execution were the keys to New Zealand’s comprehensive 35-20 bonus-point victory over South Africa in Auckland, as coach Ian Foster praised his players for withstanding a second-half onslaught.

New Zealand were exhilarating as they raced into a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, the Springboks unable to handle their power and high-tempo game.

South Africa clawed their way back into the contest and trailed by eight points just past the hour-mark, until the All Blacks turned the screw again for a deserved victory that lays down a marker ahead of the World Cup in France.

The win followed an equally impressive success in Mendoza last weekend and left Foster with one hand on the trophy in this truncated three-game competition.

New Zealand captain Sam Cane saw a step up in performance. “We’re pleased to see improvement from last week, but we know we’ve still got a way to go from where we want to be,” he said.

Foster added on Sky Sports: “We have a lot of respect for South Africa and to put that scoreline on them... they turned it into a real arm-wrestle but I love the way we started, hung in there and then finished strong in the last quarter.”

Several New Zealand players impressed, but loose forward Shannon Frizell was immense and scored a barn-storming try in the first half when he ran over Bok fullback Willie le Roux.

“Shannon has answered a lot of critics and he should be really proud of that game tonight, he was outstanding,” Foster said.

His opposite number Jacques Nienaber said the world champions were punished for a poor opening spell.

He said: “You can’t start like that. You can’t give away so many penalties and errors. I am proud of the way the guys came back in the second half, but we let it slip in the first 20 minutes.”

The All Blacks travel to Australia for their final Rugby Championship fixture on July 29, before they host the Wallabies in a second Bledisloe Cup contest a week later. REUTERS, AFP