Wallabies and Pumas end all square in Sydney

The Wallabies and Pumas had to settle for a 16-16 draw in their Tri-Nations encounter at Bankwest Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.

The previous Test between these sides ended in a 15-15 draw and it was a similar story in this Test which was played in horrendous weather conditions, with heavy rain prominent throughout.

In the end, both sides scored a try apiece with Bautista Delguy crossing the whitewash for the Pumas and Michael Hooper dotted down for the Wallabies.  Australia’s other points were scored by Reece Hodge, who added three penalties and a conversion.

Nicolas Sanchez kicked a penalty for Argentina, while Domingo Miotti succeeded with two three-pointers off the kicking tee and a conversion.

Both sides’ discipline let them down, however, and the Wallabies had to play the last 20 minutes with 14 men after Lukhan Salakaia-Loto was red carded for a dangerous challenge to Santiago Grondona’s face.

Australia did most of the early attacking but despite spending long periods camped inside Argentina’s half, they could not score points during the opening exchanges.

The Wallabies eventually opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Marcos Kremer was yellow carded for an illegal clear-out on James O’Connor.  Hodge slotted the resulting penalty before Sanchez restored parity with his three-pointer off the kicking tee in the 18th minute.

With rain pelting down, the next 10 minutes were scrappy, characterised by plenty of kicking for territory and both teams committed several handling errors in the wet.

In the 28th minute, it was the Wallabies’ turn to play with 14 men when Hooper was also sent to the sin bin, after he committed a similar foul to Kremer’s at a breakdown.

Sanchez was on the receiving end of Hooper’s illegal hit and the Pumas fly-half left the field for a HIA which meant Miotti came on as his replacement and on the half hour-mark the rookie pivot gave his team the lead courtesy of a penalty.

The match came alive in the 34th minute when the Pumas launched a lineout drive from inside their 22 and gained 30 metres before Felipe Ezcurra launched an attack from close to the halfway line.  He rounded Allan Alaalatoa, after selling him a dummy, before offloading to Delguy, who saw off the attentions of Hunter Paisami with a strong fend before crossing for the opening try.

That score seemed to stun the Wallabies and they went onto the attack during the closing stages of the half, but they were kept at bay thanks to a solid defensive effort from the Pumas.  Just before half-time, the visitors strayed offside on defence and Hodge added his second penalty which meant Argentina were leading 13-6 at the interval.

🌧️ FULL TIME 16 – 16. Hard conditions but we've retained the Puma Trophy. #AUSvARG @eToro #TriNations #YourTeam #OurJourney pic.twitter.com/0XYrWpdQt2

— Wallabies (@wallabies) December 5, 2020

Ten minutes into the second half the Wallabies narrowed the gap to four points courtesy of another Hodge penalty, after the Pumas were blown up for illegal scrummaging.

However, things went pear-shaped for the hosts on the hour-mark, when Salakaia-Loto was sent off for that indiscretion on Grondona, and Miotti added his second penalty to restore his side’s seven-point lead.

Despite that setback, Australia continued to attack and they received a shot in the arm in the 66th minute when Lucas Paulos received a yellow card for a professional foul close to his try-line.  Soon after, the home side launched a lineout drive from which Hooper barged over for his try and Hodge was on target with the conversion which meant the sides were deadlocked at 16-16.

That set up a tense finish and the Wallabies had a chance to win the game, when they received a penalty in the 79th minute, but just like the corresponding Test in Newcastle a fortnight ago, Hodge pushed his kick wide of the mark and the sides had to settle for the draw.

Check out the video highlights from Australia's 16-16 draw with Argentina in Sydney on Saturday.