3 hours ago
1
5. Tom Hooper – 6.5
Like Williams, Hooper was industrious and tackled with some sting in the opening half. But was also needed to dent the line more his ball carrying and give the Wallabies front-foot ball.
6. Rob Valetini – 8
Outstanding performance in a beaten side, with a team-high 13 carries and 44 run metres. The Pumas defence was skittled at times. Valetini was also the Wallabies’ top tackler with 17 and was one of only a few that matched Argentina’s physicality at the line.
Rob Valetini steamrolls Mateo Carreras in Sydney.Credit: Getty Images
7. Fraser McReight -7
Could barely stand after a huge shift, in attack and defence. Several times McReight stopped the visitors from sneaking through half-gaps created by the Pumas’ quick ruck speed. It dulled his ball-stealing impact but there were still a couple of key turnovers.
8. Harry Wilson – 7
Busy as ever, with plenty of work on both sides of the ball. But the skipper had a frustrating day trying to understand the actions of referee and his team, and keep his side on the straight-and-narrow as they grew more and more impatient. It’s not all on Wilson as captain, but the Wallabies leaders did need to address the ill-discipline and make smarter decisions much earlier.
Nic White was busy as ever at Allianz Stadium.Credit: Getty Images
9. Nic White 6.5
Some typically smart involvements – including an intercept on a Pumas’ second wave attack shape – and also typically brave defence. Injured a shoulder when bringing down a big lock and was replaced at half-time.
10. Tane Edmed – 5
Thrown into the hot seat in his run-on debut – and got a bit singed. Edmed had a tough afternoon with several clangers, including a charged down free kick that led to the Puma’s only try, and a knock on from a line restart after a mix-up with White. A lovely 50-22 kick balanced out some of the negatives and so did generally good game management, but it was a definitely a learning afternoon for Edmed. Rated as “solid” by Schmidt post-game.
11. Corey Toole 5.5
Unusually the Wallabies built a gameplan around kicking high-balls, and restarts, for Toole to contest, but it mostly didn’t pay off – with the Pumas winning the aerial battle throughout the game. Toole worked so hard he amazingly didn’t have the gas to scorch away in the second half, and was replaced soon after.
12. Hunter Paisami – 6
Reminded how damaging he can be with powerhouse runs in all parts of the field, but also undid most of his good work with silly offloads that gave the ball back to the Pumas. With strong defence and some nice handling, it was a mostly impressive showing, though, given Paisami hasn’t played in 10 weeks.
13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii – 7.5
One of the few players who matched their top-shelf effort from Townsville. Suaalii scored a superb opening try by beating three defenders, and routinely showed nice touches in the midfield and dangerous attacking runs. Got isolated a few times but was looking for involvement.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was a constant threat.Credit: Getty Images
14. Max Jorgensen – 5.5
Quiet afternoon for the wonderkid, who spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin after a failed intercept attempt. It was a tough call but like it or lump it, referees are hot on that play and even in those instinctive moments, an attempt to use two hands is key.
15. Andrew Kellaway – 7
An evergreen performance from Kellaway, who repeatedly found himself in open space with a deceptive turn of pace and a nice fend. He laid on Suaalii’s try but was otherwise one of only a few who didn’t chance a risky offload. Scored a nice try late, before gave a shonky pass for the last try which was laughably ruled backwards.
Australia’s Andrew Kellaway fends off Argentina’s Julian Montoya.Credit: AP
RESERVES
16. Josh Nasser – 5
Didn’t feature prominently in his short time on the field but it was also a last quarter of quasi-touch football, which isn’t the natural environment of a tight forward.
17. Angus Bell – 6
Tried hard to bring the energy and run with venom, and had one superb run into space. But it ended up as coughed up possession due to a low-percentage offload, one a couple of mistakes that relieved pressure on the Pumas. Bell is a specialist in finding seams in the defence when Australia are rolling, and Argentina’s muscle at the line meant the ball was mostly slow.
Angus Bell pushing an offload which was knocked on.Credit: AP
18. Zane Nonnggor – 5
Limited impact. Couple of handling errors when the Wallabies were trying to get momentum flowing, but he was far from alone in that.
19. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – 6
Waited a long time to get his teeth stuck back into Test rugby, and tried to bring the muscle in defence with a couple of dominant shots.
20. Carlo Tizzano – 5.5
Solid given he was asked to move to No.12 for most of his short time on the field, after an injury to Paisami, and his role was limited to hard carrying.
21. Tate McDermott – 7
Loading
Yet another assured performance from the bench from McDermott, who is fast becoming a leader of the Wallabies. There is no coincidence McDermott is on when the Wallabies are at their best in second halves, and with the prospect of only young tens by his side, he is a hugely valuable player.
22. James O’Connor – 7
Another highly impressive injection from the bench in the last half-hour, and yet again the Wallabies fightback was done with the veteran on the field, not only with good skills but also marshalling the attack with good communication.
23. Filipo Daugunu – 6.5
Scored two tries in his first Test appearance since the Fiii Test, and while only one of them was legitimate, it was a nice reminder of Daugunu’s finishing ability.
