Wallabies slump to 34-31 loss to Argentina’s Pumas in The Rugby Championship

The Wallabies’ World Cup preparations lay in tatters after a demoralising 34-31 Rugby Championship loss to Argentina in Sydney.

A last-gasp try to Pumas number eight Juan Martín González broke Australian hearts after recalled winger Mark Nawaqanitawase appeared to have saved the Wallabies’ blushes with a 95-metre intercept try with five minutes remaining on Saturday night.

A risky selection call from coach Eddie Jones hurt Australia badly as former Wallabies mentor Michael Cheika masterminded the historic Pumas victory at Western Sydney Stadium.

Jones faces the grim prospect of taking the Wallabies to France for this year’s global showpiece without a win.

Unless Australia can rebound from the defeat to the Pumas and a 43-12 hammering at the hands of South Africa with success in either of their two looming Bledisloe Cup clashes with the All Blacks, Jones will be winless in his second coming as Wallabies coach heading to the World Cup in France this October.

Early on, Jones’s five team changes from last week’s pounding in Pretoria looked like a masterstroke as Nawaqanitawase, Samu Kerevi and Will Skelton all excelled to help the Wallabies to their 10-0 lead.

A quick tap and sharp footwork from Nawaqanitawase put Australia deep on the attack and — with the Pumas defence stretched — Quade Cooper found Kerevi lurking out wide and the centre’s inside ball was enough for Len Ikitau to dive over in the corner in the fourth minute.

But the try came at a huge cost, with Ikitau forced off shortly after with a shoulder injury sustained while scoring and sent to hospital for scans.

His departure and having no outside backs on the bench forced the Wallabies into a reshuffle with Carter Gordon’s introduction at inside centre breaking up the potent Cooper-Kerevi midfield partnership.

The entire complexion of the match changed.

Suddenly the Wallabies’ attack was clunky and disjointed while Cooper and Gordon defensively looked vulnerable alongside each other.

Gordon tried his heart out and was only denied a breakout try by a desperate ankle tap, but the 22-year-old was playing out of position in the biggest match of his life.

The Wallabies found themselves hanging on at half-time and a player down after Richie Arnold’s yellow card for deliberately slowing the ball down.

The Pumas had fought their way back into the match through a try to fullback Emiliano Boffelli, who converted and added a penalty to leave the match evenly poised at 10-10 at the interval.

The visitors hit the front for the first time when hooker Julian Montoya forced his way over five minutes into the second half before Wallabies halfback Nic White darted over to level the scores again.

When winger Mateo Carreras beat a fatiguing Dave Porecki to score out wide in the 68th minute, Argentina led 26-17.

But a Kerevi try, then Nawaqanitawase’s rousing solo effort had Wallabies fans in raptures before the Pumas snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

AAP