Australia v Argentina
8:00pm Saturday 16 September
GIO Stadium, Canberra
Here are the big issues facing the Wallabies as they tackle the Argentinians this weekend.
Are we there yet?
Can the Wallabies ever put a complete performance together? It seems that each week they fix an issue from the week before, but have problems somewhere else. Fix the restarts, but forget how to throw straight. Tighten the scrum, but lose the breakdown. It must be maddening for Michael Cheika and his staff, but this is the frustration with this Wallabies team. In patches, they play as well as any team in the world, but those patches don’t come nearly often enough to be able to turn potential into results. Blowing two sizeable leads in as many weeks will be worrying for the team as well, and there must be a compulsion to keep the foot on the throat of the Pumas for the entire 80 minutes.
Puma power
Don’t underestimate this Argentinian team, though. A half time lead against an admittedly experimental All Blacks outfit last week was well earned, and it was only in the final 20 minutes that the scoreboard started to flatter the Kiwis. It would be unwise of the Wallabies to expect anything less than another physical, challenging confrontation this week in Canberra. The Wallabies will also need to watch their discipline, as Emiliano Boffelli showed the Pumas have long range penalty strike power at their disposal. Sitting 0-3 in the Rugby Championship, the Argentinians will know this is their best chance to get a win on the road. Australia should be wary.
Long lost stability
It seems like an age since the Wallabies fielded such a stable line-up over multiple games. With only one change to this week’s starting XV, and a couple of new faces on the bench, it seems that Cheika has settled on most of his first choice players for now. Since the end of the 2015 World Cup, the building of depth has been high on his list of priorities, and he has used a rotation and reward policy that has meant we rarely saw combinations working together for long. There are still deficiencies in the team, most notably the perseverance with an underwhelming Ned Hannigan in an unbalanced and outgunned backrow, but at least we are giving these players a chance to put some games back to back and hopefully improve. In other team news, Jordan Uelese’s strong debut has kept Stephen Moore in the grandstands, and big Izack Rodda gets another crack on the bench. Former NRL flyer Marika Koroibete is an interesting choice on the bench, given his lack of versatility, but this match might be the ideal opportunity to hand him a debut.
King Kurtley
How about the return of Kurtley Beale? Australia’s best player over the opening three matches, there is no doubt he has improved during his time overseas, and now combines the spark we knew he had with a mature game management approach when required. He clearly takes pressure of Bernard Foley, which Foley has shown he needs in a 12, and his defence is no longer a liability. Providing the Wallabies with an inside centre who can defend in that channel has flow on benefits for the entire backline, reducing the shuffling that was commonplace with others in the position. There is still some thought that 15 is his best position, but for now Cheika is running with the Waratah combination in midfield, with big straight ball runners picked around them. It is a tactic worth persevering with through the Rugby Championship and into the Spring Tour.
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Words: Cameron Stokes
