Like a flash flood, the Wallabies’ demise in Santa Fe was fast, frantic and overwhelming. From the warm bosom of a 20-3 lead, the Wallabies then conceded 64 points in the next 50 minutes.
Argentina scored seven tries in the second half and four in the last 10 minutes alone. In the last quarter, the Wallabies spent more time standing behind their posts than they did in the Pumas’ 22.
The 67-27 loss was the first time Australia had ever conceded 50 points in a half, and surpassed the 61-22 defeat to South Africa in 1997 as Australia’s highest points total conceded.
But like a flash flood, the carnage came and went suddenly, leaving bewildered Australian fans looking at each other with a “what the hell just happened?”
Ever-sanguine coach Joe Schmidt said the long flight home would give the Wallabies squad plenty of time to soul-search. He might have even mandated a few hours of raw-dogging to ensure it.
But the trans-Pacific autopsy will have also begun in earnest. Hopefully they’ll share the findings, because the stats sheet doesn’t flash up “record defeat” in neon letters.
Argentina’s Joaquin Oviedo runs with the ball to score a try against Australia. Credit: AP
Territory and possession were only just in Argentina’s favour, and the Pumas had the ball in attack for 17 minutes to compared to the Wallabies’ 14. Set-pieces were all square (even slightly in Australia’s favour) and the Wallabies only missed 23 tackles to Argentina’s 20, with 84 per cent........