Argentina scored three tries and kicked all three conversions. They had ten minutes against fourteen men. They lost by six.
Joaquín Moro takes the highest of these Argentina player ratings and Francisco Moreno the lowest. Between them sits the number that decides the afternoon: Los Pumas reached the Australian 22 five times in the first half and came away with seven points.
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Pablo Matera captained a side without Julián Montoya, Marcos Kremer, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Chocobares and Bautista Delguy, and with Juan Martín González, Juan Cruz Mallía and Pedro Rubiolo injured. Same XV that held South Africa to 17-10 earlier this month, and it ran into an Australian pack Les Kiss had rebuilt from scratch.
“Argentina were very good. I felt like we were pretty poor in some areas, but just really proud of the group and I’m happy we got the win over here.”
Fraser McReight, Australia’s player of the match, to the host broadcaster in Argentina on Saturday 29 August
The front row that almost won it on its own
1. Boris Wenger — 7.5.
Best loosehead on the field for an hour. Carried and offloaded to Santiago Carreras on 44 to launch Argentina’s sharpest attack, then burrowed low for the try on 52 that cut the deficit to a point. He also gave away the scrum penalty that opened the second half.
2. Ignacio Ruiz — 5.
Flattened by Josh Canham on 15, which handed Tom Hooper the steal. Bundled into touch by Max Jorgensen on 65 in the one moment Argentina had room on the right. The lineout went short and Australia won the important ones.
3. Francisco Moreno — 4.5.
Penalised in the first scrum for standing up, and the Australian pack read the message. Australia won two more scrum penalties, and the one on 69 gave them the lineout five metres out that produced a chalked-off try and a free kick Tate McDermott nearly scored from.
A second row that argued more than it won
4. Guido Petti — 5.
No recorded involvement across three live feeds in a Test where Australia scored three of four tries off lineout and maul. In a second row, silence is the verdict.
5. Tomás Lavanini — 6.
Carried close on 36, and argued hardest that Argentina had grounded the ball under the posts on 22. He was probably right. It did not matter.
The back row: one who carried, one who got warned, one who vanished
6. Pablo Matera, captain — 5.5.
Carried well off Simón Benítez Cruz on 22 with Argentina hammering the line. He also took a formal warning from Ben O’Keeffe on 19 about repeat lineout offending, reported as a sin-bin threat by the ABC and as a penalty try by the Guardian.
7. Benjamín Grondona — 5.
Australia won the first-half ruck count 38-27 and stole ball through McReight and Hooper at the moments that decided field position. Argentina’s openside left no mark on it.
8. Joaquín Moro — 8.
Tapped and went from the free kick on 36 and came close. Tapped again on 38 and split Ryan Lonergan and Carter Gordon to score. Then the step on 52 that fractured the Australian goal-line defence for Wenger.
READ ALSO: the other side that lost on the same weekend, in a Test they spent most of dominating
Half an hour of brilliance from the 10, then forty minutes of it draining away
9. Simón Benítez Cruz — 6.5.
Sniped intelligently in the opening ten and faked the shift right before releasing Carreras for the opening try. He knocked on at a five-metre scrum on 36 with Allan Alaalatoa bearing down, then threw the pass that killed the try on 49.
10. Santiago Carreras — 6.5.
Three from three off the tee. A breakdown steal inside two minutes, and the line-break that released Rodrigo Isgró for the opening try. Then the restart straight out on 41, a clearance straight out on 58, and the spilled ball on 64 the Guardian called almost inexplicable.
11. Ignacio Mendy — 5.
Caught in possession by Jorgensen’s chase on 10 and penalised for it. Australia scored their second try from the lineout that followed. Ran a kick back on 76 and was hammered.
12. Faustino Sánchez Valarolo — 6.5.
The thumping carry on 14 that built the platform for Gerónimo Prisciantelli’s try, and the man Harry Potter took a yellow card to stop on 25. Being the reason an opponent gives away a professional foul is a compliment.
13. Lucio Cinti — 5.
No recorded involvement in a Test Argentina lost by six. Their attacking shape ran through Carreras and the forwards, and the 13 channel never became part of it.
14. Rodrigo Isgró — 6.
Broke the Australian line for the opening try and ripped the ball from Potter on 58. He also gave away a soft penalty on 39, playing the ball while sitting on the ground on halfway. His knock-on on 79 ended the last attack.
15. Gerónimo Prisciantelli — 7.5.
Scored on 14 and caught his own up-and-under on 29. Lonergan’s cover tackle denied him on 44, and the TMO found a forward pass on 49 with a second try already awarded. Their most dangerous runner and their unluckiest.
The bench that could not shift it
19. Efraín Elías — 6. Won the obstruction penalty on 50 that put Argentina inside the 22 and led to Wenger’s try.
21. Agustín Moyano — 5. Rushed his return kick on 78 and hoofed it straight out. Argentina got the ball back only because Potter was offside.
16. Leonel Oviedo, 17. Rodrigo Martínez, 18. Tomás Rapetti, 20. Juan Penoucos, 22. Nicolás Roger, 23. Matías Moroni — not rated. No recorded involvement. Martínez back in a Test 23 after five years is the note worth keeping.
Best on ground
Joaquín Moro, and the 8 at the top of these Argentina player ratings was never in doubt. Australia solved most of this pack inside twenty minutes and never solved him. Two of the three tries came from his carries, one of them finished himself from a tap nobody saw coming. His step on 52 broke a defence that held everywhere else.
Argentina’s five-metre problem
| Minute | Position | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | On the line with advantage | Held up |
| 25-35 | Australia down to 14 men | No points at all |
| 36 | Five-metre scrum under the posts | Free kick, tap, knock-on |
| 49 | Over the line on the counter | Try chalked off, forward pass |
| 51 | Repeat advantages inside the 22 | No score until Wenger on 52 |
That second row is the one that should keep Argentina awake. Ten minutes, an extra man, a lineout five metres out, and the scoreboard did not move. It read 7-19 when Potter walked and 7-19 when he came back.
Australia turned four visits to the 22 into 18 points in the first half. Argentina turned five into seven, per the Guardian’s in-play data.
The one who has to improve
Francisco Moreno takes the lowest mark in these Argentina player ratings, and 4.5 is about consequence rather than effort.
The first scrum of a Test sets what the referee expects from the next 79 minutes. Moreno popped up and Isaac Kailea got the back slaps. O’Keeffe had his picture of that contest inside five minutes. Australia went back to the scrum for two more penalties. The second gave them the lineout that produced a chalked-off try and a free kick McDermott nearly scored from.
Argentina were one try behind and better than Australia for long spells. They lost the one contest that hands a referee an easy decision, and they lost it in the fifth minute.
What the Argentina player ratings mean for Mendoza
The sides meet again in Mendoza next weekend, without the altitude that was supposed to help here, and the rest of Australia’s year gets harder after it. Nine’s coverage had the defeat dropping Argentina below Australia in the world rankings.
The selection call is the tighthead. Wenger has earned another start on the other side of the front row. Rodrigo Martínez is sitting on the bench with five years of waiting behind him, and what this fixture was supposed to settle now runs for a second week.
Ratings summary
| # | Player | Position | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boris Wenger | Loosehead prop | 7.5 |
| 2 | Ignacio Ruiz | Hooker | 5 |
| 3 | Francisco Moreno | Tighthead prop | 4.5 |
| 4 | Guido Petti | Lock | 5 |
| 5 | Tomás Lavanini | Lock | 6 |
| 6 | Pablo Matera (c) | Blindside flanker | 5.5 |
| 7 | Benjamín Grondona | Openside flanker | 5 |
| 8 | Joaquín Moro | No.8 | 8 |
| 9 | Simón Benítez Cruz | Scrum-half | 6.5 |
| 10 | Santiago Carreras | Fly-half | 6.5 |
| 11 | Ignacio Mendy | Wing | 5 |
| 12 | Faustino Sánchez Valarolo | Inside centre | 6.5 |
| 13 | Lucio Cinti | Outside centre | 5 |
| 14 | Rodrigo Isgró | Wing | 6 |
| 15 | Gerónimo Prisciantelli | Fullback | 7.5 |
| 16 | Leonel Oviedo | Hooker | not rated |
| 17 | Rodrigo Martínez | Prop | not rated |
| 18 | Tomás Rapetti | Prop | not rated |
| 19 | Efraín Elías | Lock | 6 |
| 20 | Juan Penoucos | Loose forward | not rated |
| 21 | Agustín Moyano | Scrum-half | 5 |
| 22 | Nicolás Roger | Back | not rated |
| 23 | Matías Moroni | Centre | not rated |
Tries: Prisciantelli 14, Moro 38, Wenger 52, all converted by Carreras. Six replacements have no recorded involvement in any feed, so they carry no mark rather than a guessed one.
Read next: the Wallabies 23 marked on the same 80 minutes, where the lowest mark still went home with the win
These Argentina player ratings give Carreras a 6.5 for a faultless three from three off the tee. Name the No.10 who kicked a restart straight out and spilled one in midfield on 64. Then explain why he rates higher. The reasoning is above.
