Staff Reporter.
Pumas fly-half Santiago Carreras scored 23 points off the tee as Argentina punished Australia in a 28-26 win in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
A week after the Wallabies had beaten the Pumas thanks to a try after the final hooter, Argentina managed to secure victory this time around as they capitalised on an undisciplined performance from their hosts.
Argentina scored one try through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the rest of the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd at the Sydney Football Stadium.
In a frantic opening spell, the Pumas took the lead through a fifth-minute Carreras penalty before Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i barged over to score a converted try two minutes later to give the home side the lead for the only time in the match.
The advantage was wiped out almost immediately when Argentina claimed the restart but after a knock-on, the Wallabies earned a scrum free-kick. Captain Montoya, leading the side in his 50th Test, then attempted a charge down and scored a try for Argentina.
Carreras converted and kicked a penalty three minutes later and Argentina led 13-7 after just 15 minutes.
Two more Carreras penalties – he had four in the first half – gave the Pumas a 12-point half-time lead and he kicked his fifth in the 44th minute after the Wallabies were called for obstruction to extend Argentina’s advantage to 22-7.
The Wallabies roared back with two tries for Filipo Daugunu and another for Andrew Kellaway, trimming the deficit to two points with a minute left.
However, the Pumas’ defence stayed firm in the closing stages to earn their second win of the tournament and avenge their 28-24 loss to Australia in Townsville a week ago.
“I’m just grateful to play with this jersey,” said Montoya. “This time we won, but I think we make it tough for ourselves sometimes.
“Australia is a great team and I’m really proud with the way that we fought. Still a lot of things to improve, but we need to enjoy winning as well.”