Australia down New Zealand to win The Rugby Championship in style

With a little over a month to go until the Rugby World Cup kicks off, the Wallabies sent an ominous warning to their rivals that they will be serious contenders at this autumn’s rugby jamboree, beating the All Blacks (27-19) for the first time since 2011.

Most worrying for the rest of the world are the drastic improvements in the Wallabies’ set piece; both Scott Sio and Sekope Kepu more than held their own at scrum-time and seem to have come on leaps and bounds under the tutelage of new scrum guru Mario Ledesma.

The line-out wasn’t quite as a solid, potentially a result of playing Michael Hooper and David Pocock in the same back-row. Still, there were enough signs that the Dean Mumm, James Horwill and Scott Fardy could become a useful line-out unit, and the effect Hooper and Pocock had on the breakdown was obvious with the Wallabies winning countless turnovers.

The first half was a cagey affair, both sides fluffing their lines surprisingly often, with only three penalties scored and New Zealand going into the break 6-3 ahead.

Australia upped the ante immediately after the break, Sekope Kepu the unlikeliest of scorers in the unlikeliest of fashions – a twinkling sidestep helping him brush off the attentions of three Kiwi tacklers and under the posts.

A Carter penalty kept the visitors in touch before Nehe Milner-Skudder – the most potent attacking threat in black – scored the first of his brace on debut after some deft touches from Carter and Ben Smith.

The second half introduction of Matt Toomua and Nic White proved the catalyst, however, as the former put in a pinpoint kick that Adam Ashley-Cooper expertly finished in the corner, before the latter banged over a long range penalty and darted through some further shoddy Kiwi tackling to score the try that put the game to bed in the 71st minute.

Pumas stun Springboks in Durban to avoid wooden spoon

This is undoubtedly a thoroughly watered down version of the Rugby Championship, with only three rounds, but the fact that Pumas’ impressive 37-25 win in Durban at the weekend – their first over South Africa – left the Springboks winless will be hugely worrying to the fans so close to the World Cup.

Argentina’s gorgeous anniversary shirts deserved a matching performance and the early signs were that they would deliver. Inside two minutes they scored from what looked like a regulation line-out on the half way line, an inside pop from Juan Martin Hernandez seeing Juan Imhoff scythe through, drawing the last man to send Marcelo Bosch over.

After a Handré Pollard penalty, Tomás Cubelli exploited some horrendously weak tackling around the fringes to send Imhoff in for an easy try. The Pumas’ third then came from a scrum, number eight Leonardo Senatore drawing three defenders with a dummy and offload, allowing Cubelli to free Imhoff for his second in the left hand corner.

South Africa hit back with a powerful try from Lood de Jager to bring the deficit back to eight points, but penalties late in the half from Hernandez and Bosch left the score at a commanding 27-13 to the visitors at the break.

Controversy reigned after half-time, Argentina’s final try coming when the Boks were gathering under the posts expecting a kick at goal after the visitors had won a penalty. Hernandez, ever the innovator, instead took a quick tap before spinning the ball to Imhoff who had the easiest of walk-ins for his hat-trick.

This prodded the Springboks into life, Willie le Roux combining thrillingly with Jesse Kriel in the right hand channel to score a superb counter attack try. There was a late consolation score for Habana, but only after Marcelo Bosch had completed an exquisite performance with a long range drop goal to leave South Africa an insurmountable deficit.

Ireland hammer Wales in battle of the second strings

Both Joe Schmidt and Warren Gatland used the game at the Millennium Stadium as an opportunity to take a look at some of their more fringe squad players, but the greater experience amongst the Ireland ranks ultimately told as they blew Wales away 35-21.

Three tries in the opening half an hour meant the game was essentially over before it started, Jamie Heaslip, Darren Cave and Keith Earls all making the most of some weak attempted tackling and poor defensive organisation to give the visitors a shockingly easy 22-0 lead.

Wales, in truth, looked like a team that had done very little rugby work in their World Cup preparations so far, their early focus on fitness showing in a series of knock-ons and missed tackles. They will be a completely different outfit when the two sides meet again in a month’s time, and there was a hint of what they have to offer in Richard Hibbard’s well worked score from a lineout just before half time.

After the break it was largely the same story, Simon Zebo and Felix Jones scoring tries that came far too easily, before two late scores from Justin Tipuric and Alex Cuthbert – the former’s a breathtaking move involving Hallam Amos and Tyler Morgan – added a sheen of respectability to the final score.

Try of the weekend: that Justin Tipuric score mentioned above may well have come as scant consolation for Wales on a miserable afternoon at the Millennium Stadium, but it was an utterly brilliant try. Watch it again by skipping to 3:36 in the video below.

Video credit: Rugby Channel

Hero of the weekend: this one goes to an Argentinian – although bizarrely not one involved in their epic smash and grab win in South Africa. Instead, come on down Mario Ledesma, who has finally given the Wallabies a good scrum and a platform from which their outrageously talented backs can play. He has earned his Rugby Championship medal more than any of them.

Villain of the weekend: the whole Springbok squad get this award, for neglecting to pay attention to the referee when he hadn’t yet signalled that Argentina were going for the posts. In what is not the first instance of its kind, Juan Martin Hernandez spotted the Boks gathering under the posts and before the referee could signal, tapped and passed to Imhoff who scored in the corner. Always, always play to the referee.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images