Well, that was close when the 1st of the two Pumas v Wallabies games ended up in a huge tug-o-war under difficult conditions over in Mar Del Plata but happy to see the Wallabies take that last-minute win by a single point (19-20) thanks to Ben Donaldson’s successful three-point penalty conversion. Now they will need to make a 2-0 clean sweep next weekend also away from home to try & reclaim the Puma Trophy off Pumas in Santa Fe.
The first half saw the Pumas getting a headstart with a few points lead by 13-7 at half-time, although Wallabies got one back with No.9 Jake Gordon other than a few missed late opportunities. Then 2nd half saw the Wallabies close in again via Rob Valetini while Pumas tried to hold on their lead with a series of three-point penalty goals when the Wallabies went on to lead for the first time before the Pumas snatched one back as the game wasn’t over just yet with a few minutes to go.
But at the end of the day though, it was the Wallabies who came out strong under pressure over the Pumas – still lots more to come under the tutelage of Head Coach Joe Schmidt as congrats with the win.
Sure, he may be injured many times before including the 2nd-half Super Rugby 2024 season where the Tahs really missed his on-field services. However, Angus Bell’s class is permanent every time he puts in a shift including that crucial last few mins to seal the Wallabies last minute win v Pumas after he came back on all at loosehead. He is simply excellent in all forms of both attack and defense where his side wasn’t far behind at half-time before he came back on to finish off the job – no matter how ugly that is – as everyone in Australia needs him and we got the 2nd Game next week to make up that clean sweep v Pumas.
Then we’ve got Rob Valetini being a huge mainstay of the Wallabies three-man loose forward glue at blindside six, who doesn’t disappoint every time he starts & produces in a high-standard game, as seen both at Super Rugby & International level so far in 2024. His all-round tackling, physicality and skillsets allowed the Wallabies to play catch-up including his one & only 2nd half TRY through the toughest of conditions whether under rain or the cold Canberra weather. More to come next weekend & if he can help the Wallabies win again, I’m sure the ABs won’t have an easy time later this month under his watch.
And Tomas Lavanini unexpectedly came on that early in the Pumas locks when their starting No.5 Pedro Rubiolo was down with an immediate impact to get the ball rolling where his side was a few points in front at half-time. Gotta say he’s in the right place at the right time to create the perfect storm based on his towering height, a mix of tough tackling & brute and also his vast experience via the best of both hemispheres including last year’s 4th-placed World Cup. What the Pumas could’ve done when they were so unlucky at full-time was not keeping him on; Without him, the Wallabies had a great sniff to nail them down under pressure & there goes that 1st game in the end with the loss.
