Wallabies Make It Three In A Row With Convincing Argentina Win

Townsville, Australia, Sept 25 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Sep, 2021 ) :Reece Hodge, Samu Kerevi and Andrew Kellaway all bagged tries as the Wallabies won a physical "arm-wrestle" against Argentina 27-8 Saturday to book their third victory in a row for the first time since 2017.

Dave Rennie's men came into the game buoyed by back-to-back upsets of South Africa and held their focus to keep the run going, propelling them above the Springboks on the Rugby Championship ladder with a game to play.

Australia opened their account after only four minutes through Hodge and went to the break with a 17-3 advantage in an entertaining half of attacking rugby.

A wobble early in the second stanza allowed dogged Argentina skipper Julian Montoya to score a well-worked try and give them a glimmer of hope, before the Wallabies knuckled down again to finish strongly.

"I thought we started really well, but we knew this game could turn into an arm-wrestle," said Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper, in his 113th Test but his first at Townsville, in northern Queensland.

"Really happy with our fight.

We probably need to shore up our maul, there were some pressure times in the corner, but overall really happy." It has been a remarkable turnaround for Australia, who began their championship campaign with two demoralising losses against New Zealand.

But spearheaded by Hooper and recalled playmaker Quade Cooper, they are now on a three-game win streak, bolstering their confidence ahead of a European tour in November.

The last time they won so many was in October-November 2017 when they enjoyed a four-game run before crashing to England.

While they are flying, defeat piled more pressure on Los Pumas, who have slumped to five straight losses, with the stuttering side conceding 163 points along the way.

Coach Mario Ledesma sent the same team out that lost to an under-strength New Zealand 36-13 last week, but despite another gallant defensive effort they were again outplayed.

"We didn't have a good game, we didn't complete enough tackles in the first-half," said Montoya.

"But we are putting work in week in and week out and we want to get better for next week."