1. Wallabies have a real aerial threat
One set move that so nearly came off saw Will Genia take the ball from a line-out, pass outside to Bernard Foley, who then delivered a deep pass back inside to Quade Cooper, who was well sheltered by the break-up of the line-out.
Cooper angled an excellent cross-field kick to the onrushing Israel Folau and Reece Hodge, and only superb defence from Matias Moroni prevented a try. Hodge is 6ft 3in and can play at full back; Folau is an inch taller and one of the world’s best at gathering high balls under pressure. Cooper’s precision kicking and the pace and height of Hodge and Folau are potent weapons and a potentially fascinating battle with the sizeable George North could await this autumn…
2. Samu Kerevi is the danger man
The 23-year-old scored twice and ran 122m with ball in hand, making six clean breaks and beating eight defenders. No player on the field came close to his performance and the Queensland Reds centre is rapidly becoming a star, despite having only seven caps to his name.
So much of Australia’s good work came through Kerevi’s ability to find the gap, running onto the ball from first or second receiver with pace and instinctively finding the most destructive running line. It’s clear that Kerevi is Australia’s biggest threat; what is less clear is how to stop him.Â
3. The set-piece is struggling
The Wallabies lost half of their own scrums and two line-outs as well, with the benching of Scott Fardy weakening the Wallabies’ jumping options. The fizzing line-out moves, largely based on Brumbies set-pieces, that posed such a threat at the Rugby World Cup have lost their precision, while props Scott Sio and Sekope Kepu struggled at scrum time. The exciting, creative Wallaby three-quarters can’t attack if they don’t have the ball.
4. The defence is a conundrum
Two of Australia’s tries came as a direct result of wonderfully aggressive defence, with Michael Hooper forcing a spill in the contact for Will Genia’s score and Dean Mumm stepping out of the line to intercept and go over. The Wallabies favour a high defensive line with a dogleg pushing up quickly, squeezing the first and second receivers and denying the opposition time and space. When it works, it can force turnovers.
However, time and again the Pumas’ equally aggressive pick-and-drive game and ability to offload found gaps: as the wider defenders pushed forwards to squeeze the ball, those either side of the tackle zone were left exposed and Argentina broke the gain-line. The Wallaby defence can cause the opposition serious problems, but equally can leave them exposed to a high tempo, offloading game.Â
