Argentina 15-15 Australia: Pumas and Wallabies draw in ill-tempered Tri-Nations clash
Argentina and Australia could not be split as they settled for a 15-15 draw in their Tri-Nations clash in Newcastle. Nicolas Sanchez and Reece Hodge both kicked five penalties while the Wallabies had two tries disallowed.
Last Updated: 21/11/20 12:53pm
Nicolas Sanchez held his nerve with the boot as Argentina hit back from 15-6 down to claim a 15-15 draw against Australia in a Tri Nations Series encounter in Newcastle that had no tries.
Australia had plenty of territory and possession in the first half and certainly impressed on attack however they had two tries disallowed - Jordan Petaia's foot was on the dead-ball line as he dotted down, while Marika Koroibete was denied for a forward pass.
However, the Wallabies established a nine-point lead just before the hour thanks to five penalties from fly-half Reece Hodge who punished Argentina's indiscretions.
But Sanchez, who registered all of Argentina's points, split the posts with three penalties, the last two from 45 metres away and into a headwind, as the spoils were shared at the McDonald Jones Stadium.
While Argentina were unable to discover the fluency that had seen them pull off a shock 25-15 victory over New Zealand last week, the Pumas were able to avoid a first defeat of the competition.
Australia will rue their inability to make their first-half dominance count but they had an opportunity to snatch victory two minutes from time, only for Hodge to fluff his lines with a 40-metre penalty kick from an acute angle.
Dave Rennie's young side, who also beat New Zealand in their last outing, were left frustrated after failing to gain the rewards for their territorial dominance and not closing out the match with better game management in the last 20 minutes.
"We tried to play with a lot of territory and I think we won that. Probably just a bit of indiscipline at the end and Sanchez made us pay," said Australia captain Michael Hooper.
"We were unable to crack them tonight."
All three teams in the competition move on to six points ahead of next weekend's penultimate fixture, when Argentina take on the All Blacks at the same venue.
