Reece Hodge yesterday missed a last-gasp penalty as 14-man Australia drew with Argentina for the second straight game to confirm New Zealand as Tri Nations champions.
The Wallabies needed a crushing 101-point win over the Pumas, who were missing captain Pablo Matera after a racist post on Twitter, to overhaul the All Blacks in the tournament’s final game.
Argentina needed to win by 93 points to lift the trophy, but a high-scoring match was never a prospect on a muggy night of steady rain in Sydney.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Instead, they remarkably finished at 16-16, two weeks after they could not be separated in a 15-all clash.
Hodge could have won the game, but sent his 45m kick wide with a minute remaining, just as he did in the dying seconds of their drawn match two weeks ago.
“We’re not happy with the performance. We’re disappointed. We can’t get a win in our last game,” Australia captain Michael Hooper said.
Australia’s discipline again let them down in the first half, with Argentina going to the break 13-6 in front, scoring 10 points when Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper was in the sin-bin for a high tackle.
Lukhan Salakaia-Loto was then sent off with 20 minutes left, but the Wallabies dug deep to save face.
“We showed a lot of character tonight, seven points down and reduced to 14 men. We controlled it pretty well and played in the right areas of the part and got rewarded,” Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said.
The entertaining clash rounded out a southern hemisphere tournament reduced to three teams after World Cup holders South Africa pulled out over COVID-19 issues.
The draw ensured that Argentina finished the tournament second, capping a momentous tour by Mario Ledesma’s men who endured lockdowns and a slew of COVID-19 cases before upsetting New Zealand and then drawing with Australia two weeks ago.
It was battling effort by the Pumas, whose buildup was disrupted by the Twitter scandal.
Matera, second row Guido Petti and replacement hooker Santiago Socino were all suspended after years-old “discriminatory and xenophobic” comments surfaced, before a shock U-turn saw them reinstated on Friday.
The posts emerged after criticism that the Pumas did not adequately pay tribute to Argentina soccer icon Diego Maradona, who died last month, before last weekend’s defeat by the All Blacks.
Yesterday, they all wore a No. 10 on the sleeve of their jerseys, in honor of Maradona, and were clearly fired-up.
With playmaker James O’Connor back to direct the attack, the Wallabies enjoyed plenty of early possession and their pressure paid off when Pumas lock Marcos Kremer was yellow-carded on 15 minutes for a dangerous cleanout.
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