‘Fell off a cliff’: Wallabies humiliated by Pumas in biggest ever defeat

Coach Joe Schmidt has urged his team to respond after the Wallabies “fell off a cliff” in Santa Fe and conceded their biggest ever score in a 67-27 thrashing against Argentina.

After leading 20-3 early in the game and 20-17 at halftime, the hapless Wallabies conceded seven tries in the second 40 minutes - and four in the last ten minutes alone. The rampant Pumas outscored the Wallabies 64-7 in the last 50 minutes.

The 67 points posted by Argentina is the highest score ever conceded by the Wallabies in 135 years of playing Test rugby, beating the 61-22 win by South Africa in Pretoria in 1997.

It wasn’t the Wallabies’ biggest-ever losing margin - that remains 45 points against the Springboks in 2008 - but the 40-point margin was also Argentina’s biggest ever winning margin over the Wallabies, surpassing the 31-point defeat in the second game of Australia’s last tour of Argentina in 2022.

While recognising the disastrous last half in Santa Fe, Schmidt paid credit to the open running rugby from the Pumas side that punished the All Blacks similarly in Wellington 38-30 and focused on three halves of good rugby his side had played in Argentina.

Argentina’s Los Pumas Joaquin Oviedo, center, celebrates with teammates.Credit: AP

“Records are going to happen, I mean Argentina put a record score of 38 up against the All Blacks in New Zealand, that’s what they’re capable of,” Schmidt said. “No team has ever scored 38 points against the All Blacks in New Zealand, that’s what they can do...”

“I am particularly disappointed that we fell off that period of the game the way we did because I think that the team are building a real pride in what they deliver.

“And I’d be disappointed after four halves here in Argentina, three of them that were at a level that were really competitive, and one of them that did fall off a cliff, so I’m not going to bury the squad on the basis of that half is well beyond what our expectations are.”

Schmidt must try to rebuild his shattered Wallabies squad ahead of the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney in two weeks time, where he will face former colleagues from the All Blacks who are coming back from successive Test defeats in South Africa.

“I mean, for me, it’s really the way the team respond now,” Schmidt said. “They are proud young men and incredibly proud to represent the Wallabies, so they will want to put their best foot forward.

“It’ll be a pretty sombre flight home and it’s a long flight home, so tomorrow morning, we’re up very early and heading home, and then we get a chance to get a little bit of a breather, at least the players do and then try to hit the ground running, and in the week we prepare for the Bledisloe Cup in Accor Stadium.”

A shocking second half by the Wallabies in the sunshine of Santa Fe undid so much of the good work of the first half when they had shown great attacking ambition, with five-eighth Ben Donaldson at the heart of a lot of the good work and reminding his coach that he is still fighting for the number 10 jersey with Noah Lolesio.

In a game that also saw James Slipper equalling George Gregan’s record for most Wallabies caps (139), the Wallabies began brightly, scored two tries through Carlo Tizzano and Andrew Kellaway and raced out to a 20-3 lead by the 30-minute mark.

The lineouts were exceptional in the early parts of the game, with hooker Matt Faessler combining well with his second rows Jeremy Williams and Nick Frost.

Both Williams and Frost also helped to restore some confidence in the Wallabies’ ability to take restarts after the inability to hold the football in the slippery conditions of La Plata.

But Argentina finally got some ball and rallied, scoring two tries and bringing the margin back to three points by halftime.

The intense pressure the Pumas put the Australian defence under in that period was ominous, and the second half saw things get really out of hand for the Wallabies.

The Pumas scored twice more in quick succession in the next quarter after the break, swiftly taking the score to 41-20. A classic sniping Tate McDermott try saw the score move to 41-27 and the Wallabies raced back, believing they could still mount a comeback victory.

But the last ten minutes saw disastrous scenes for the Wallabies. Turning the ball over with every possession, the Pumas swarmed and scored four more tries - scoring 26 points in nine minutes.

Harry Wilson leaves the field.Credit: Getty Images

The carefully collated defensive systems under Laurie Fisher were smashed to pieces as the Australia wilted under the hot sun in a stadium aptly nicknamed, ’The Elephant’s Graveyard”, in rugby terms, the elephant had been replaced by a wilting Wallaby.

Pumas’ full-back Juan Cruz Mallia’s two tries in the last ten minutes of the game should be a must-watch horror film on the flight home for the Wallabies’ defence.

There was also significant gulf in the quality of replacements, particularly showing in the front row, where the footwork and strength of Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou were badly missed in the second half, depriving the Wallabies of vital carries and stability in the scrum.

Captain Harry Wilson spoke of the shattered Wallabies dressing room.

“It’s obviously a pretty gutted change room at the minute,” Wilson said. “We love playing for our country, we love putting our body in the line, and I guess to have a score like that, it really does hurt everyone, and I’m sure it will hurt the next few days too.”

The last time the Wallabies conceded over 60 points, Wallabies coach Greg Smith was subsequently sacked by Rugby Australia.

There is no prospect of Joe Schmidt being under the same pressure but the Wallabies’ woes show no signs of improving ahead of a huge challenge against a similarly wounded All Blacks in Australia.