Wallabies targeting Argentina’s ‘money man’ Sanchez

Coach Mario Ledesma describes his five-eighth Nicolas Sanchez as “the validator” as Argentina prepares to knock off another trans-Tasman nation.

The Pumas players warm up during the captain's run at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on Friday

Coach Mario Ledesma describes his five-eighth Nicolas Sanchez as “the validator” for the rest of the Argentine side, which perhaps explains why Wallabies captain Michael Hooper has identified the Pumas playmaker as a prime target in Saturday night’s Tri-Nations match in Newcastle.

Sanchez earned all of his side’s points as the Pumas beat the All Blacks 25-15 for the first time in history last weekend in Parramatta, but while seven of those points can be laid directly at the 32-year-old’s feet – he initiated Argentina’s only try by chipping over the line and then regathering to score – the remaining 18 points all came courtesy of the pressure the Pumas brought to bear on New Zealand.

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Pumas coach Ledesma is hoping he will do it all over again at the McDonald Jones Stadium.

“I hope he scores the same number of points he scored on the weekend,” Ledesma said.

“Nicco was in some way validating the work that the whole team was doing. I think the performance has to be connected right now. That’s what we are aiming for.”

Given that Sanchez’s 25 points exceeds the most number ever notched by an Australian against the All Blacks in a span of 170 Tests over 117 years – Matt Burke totalled 24 in 1998 – it’s hardly surprising Hooper has identified him as a prime target.

“He’s a quality player, can kick off both feet, he’s a running threat and has a great skill set,” said Hooper of the Stade Francais-based flyhalf.

“He puts his body on the line. He’s a really good 10, really world-class. He’s a threat and a focus for us.”

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie didn’t mentioned Sanchez by name, but he made it clear that he had been discussed at considerable length. And not just him but halfback Tomas Cubelli.

Together the Pumas halves kicked the leather off the ball last week against the All Blacks, 28 times to 16, and the evident message was that Australia’s back three of Tom Banks and wingers Marika Koroibete and Tom Wright can expect plenty of “airmail” from the Argentine playmakers.

“We expect them to kick a lot to us and then try to get a wall in front of us, so we’ve got a plan around that,” Rennie revealed. “Our kicking game needs to be sharp. Our ability to generate quick ball will be really important. And then discipline’s going to be massive. They’re happy to go in threes (by kicking penalty goals or field goals) and if we make errors around discipline, they can kick from a long way out.

Or they get their lineout going and their drive game which was pretty effective last week.”

Still, there will be an even easier way to tell if the Pumas are on their way to claiming their second major scalp within a week. If their backrow of Rodrigo Bruni, Marcos Kremer and captain Pablo Matera are outplaying the Wallabies loose forward trio of Harry Wilson, Ned Hanigan and Hooper, it will be a sure sign of more celebrations planned for the streets of Buenos Aires.

There is no doubt that the Wallabies sat bolt upright as they watched the Pumas inflict an emphatic defeat on the All Blacks. They themselves had achieved a win over New Zealand only at their fourth attempt this season whereas the Argentina side did it first-up, following a break of 402 days between Test matches.

In Hooper’s mind, the result “reaffirmed” the growing respect the Wallabies have been building for the Pumas since they began regular competition against them in 2012, when the Tri-Nations added a fourth team – Argentina – and morphed into The Rugby Championships.

“When you see a result like that, it doesn’t come as a surprise because you know what they are capable of, but it was still an upset. It just confirms to us that, yes, this is what we have been preparing for.”

With the All Blacks having lost two of their three Tri-Nations fixtures, the way is open for the Wallabies and the Pumas to start eyeing off some silverware.

Form would suggest Australia is favoured, based on its 17 wins from their past 19 Tests against Argentina, although the Pumas’ win over the All Blacks would seem to trump all other indicators.

Still Hooper was optimistic.

“We’ve made no bones that we want to put some silverware in our closet again,” he said. “We’re clear on what we’re trying to achieve.”

Rugby Australia released the news last night that the McDonald Jones Stadium is sold out for Saturday night’s Test, although that does not mean that all 33,000 seats have been sold, only the 12,000 seats available.