Wallabies refuse to panic after horror half hour even as familiar problems resurface | Angus Fontaine

09/08/2024 10:00 PM

Australia sunk to a new low in Argentina but now have no choice but to quickly bounce back ahead of two Tests against the wounded All Blacks

It was a record obliteration, a nightmare defeat low-lighted by a half hour from hell. But the Wallabies must take heart from three good halves of football in Argentina and try to forget the final one that cost them 50 points in 33 minutes on Sunday. At least that's the message from coach Joe Schmidt after Australia's spectacular implosion in Santa Fe.

The 67-27 beatdown – the most points scored against the Wallabies in 125 years – is all the more demoralising for the fact Schmidt's men looked so comfortably in control early in the Test. After 29 minutes they were up 20-3 and, despite letting Los Pumas in for two tries before the break, still had their noses in front 20-17 at half-time.