Wounded and wobbling, still missing key personnel and facing off against a former mentor, the Wallabies will be in ambush territory when they run into Estadio Malvinas for the first of two Tests against Argentina on Sunday morning. Unlike Australia, who lost the July series against England in desultory fashion, Los Pumas have their tails up and fangs bared after defeating Scotland 34-31 with a thrilling last-play-of-the-game comeback try a fortnight ago.
Although luckless with their injury toll, the men in gold were their own worst enemies in the 2-1 defeat to England, giving away too many penalties and easy points to a dead-eye kicker, and too often chancing their arm in risky counterattack from their own quarter when they maybe should have calmly turned the screws to earn the right to entertaining uptempo rugby. Like the ‘piddler on the roof’ at the SCG, they drank the Kool Aid dry but pissed it all away.
