GOLD COAST, Australia – Australia needed tries from Pat McCabe and Digby Ioane in the last quarter to overturn a 13-point deficit and edge Argentina 23-19 in a dramatic Rugby Championship encounter at Skilled Park Saturday. The Pumas looked to be on their way to a first victory in their maiden season in the Southern Hemisphere's international championship after tries from Tomas Leonardi and Julio Farias Cabello inside two minutes early in the second half. The error-prone Wallabies, however, dug deep and battled back with center McCabe finally breaching the Argentine defense on the hour mark and winger Ioane following suit after a break from scrumhalf Nick Phipps nine minutes later. “Credit to them, they really put us under a lot of pressure at 19-6 but there is a great deal of courage and commitment to come back ... and finish so strongly,” skipper Nathan Sharpe said in a pitchside interview. “We're not happy with the close game but there was some good commitment from the guys.” The victory put the Wallabies second in the championship standings with eight points from four matches behind runaway leader and world champion New Zealand, which has secured 16 points after winning all four of its matches. Argentina remained bottom of the standings with three points but, along with the 16-16 draw with the Springboks and an encouraging performance against the All Blacks, the match was further evidence they will be competitive in the championship. “It was close, we're very disappointed,” said captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe. “We got a good lead but this has to be another step forward. We need to try and learn how to close these types of games. These types of teams don't stop until the last minute.” NZ sneaks win over SA In Dunedin, New Zealand flyhalf Aaron Cruden kicked two late penalties as the All Blacks hung on to beat South Africa 21-11 in their Rugby Championship clash at Otago Stadium also Saturday. South Africa, which had drawn and lost its previous two games in the Rugby Championship could be considered unlucky not to have won just its second test in Dunedin, missing 20 points from poor goal kicking. “They were long range (kicks) and normally those kickers will put them over so we're thankful for that,” New Zealand captain Richie McCaw said in a pitchside interview. “They played a very physical game and took it to us early on. That's exactly what we expected, that type of match from the Boks. It always seems to be like that. “But toward that latter part of the second half we started getting a wee bit of control and the guys stuck to what we were after and we started to put a bit of pressure on.” The Springboks had been criticized prior to the match for their one-dimensional game plan that involved flyhalf Morne Steyn hoisting the ball high into the air and hoping the All Blacks would commit errors inside their own territory. — Reuters
