Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt lamented the slew of errors committed by his team in defeat to Argentina, saying they were “dominated by disappointment” and must nip it in the bud before a daunting clash with a wounded New Zealand.
Australia were their own worst enemies in a nail-biting 28-26 defeat in Sydney on Saturday, with the ill-discipline that has plagued recent performances again coming to the fore.
Despite scoring four tries to the Pumas’ one, Australia still failed to win with their 14 penalties conceded, 12 in their own half, making the difference.
They were a gift for Argentina sharp-shooter Santiago Carreras, who nailed 23 points from the boot.
With a Rugby Championship double-header looming against a smarting New Zealand, in Auckland then Perth, Schmidt said the issue must be dealt with.
“Dominated by disappointment,” he said in assessing their performance.
“I felt that we had enough of the game to get the result. A lot of it was our own errors.
“The Argentinians, they’re a really good team, but we’re making 11 line breaks to three and scoring four tries to one and we don’t get a result.
“It’s incredibly frustrating, but disappointing at the same time. We would stack some good work together and then cough the ball up or give it away too easily.”
Australia rallied from 28-7 with three late tries to set up a tense finale, but it couldn’t mask their underlying problems.
They also gave up 10 penalties the previous week in Townsville, but on that occasion they were able to stage a stunning comeback and win 28-24.
The Sydney defeat set back their hopes of ending a 10-year Rugby Championship title drought, and crucially allowed Argentina to leapfrog them into sixth in the world rankings.
That could prove significant for December’s draw for the 2027 World Cup, which Australia host.
The top-ranked nations will head each of the six groups, meaning they potentially avoid some of the big guns in the tournament pool stages.
Australia meet the All Blacks at Auckland’s Eden Park on September 27, with New Zealand also on the back foot after South Africa inflicted a record 43-10 defeat in Wellington on Saturday.
But it will be a huge task for the Wallabies, with New Zealand unbeaten in Auckland for 51 matches, stretching back to 1994.
Despite the odds being stacked against them, Schmidt said his team must have belief.
“If you don’t believe, you’re beaten before you try,” he said. “But we also know we’ve got to be better, and part of that is the start and part of that is the continuity.
“We’ll get some people back (from injury). But we can’t just rely on that. We’ve got to rely on our work ethic.”
Argentina face an equally tough assignment next with two Tests against South Africa — in Durban then on neutral territory at Twickenham in England.
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