Australia 17 defeated Argentina 6
Buenos Aires - 02 November 2002

There's a widely held belief that to be a champion team sometimes you simply have to win ugly. For the time being, I am still prepared to consider the Wallabies a champion team, and though they did manage a victory over Los Pumas of Argentina, it definitely wasn't pretty.

Not that this is entirely the fault of the Australian team. They had a number of obstacles to overcome - pedantic interpretations by referee Kelvin Deaker, a mounting injury toll, and the foul play being dished out by some of the Argentine forwards.

On the other hand, the Wallabies also stubbornly pursued a policy of kicking for territory rather than running with the ball in hand - a gambit that very nearly backfired on them, particularly as the backline could have done with a bit more running play to blow away some of the cobwebs that have accumulated since the team last played in August.

If not for the fact that Argentine kicker Felipe Contepomi had an absolute shocker with the boot, the Wallabies may have been facing yet another away defeat at the hands of the Pumas.

Though the Wallabies enjoyed a considerable advantage at the lineout, the Argentine scrum had the measure of their Aussie counterparts. Perhaps Referee Deaker was a contributing factor in this regard, as he constantly penalised Patricio Noriega for not binding and collapsing the scrum, when the Argentine loosehead was the one repeatedly committing that particular offence. And yet, Deaker rarely (if ever) ventured over to the problem side of the scrum to get a bird's eye view of proceedings.

However, the Pumas' pack clearly got the better of the Wallabies at the breakdown, effecting numerous turnovers, and spoiling successfully, which in turn interrupted the flow of the Wallaby attacks (such as they were), and allowed the Argentine defensive line to reorganise to combat the next phase of play.

And what of the Wallaby game plan? Well, I for one was very surprised by the tactics employed by Eddie Jones and his team. Clearly, the order of the day was to kick for field position - but this would hardly seem to be setting a positive tone for a tour in which Jones had flagged his intention to experiment with personnel and plays.

It certainly didn't help an obviously rusty backline to hit its straps. Neither did injuries to key players Ben Tune, Matt Burke and Mat Rogers. And didn't your heart just break for poor old Flutey. The guy is jinxed, plain and simple. He may now be facing surgery and a six month rehabilitation, which will seriously jeopardise his chances of retaining his right wing spot for the World Cup, with the likes of Joe Roff and Lote Tuqiri entering the fray. Rogers had a quiet game, and badly misjudged an awkward kick that - if not for a brain explosion on the part of the Pumas backs - would have otherwise yielded a try. One wonders how early in proceedings he got injured, for he was a shadow of his normal self for most of the match.

For the Wallabies, Steve Larkham was the stand out player. Though one might question the rationale of the Wallabies' tactics, there can be no doubt that Bernie executed them to perfection with a deft display of aggressive, tactical kicking. Larkham kept the Australians in the game, but I would have loved to have seen the ball thrown wide more often. On one of the rare occasions where the ball was distributed by Larkham, the Wallabies scored the sole try of the game.

Other Wallabies to impress included Stirling Mortlock, who (whenever he saw some ball) ran with purpose, Daniel Vickerman, who was quite outstanding in his first run-on test appearance, and Adam Freier, who acquitted himself with distinction off the bench in his test debut.

It is tempting to simply write this game off as a complete dud. Yes - it was boring. Yes - the Wallabies were suffering from a two month layoff. Yes - Argentina resorted to negative tactics to unsettle their opponents. Indeed, not a single point was scored for 35 minutes of the second half. But sport, though enormously entertaining at its best, is not meant to be "entertainment". So what if this was a bad game - you'll inevitably see those from time to time. Just because a match wasn't exciting or entertaining doesn't mean that it didn't have value as a contest. The good news is that the Wallabies, playing well beneath themselves, managed to beat an Argentine side - hell bent on playing negative rugby - in their own backyard, where they are notoriously difficult to beat.

As I said, sometimes you just have to win ugly. Let's call this a base on which can be built a successful assault on Ireland and England.

Meanwhile, an improving Irish squad is lying in wait for the Wallabies in Dublin. They will invariably prove to be fairer but eminently more accomplished opposition. Given the substandard performance of the Wallabies against Argentina, and a lengthening injury list, the Australians will need to find some form quickly if they are to avoid a second consecutive tour going south up North.

- Dan Fowell