After last Saturday’s six-point victory over the Pumas in Jujuy, the Wallabies have arrived in Argentina’s wine country ready to create a vintage of their own.
The Wallabies have the opportunity to win consecutive Tests in Argentina for the first time when they play in Mendoza on Sunday morning (AEST), but they’ll need to learn from more recent timesin order to make it happen.
Two years ago, the Wallabies narrowly defeated the Pumas in La Plata, before conceding their highest-ever score when they lost 67-27 in the second Test in Santa Fe.
In Spanish, ‘la revancha’ can either mean the rematch or revenge, and hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa is determined not to allow the Pumas to enjoy the second translation of the word again against the Wallabies.
“We know that they’re [Argentina] going to want to come back with a response. I mean, the last time we’ve come here, we’ve done really well in the first game and essentially not so well in the second,” Paenga-Amosa said.
“We know the challenge that’s in front of us, but we know what we’ve got to do. We know our strengths, and we understand what’s coming. And I know that as a squad, we’re going to step up to the plate and give our best performance that we can.
“We know they … are always physical, especially up front. They thrive off dominating other packs. And I think that’s one of our strong points … taking it to them.
“And we’ve got a real solid, strong forward pack that love climbing into teams, and I think it works in our favour that we play that way because we’re really good at it.”
Paenga-Amosa scored a try as well as playing a key role in a strong showing by the Wallabies forwards in Jujuy. He took added satisfaction from the dominance of the Australian scrum.
The Wallabies won all seven of their scrums and forced three scrum penalties from the Pumas, while conceding only one.
Experienced tighthead Taniela Tupou is expected to return for the Wallabies in Mendoza to add to an already formidable pack.
“The Argies base a lot of their game off their physicality, starting from the scrum, and scrummaging is a big one for them,” he said.
“So for us to be able to get some good pay [off] in that area, it’s something that we aim to do, aim to exploit them in that part of the game.
“I’m really proud of the boys, the back five were enormous for us. There are still a couple of things to work on up front as a front row, but it’s definitely one of our strengths going into the next game [in Mendoza].
The Wallabies have played in the 42,000 capacity Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza four times, winning three Tests against Argentina, with the last one being a 41-26 victory four years ago under current New Zealand coach Dave Rennie.
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