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Kerevi powers Wallabies' win over Pumas

Samu Kerevi of the Wallabies is tackled (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Australia have notched three-straight wins for the first time since 2017, beating a plucky Argentina 27-8 as James O’Connor made a successful Test return in Townsville.

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Samu Kerevi’s powerful running set the scene for the Wallabies, the centre setting up and scoring a try to create a 17-3 halftime buffer.

Australia lost their rhythm though and the Pumas fired up, three missed kicks costing them as they otherwise won the early exchanges of the second half.

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But O’Connor’s arrival after 56 minutes – his first game since May because of neck and groin injuries – alongside halfback Tate McDermott seemed to refocus the Wallabies.

Replacing Quade Cooper at five-eighth after another understated performance, O’Connor kicked a settling penalty then laid on a try for in-form winger Andrew Kellaway to seal the result.

The victory followed back-to-back Rugby Championship wins over South Africa, Dave Rennie’s side to play Argentina on the Gold Coast next Saturday be fore departing for a tour of Japan and Europe.

Not since winning four straight in 2017 have they enjoyed such a charmed run.

Kerevi’s line-busting form alongside emerging No.13 Len Ikitau was a highlight, as was Kellaway’s form on the wing and Reece Hodge’s effort at fullback.

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Hodge dummied and strongly skipped through two tackles for the game’s first try, kicking and running strongly in general play as he made his case for the No.15 after Tom Banks’ broken arm last week.

The 23,184-strong crowd, which had earlier watched the All Blacks sneak past South Africa, enjoyed another strong shift from prop Taniela Tupou.

His replacement Tom Robertson, as well as lock Darcy Swain, also made an impact to arrest any Argentina momentum in the final quarter of the clash.

Skipper Julian Montoya scored for Argentina off the back of a maul to open the second half but a yellow card to Marcos Kremer for tripping Hodge hurt their hopes just before O’Connor’s arriva l.

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Tom 5 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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