AUSTRALIA BEAT ARGENTINA 36-20 in the Rugby Championship on Saturday in a bruising encounter which ensured the All Blacks wrapped up the title with two games to spare.
A stunning opening salvo with three tries in the first 12 minutes set the hosts on their way and Will Genia grabbed two tries as the Wallabies won their second game in a row.
It gave New Zealand their fourth southern hemisphere title in five years after the world champions routed South Africa 41-13 earlier on Saturday for their fourth straight bonus-point win.
Before the Wallabies’ 23-17 win over South Africa last week, they had been beaten in six successive Tests and coach Michael Cheika was facing increasing pressure.
The Pumas were expected to prove a tough opponent, having shown good early form against New Zealand before fading to be beaten 57-22 in their last outing.
However, the Wallabies scored their first try after just 43 seconds after playmaker Bernard Foley broke through the Argentine defence right from the kick-off.
Michael Hooper fed Samu Kerevi, who was brought down near the try line but was able to get up and drive over to open the scoring.
Dane Haylett-Petty, who plays for Perth’s Western Force, then received a superb Quade Cooper pass in the eighth minute and he charged to the line for the Wallabies’ second try.
– Genia brilliance –
A piece of individual brilliance by scrum-half Genia then added Australia’s third try in the 12th minute against a shell-shocked Argentina.
Genia crunched Nicolas Sanchez in a tackle and the ball spilled free, allowing the Australian, who had kept the feet while his opponent went to ground, to kick it forward.
He then collected the ball on the bounce and dived over to further extend the home side’s lead, which became 21-0 when Foley notched his third conversion from as many attempts.