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Reuters: Argentina ended three years of frustration when they fought back from a 14-0 deficit to edge Australia 21-17 in Mendoza and seal their maiden victory in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
Both sides scored two tries apiece with the difference coming from the boot of Pumas flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez as Argentina won a controversy-tinged clash in the southern hemisphere tournament at the 18th attempt.
With the Wallabies trailing 18-17 with 10 minutes to spare, flyhalf Bernard Foley had a chance to pull his team in front with a penalty kick from close range but he hit the post after having a laser trained on his face from the crowd.
Minutes later, a harsh yellow card saw Wallabies captain Michael Hooper sin-binned for a dangerous challenge on Sanchez and the flyhalf duly made sure of the win with a penalty goal five minutes from time.
The win in the final round of the tournament was Argentina’s first over Australia since 1997 and their fifth over the Wallabies in 23 meetings.
“It still hasn’t sunk in, I feel really emotional, this is a dream for us,” said Pumas captain Agustin Creevy.
“They were three tough years but luckily we learnt from our hard defeats and never dropped our arms,” the hooker told ESPN. The closest the Pumas had come to victory in the Championship was in their maiden tournament in 2012, a 16-16 draw with South Africa at the same Malvinas Argentinas stadium.
They finish with the wooden spoon again, with New Zealand having successfully sealed a hat-trick of trophies by beating the Pumas away in La Plata in the penultimate round.
South Africa, who upset the All Blacks in Johannesburg earlier on Saturday, were runnersup, with Australia third.
Argentina, however, have bridged the gap dramatically against the southern hemisphere powers this season, with only lapses of focus costing them more championship points.
