Australia 22

Argentina 12

It may not have been easy on the eye but the opening game of the World Rugby Classic had plenty of thrills and spills with Australia edging past Argentina in extra time.

Two tries in quick succession during the first-period of overtime by James McCormack and Nathan Adshley exposed Argentina's battle-weary limbs to give the scoreline a slightly flattering look for the Wallabies.

For until a late try by Daniel Flannery, the brave Pumas looked set to advance from this extremely physical encounter, which left troops on both ranks battered, bruised and in some cases bloody.

"It was certainly a physical match," said a relieved Australia coach Richard Tombs. "The conditions (rainy) made it difficult to play passing rugby, so it was always going to be physical.

"I thought we played well in patches and started well enough. But then we seemed to go to sleep and allowed Argentina to gain a foothold. Importantly we came through in the end."

After normal time the teams were locked level at 12-12, but McCormack's bundled try and Adshley's twinkle-toed burst through the middle left the Pumas starring at defeat.

Requiring two quick scores to stay in the match they huffed and puffed during the final five-minutes of extra time, but rarely threatened with real conviction as the seconds on the clock ebbed away.

"It was a very close game, but we didn't take advantage of our opportunities when we were leading," said a downbeat Argentina manager Rodolfo Ventura. "Against a team like Australia you will eventually get punished if you don't take your chances. In the end they were the better side and deserved victory."

It was no surprise when the Aussies took the lead through Marco Caputo in the 12th minute, which was duly converted, with Tomb's men enjoying the superior swathes of possession.

But against the run of play Argentina struck back through a piece of virtuoso brilliance by Martin Murgier who collected his left-wing chip before crossing the line, leaving a trail of yellow and green bodies in his wake.

Santiago Meson may have missed the conversion, but the Argentinians went into half-time the stronger finishers and took the lead in the second period through Benjamin Bouise who charged down Nick Gregorski's clearance kick and followed up smartly to go over for a converted try.

But no Australian team is beaten until the final whistle and Flannery sent the game into a thrilling extra time, scoring an unconverted try towards the end of normal play.