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The Wallabies execute the scrum and find the dynamic Paisami yet again on the burst. His running has been exhilarating. His offloading, not so much. He got away with one a few minutes ago but this time his Hail Mary lands in the wrong hands and that ends the second first half in succession dominated by Argentina. Can they hold their nerve this time?
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Argentina’s lead grows to 12 as Carreras continues his perfect day off the tee.
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25m out, just to the left of the posts, Carreras makes it a nine point lead for Argentina. Both Wilson and White had plenty to say at the award of that penalty, citing a high-tackle, but replays did not flatter their arguments.
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18 mins: From the lineout the ball is released at speed from right to left. Isgro hits the line at speed and has men on his outside. This looks promising. Then a gold jersey knocks the ball down – a deliberate knock-on – and Jorgensen has to spend ten minutes in the bin.
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17 mins: The lineout is sharp, the maul is formed, but the ball is released quickly for Paisami to scream onto and fall inches from the line. Tupou has a dart from point blank range. Then Valetini tries to leap over the mass of bodies like an NFL running back at first and goal. Has he scored? No! The ball is dislodged over the line in the air as the backrower tried to ground!
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Kremer pounds off the back of the lineout with intent and earns a penalty advantage at the ruck with McReight not releasing quickly enough. Following a forward pass play is recalled and Carreras dabs over a simple three points from 25m out bang in front.
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Wow! What is going on in Sydney? Argentina kick-off short down the right but after a couple of phases concede a penalty. From the resulting scrum the Wallabies are gifted a free-kick but Edmed dallies over it and allows Montoya the opportunity to sprint in his direction, charge it down, then benefit from a favourable bounce, pounce on the loose ball and slide over the line. Out of nothing, the Pumas are back ahead!
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Carreras can’t miss from just to the right of the posts.
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Another short kick-off ricochets favourably Australia’s way on the left wing, and it’s honoured by strong runs from Valetini and Wilson as the Wallabies gather momentum. Play stalls on Argentina’s 22 after six phases but the halves don’t panic. Edmed picks the right moment to expand and he sets off a move through hands to the right. There appears to be an overlap as Kellaway accepts possession in the right centre position, but instead of looking to his outside he turns the ball back in to Sua’ali’i. The rugby league convert then turns on the afterburners, accepts contact, and drags three Argentinians over the line with him! That was an awesome demonstration of power finishing from the young superstar. What a statement of intent.
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The touchline conversion from the right by Edmed is beautiful. Australia are back in front.
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Santiago Carreras strikes a beautiful penalty from 40m out just to the left of the posts. Like last week, the Pumas are in front early.
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Round four of the Rugby Championship is under way…
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Perhaps mindful of how his side was overrun late on in Townsville, Felipe Contepomi has named some first XV firepower as finishers in Sydney. Franco Molina and Pablo Matera both start on the bench, swapping places with Guido Petti and Joaquin Ovideo, to bolster an inexperienced interchange that was incapable of withstanding the Wallabies fightback last week.
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The only other change is in the backline, where Bautista Delguy makes way for Rodrigo Isgró – the 2023 World Rugby Sevens player of the year.
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Argentina: 1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 3 Joel Sclavi, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Joaquin Ovideo, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 10 Santiago Carreras, 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Lucio Cinti, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 15 Juan Cruz Mallia.
\n Bench: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Justo Piccardo, 23 Ignacio Mendy
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Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has made four changes to his starting XV but only one unforced, with veteran prop James Slipper restored to the front row for his 149th Test cap in place of Tom Robertson.
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Tane Edmed will wear the No 10 jersey for the first time in place of the luckless Tom Lynagh, who is nursing a hamstring strain after already missing the South Africa tour with concussion. Len Ikitau has a laceration on his knee that has failed to heal enough to take the field so Hunter Paisami will play his first Wallabies Test of the season at inside centre. Jeremy Williams returns to the second row alongside Tom Hooper, with Nick Frost being managed due to a tight back.
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Australia: 1 James Slipper, 2 Billy Pollard, 3 Taniela Tupou, 4 Jeremy Williams, 5 Tom Hooper, 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 9 Nic White, 10 Tane Edmed, 11 Corey Toole, 12 Hunter Paisami, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Max Jorgensen, 15 Andrew Kellaway.
\n Bench: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Filipo Daugunu.
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Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v Argentina in round four of the 2025 Rugby Championship. Kick-off at Allianz Stadium in Sydney will be sometime around, but not before, 2pm (AEST).
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The feelgood factor in Australian rugby prevails – just – after last week’s nail-biting victory over Argentina in Townsville. Despite the Pumas leading for 81 minutes of play it was the Wallabies who ran out winners, executing a spirited second-half comeback and holding their nerve at the death, finding the match-winning try after repeatedly declining point-blank shots for goal that would have earned a draw.
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It was a performance of two halves from the men in gold. The first period was bad old Australia, full of handling errors, indiscipline at the breakdown, and poor kicking options. After a rollicking from the increasingly impressive Joe Schmidt at the break, Australia were transformed at the ruck, the interchange dominated, and confidence began to return.
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It was another demonstration of the split personality of this Australian group, one full of potential, but still lacking game management nous. The majority of first XV names are aged 26 or under: Max Jorgensen is a star at 21, Joseph Sua’ali’i a worthy marquee at 22, and Angus Bell is a world-leading prop at 24. There remains a gaping hole in the halves, and the constant chopping and changing of 9s and 10s through form and fitness continues to deny the Wallabies a clear identity. With Tom Lynagh going down again Schmidt is onto his third starting flyhalf in four matches, all of their partnering a scrumhalf who announced his retirement a month ago.
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For Argentina last week was further confirmation that they belong at this elite level. A stronger interchange would have surely sealed a deserved victory, one built on power up front and dash behind, especially in the centres where Santiago Chocobares and Lucio Cinti were dynamic.
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The Pumas have a decent record in the Harbour City with two wins and a draw from their last three visits, although these matches were all played at Commbank Stadium in the western suburbs, not Allianz Stadium in the east.
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I’ll be back with the line-ups shortly. If you want to get in touch this afternoon, the address is jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
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Saturday sell-out ?
? Los Pumas
?️ Saturday September 13 | 2:00pm AEST
?️ Allianz Stadium, Sydney
? @StanSportAU | @Channel9 #Wallabies pic.twitter.com/WIHSnqFuec— Wallabies (@wallabies) September 8, 2025
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Key events
52 mins: Argentina’s fans are making a racket in the stands as Matera and Molina come onto the field to give the Pumas some finishing power. They’re both involved as the Pumas just about win their own lineout throw on the left then expand to the right until Sua’ali’i nails a powerful tackle. But there’s the latest in a series of breakdown offside penalties, Pollard this time, and Carreras can take time off the clock while he lines up a long range shot for goal.
50 mins: Both teams try to keep the ball alive in Australia’s half of the field but it’s all a bit chaotic. Australia’s attacking platform is continually built around isolated counter attacking runners, quickly mobbed by visiting defenders. Argentina meanwhile look blistering when they go wide but are finding momentum harder to come by in tight.
48 mins: On their own 22 Argentina secure scrum ball then set off on a burst down the left. The brilliant Chocobares is again influential as play settles down on halfway. The lofted crossfield kick to Isgro is threatening but the Puma agonisingly knocks on in the aerial contest with a scintillating try almost in the offing.
47 mins: Argentina kick clear but the Wallabies mount another charge, Bell again to the fore, but he’s trapped underneath and the drive fizzles out.
46 mins: McDermott feeds Hooper on the short side and the Wallabies are in motion on the left wing. Bell then busts through the line at pace after the offload from Valetinin. This is promising – then Nonggorr knocks on!
Penalty! Australia 7-22 Argentina (Carreras, 44)
The lead creeps up to 15. The Pumas have been the better side so far, and they have more firepower on the bench than last week to defend their advantage late on.
43 mins: Argentina return fire from halfway, passing flat from right to left then forming a mini-maul to grind towards the 22. Chocobares is dumped by a strong Paisami tackle, but almost immediately there’s an offside penalty and another simple three pointer.
41 mins: A rare kicking duel to start the second half – and it goes Argentina’s way with Carreras taking a brilliant contested mark on Australia’s 22! The Pumas then forget to secure the breakdown and the Wallabies pilfer easily and box kick to halfway.
With the entirety of the Allianz Stadium field now in shadow, the players are back out for the second half. McDermott and Bell are on the ground for the Wallabies.
More from Scott Probst: “Good to see that at last Paisami has started to learn how to pass the ball, but I think he needs some skill development. His running has been good though.”
Paisami’s running has indeed been the highlight of the half for the Wallabies. His power, along with Sua’ali’i outside him, give Australia a massive weapon in midfield. However, the attacking phases through the backline feel a little frenetic. Eventually Sua’ali’i needs to form a playmaking partnership with his five-eighth but so long as the 10 jersey keeps changing hands that familiarity is going to be difficult.
On the often risible TV coverage beforehand, the pundits identified this pattern yet used it as a means of illustrating how good the Wallabies were at the back end of games, implying early scores are overrated so long as the fundamentals of the game were being applied.
As Scott Probst correctly emails: “The usual early game pattern from the Wallabies, early mistakes, a quick strike back, followed by softening defence.”
Half-time: Australia 7-19 Argentina
The Wallabies execute the scrum and find the dynamic Paisami yet again on the burst. His running has been exhilarating. His offloading, not so much. He got away with one a few minutes ago but this time his Hail Mary lands in the wrong hands and that ends the second first half in succession dominated by Argentina. Can they hold their nerve this time?
39 mins: Argentina make a mess out of clearing their lines following the restart and Australia have a scrum just inside attacking territory with a minute left on the clock.
Penalty! Australia 7-19 Argentina (Carreras, 38)
Argentina’s lead grows to 12 as Carreras continues his perfect day off the tee.
38 mins: Australia secure their own scrum and find the bullocking Paisami again. Thereafter everything goes horribly wrong. The passing along the line to the left is clunky and after the breakdown is recycled slowly the ball is hurled deep to Sua’ali’i who tries to run out of trouble, concedes ground, and finds himself isolated on the ground. The gimme penalty is inevitable.
36 mins: Before the Australian penalty, play is referred to the onfield referee by the TMO for a potential high tackle by Wilson. The Wallaby skipper does hit the ball carrier in the head, but it’s adjudged to be off the shoulder via an acceptable technique and play continues.
36 mins: Back to 15 men Australia settle things down on halfway and White box kicks. Argentina get nowhere in tight so Carreras goes to the sky. His garryowen is dangerous but Chocobares knocks it on in the contest with Edmed.
34 mins: Another awful mistake form Argentina. From the lineout on the left they go through hands to spiral passes all the way to the right wing, where Isgro steps into touch. The Pumas have not punished 14-man Australia despite plenty of half-chances.
34 mins: Contepomi is absolutely furious with that kick ahead, screaming into his walkie-talkie. The Pumas could easily be ten or 20 more points to the good here.
33 mins: Australia enjoy some confidence-building multiphase play in midfield until another awful kick spoils the build-up, this time a weird chip ahead from Edmed. Argentina kick long, turn the Wallabies around and establishing territorial advantage. Into Australia’s 22 Isgro senses the moment, chips and chases but Slipper (that’s right!) is there to take the sliding defensive mark.
32 mins: The lineout is pinched and the energy ebbs out of Allianz Stadium.
31 mins: Paisami does incredibly well to beat the first line of defence then continues to pump his legs and drive into the next wave of tacklers. The offload to McReight is risky but the backrower holds on. With momentum Edmed then nails a perfect 50-22 to set the Wallabies in motion and get the crowd involved.
30 mins: Both teams look a little lost as they trade possession either side of halfway. Then Edmed box kicks meekly to allow Argentina room to run out of defence to the left. With the man advantage they make repeat gains with Australia backpedaling. A three-man sortie on the right exchanges passes until Chocobares is brought down close to the line. The Pumas must surely score from here as they mass bodies around the breakdown with repeat one-out shoves inches from the line. Certain they’d drawn enough bodies into the melee they release the ball to the backs but Carreras spills it with a many-man overlap to feed! Massive let-off for 14-man Australia.
28 mins: Argentina secure the restart and clear towards halfway. Australia knock-on so the Pumas can regather and box kick into Australian territory. The Wallabies are eager to attack so run the ball from left to right until Paisami elects to kick. It’s an awful decision and execution, allowing Mallia to mark uncontested 15m from his own line.
Penalty! Australia 7-16 Argentina (Carreras, 26)
25m out, just to the left of the posts, Carreras makes it a nine point lead for Argentina. Both Wilson and White had plenty to say at the award of that penalty, citing a high-tackle, but replays did not flatter their arguments.
24 mins: Australia clear towards halfway but Argentina come straight back. A delicate kick in behind Kellaway in the left corner turns the Wallabies on their heels and they try to run their way out of trouble – only to hit a swarm of white and blue jerseys. It’s Pollard caught in possession after being mauled from behind, and another kickable penalty is the outcome.
23 mins: Australia win lineout ball on the right, Valetini goes on a barnstorming run, then the Wallabies go through hands to the left but Paisami and Sua’ali’i are not in sync. Argentina can counter at pace and fancy their chances on the left again , but as they reach the 22 Petti is somehow the man required to throw a crucial pass on his outside and he isn’t up to it.
22 mins: Argentina’s forwards and backs are in synergy as another drive rumbles from halfway to the 22 at speed. Garcia is everywhere at the breakdown. Sclavi is somehow on the left wing. The gold wall finally resists and as play slows down Tupou earns a ruck penalty on the ground. The kick to halfway eases the pressure.
20 mins: Argentina kick to the left corner and win lineout ball. Australia defend well though, deny the maul, then scramble to keep the Pumas on the backfoot. Eventually Carreras kicks from centrefield to the left corner to benefit from the absent Jorgensen but Isgro is a fraction behind play and the ball bounces into touch just before the corner flag. Australia win the defensive throw and clear their lines.
Yellow Card! Jorgensen (Australia)
18 mins: From the lineout the ball is released at speed from right to left. Isgro hits the line at speed and has men on his outside. This looks promising. Then a gold jersey knocks the ball down – a deliberate knock-on – and Jorgensen has to spend ten minutes in the bin.
17 mins: Goodness me, this is awful. Argentina shank the clearing kick and it stays in play only for White and Edmed to almost collide as they both try to mark. White knocks on, then blows up at his younger colleague as the Pumas kick to halfway on the right.
17 mins: The lineout is sharp, the maul is formed, but the ball is released quickly for Paisami to scream onto and fall inches from the line. Tupou has a dart from point blank range. Then Valetini tries to leap over the mass of bodies like an NFL running back at first and goal. Has he scored? No! The ball is dislodged over the line in the air as the backrower tried to ground!
16 mins: Australia decline the guaranteed three points and kick to the left corner instead.
There’s a break in play while Chocobares receives some treatment.
16 mins: Australia go long from the restart for a change and Argentina can only clear to their 22. The Wallabies secure attacking lineout ball and look to cut from left wing to right with a crossfield kick. It’s a curious decision and after the ball was in dispute in the air it lands in albiceleste hands on the ground. Argentina don’t clear well though and the Wallabies run the ball straight back through Slipper. Tupou then takes the ball into contact and earns a very kickable penalty.
Penalty! Australia 7-13 Argentina (Carreras, 14)
Kremer pounds off the back of the lineout with intent and earns a penalty advantage at the ruck with McReight not releasing quickly enough. Following a forward pass play is recalled and Carreras dabs over a simple three points from 25m out bang in front.
11 mins: White intercepts on halfway then Valetini knocks on to hand the turnover straight back. The box kick to the right wing is recycled by Argentina and they immediately carve to the left at pace. Mateo Carreras breaks the line and charges towards the 22 but as he’s hauled down, support is slow and the ball ends up in a contest. Play is recalled to an earlier advantage and the Pumas kick to touch on the 22 on the right wing.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 7-10 Argentina (Montoya, 9)
Wow! What is going on in Sydney? Argentina kick-off short down the right but after a couple of phases concede a penalty. From the resulting scrum the Wallabies are gifted a free-kick but Edmed dallies over it and allows Montoya the opportunity to sprint in his direction, charge it down, then benefit from a favourable bounce, pounce on the loose ball and slide over the line. Out of nothing, the Pumas are back ahead!
Carreras can’t miss from just to the right of the posts.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 7-3 Argentina (Sua’ali’i, 5)
Another short kick-off ricochets favourably Australia’s way on the left wing, and it’s honoured by strong runs from Valetini and Wilson as the Wallabies gather momentum. Play stalls on Argentina’s 22 after six phases but the halves don’t panic. Edmed picks the right moment to expand and he sets off a move through hands to the right. There appears to be an overlap as Kellaway accepts possession in the right centre position, but instead of looking to his outside he turns the ball back in to Sua’ali’i. The rugby league convert then turns on the afterburners, accepts contact, and drags three Argentinians over the line with him! That was an awesome demonstration of power finishing from the young superstar. What a statement of intent.
The touchline conversion from the right by Edmed is beautiful. Australia are back in front.
Penalty! Australia 0-3 Argentina (Carreras, 4)
Santiago Carreras strikes a beautiful penalty from 40m out just to the left of the posts. Like last week, the Pumas are in front early.
2 mins: Toole knocks-on the short kick-off but his effort was a good one and a great demonstration of Australia’s intent. The first scrum is clean and from the right wing Argentina go through hands from their own 22 to halfway. Now on the left the penalty advantage arm is extended, not once but twice, as play is recycled back to the right. There’s plenty of ball movement but little penetration as play returns to the left, at which point there’s a juggle from Ovideo and play is recalled for the shot for goal.
Kick-off!
Round four of the Rugby Championship is under way…
Argentina’s rollicking anthem reverberates around the ground and turns the visiting fans into a mob of frothing energy. Then a slick man loudly sings Advance Australia Fair in a posh voice. “If that doesn’t get you going, nothing will,” the man paid to talk on the telly informs me.
The two teams make their way out in front of a packed house at Allianz Stadium. Half the playing area is bathed in spring sunshine, the other half cast in shadow. Expect some tactical kicking towards the sun-drenched corners.
After turning out last week top to toe in navy blue, Argentina revert to their traditional albiceleste (white and sky blue).
It is one of my favourite uniforms in international sport, and here’s why. The colours are beautiful, soft, and complementary. Le Coq Sportif is uber cool and carries association with shaggy haired French soccer players of the 1980s. The golden Puma is unfussy. The sponsor is top-tier and occupies the correct amount of real estate. My only criticism is the absence of a collar, recent iterations of this jersey were elevated further by a crisp white fold.
Australia are in their familiar gold and green combination.
La celeste y blanca. ??? pic.twitter.com/vmplWwo1L4
— Los Pumas (@lospumas) September 13, 2025
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Christophe Ridley is today’s referee. He’s Paris-born but England-raised and a relative newcomer to the Test scene.
It’s mild, sunny, and still in Sydney this afternoon, indicating perfect conditions for Test match rugby at Allianz Stadium. However, the east coast of NSW has been drenched this winter and suffered another deluge earlier this week, so conditions underfoot may well be heavy.
Todo listo en Sydney. ☀️? pic.twitter.com/figdRvinWl
— Los Pumas (@lospumas) September 13, 2025
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Today’s match is a sell-out, which is a reflection of the turnaround in Australian rugby this season, as well as the standing of Argentina, who are usually relegated to the second-tier arenas.
A Wallaby win would make it three victories from their opening four Rugby Championship matches for the first time since 2011.
As well as The Rugby Championship and The Pumas Trophy, there is the all-important matter of world ranking points at stake.
On the World Rugby rankings, Australia (6th place) lead Argentina (7th place) by 2.56 points.
This could prove significant at the 2027 World Cup. With the tournament expanding to 24 teams for the first time, the group phase will feature six pools of four nations. The six top-ranked sides in the world will be separated at this stage of the draw, and if early matches go to form, they should also avoid each other in the first knockout stage (round of 16). The ranking cut-off point for this huge advantage is December 2025.
Rankings points are traded during each Test. These are based on the match result, the relative strength of each team, the margin of victory, and there is an allowance for home advantage. In short, this means underdog victories are worth their weight in gold, while upsets at home can prove very costly.
Last week, Australia gained 0.55 points, while Argentina lost 0.56 points. But during the tour of South Africa the Wallabies gained a maximum 3.0 ranking points for their 15+ point victory away to the much higher-ranked Springboks, losing only 0.23 for the narrow defeat that followed.
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New Zealand P3 W2 L1 PD18 B2 Pts10
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Australia P3 W2 L1 PD12 B1 Pts9
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South Africa P3 W1 L2 PD-15 B1 Pts5
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Argentina P3 W1 L2 PD-15 B1 Pts5
Australia are second on the Rugby Championship table, a point behind New Zealand. The All Blacks host South Africa in Wellington this evening.
Argentina XV
Perhaps mindful of how his side was overrun late on in Townsville, Felipe Contepomi has named some first XV firepower as finishers in Sydney. Franco Molina and Pablo Matera both start on the bench, swapping places with Guido Petti and Joaquin Ovideo, to bolster an inexperienced interchange that was incapable of withstanding the Wallabies fightback last week.
The only other change is in the backline, where Bautista Delguy makes way for Rodrigo Isgró – the 2023 World Rugby Sevens player of the year.
Argentina: 1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 3 Joel Sclavi, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Joaquin Ovideo, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 10 Santiago Carreras, 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Lucio Cinti, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 15 Juan Cruz Mallia.
Bench: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Justo Piccardo, 23 Ignacio Mendy
Australia XV
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has made four changes to his starting XV but only one unforced, with veteran prop James Slipper restored to the front row for his 149th Test cap in place of Tom Robertson.
Tane Edmed will wear the No 10 jersey for the first time in place of the luckless Tom Lynagh, who is nursing a hamstring strain after already missing the South Africa tour with concussion. Len Ikitau has a laceration on his knee that has failed to heal enough to take the field so Hunter Paisami will play his first Wallabies Test of the season at inside centre. Jeremy Williams returns to the second row alongside Tom Hooper, with Nick Frost being managed due to a tight back.
Australia: 1 James Slipper, 2 Billy Pollard, 3 Taniela Tupou, 4 Jeremy Williams, 5 Tom Hooper, 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 9 Nic White, 10 Tane Edmed, 11 Corey Toole, 12 Hunter Paisami, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Max Jorgensen, 15 Andrew Kellaway.
Bench: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Filipo Daugunu.
Just like last week, the advertised kick-off time of 2pm is a bald-faced lie. The host broadcaster countdown clock indicates we’ll be underway around 2:16pm. I think I’ll mute the next 38 minutes of uncritical cheerleading.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v Argentina in round four of the 2025 Rugby Championship. Kick-off at Allianz Stadium in Sydney will be sometime around, but not before, 2pm (AEST).
The feelgood factor in Australian rugby prevails – just – after last week’s nail-biting victory over Argentina in Townsville. Despite the Pumas leading for 81 minutes of play it was the Wallabies who ran out winners, executing a spirited second-half comeback and holding their nerve at the death, finding the match-winning try after repeatedly declining point-blank shots for goal that would have earned a draw.
It was a performance of two halves from the men in gold. The first period was bad old Australia, full of handling errors, indiscipline at the breakdown, and poor kicking options. After a rollicking from the increasingly impressive Joe Schmidt at the break, Australia were transformed at the ruck, the interchange dominated, and confidence began to return.
It was another demonstration of the split personality of this Australian group, one full of potential, but still lacking game management nous. The majority of first XV names are aged 26 or under: Max Jorgensen is a star at 21, Joseph Sua’ali’i a worthy marquee at 22, and Angus Bell is a world-leading prop at 24. There remains a gaping hole in the halves, and the constant chopping and changing of 9s and 10s through form and fitness continues to deny the Wallabies a clear identity. With Tom Lynagh going down again Schmidt is onto his third starting flyhalf in four matches, all of their partnering a scrumhalf who announced his retirement a month ago.
For Argentina last week was further confirmation that they belong at this elite level. A stronger interchange would have surely sealed a deserved victory, one built on power up front and dash behind, especially in the centres where Santiago Chocobares and Lucio Cinti were dynamic.
The Pumas have a decent record in the Harbour City with two wins and a draw from their last three visits, although these matches were all played at Commbank Stadium in the western suburbs, not Allianz Stadium in the east.
I’ll be back with the line-ups shortly. If you want to get in touch this afternoon, the address is jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
Saturday sell-out ?
? Los Pumas
?️ Saturday September 13 | 2:00pm AEST
?️ Allianz Stadium, Sydney
? @StanSportAU | @Channel9 #Wallabies pic.twitter.com/WIHSnqFuec
— Wallabies (@wallabies) September 8, 2025
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