Summary
Ok, that’s enough from me for now. I’ll leave you with the first draft of this afternoon’s match report, with further analysis to follow in the coming days. We’ll be back to do this all again next week when these teams meet in Sydney. Catch you then.
Breakdown discipline is so-often now the determining factor in these close Test matches. In the first half the penalty count read 8-3 against the Wallabies. In the second it stood at 8-2 against the Pumas, including the yellow card against Mateo Carreras.
Victorious Wallaby skipper Harry Wilson was immense once again. He’s given his immediate reaction to the host broadcaster.
On the dramatic conclusion to the match and his decision to repeatedly decline the penalties on offer.
There was obviously a lot happening there and I guess full credit to the team. We could have gone for goal there and taken the draw. It was a tough game, but everyone believed that we could finish the job and the boys wanted to win a game as well, as a group on the field, everyone sort of feeling the moment. And the crowd was 25,000 people pleading for us to tap it and try and win the game. And that really probably was the difference in the choice at the end.
On the game of two halves:
Probably our discipline in the first half, it really did hurt us there and we just wanted to hold onto the ball for a few more phases, not give them easy outs with penalties. And I thought we did that and I’m very proud of the boys.
We weren’t at our best today, but to find a way to get a win against such high quality opposition, it’s a real credit to them. They’re such a world class forward pack and we knew that coming into it. So we knew we had to be ready for it up front. And then obviously we’ve got some backs with a lot of speed. And if we get them a bit of front foot ball, they’re great to watch.
That was a desperate, breathless, final few minutes of time added on. Credit to Wilson and the Wallabies for pushing for victory when a draw was repeatedly on the table.
Full-time: Australia 28-24 Argentina
The Wallabies pinch victory from the jaws of defeat.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 28-24 (Bell, 80+6)
Paenga-Amosa taps and goes again. Tizzano, Wilson, inches from the line… Ikitau dummies his drive, offloads to Bell, and he cannot be stopped! Australia have done it!
O’Connor seals the deal.
80+5 mins: Tizzano, Paenga-Amosa, and Ikitau all try to burrow under the blue wall. Penalty advantage! O’Connor tries the crossfield kick to the right corner but overhits it and Jorgensen knocks on. Back to the original infringement. This is torture!
80+5 mins: Australia are going to tap and go, again declining the three points.
80+4 mins: Australia secure the 5m lineout on the left. The maul forms. Argentina resist then Paenga-Amosa and Ikitau both hit the line hard. There’s a penalty advantage as Argentina dive in off their feet. Ikitau and Kellaway come again, then O’Connor tries to loop a pass over to the right wing but it comes off hands and play returns to the original infringement.
80+2 mins: The scrum holds – just – and Australia spread to the left. McDermott marshals a series of one-out drives and earns a penalty advantage, Sua’ali’i splinters to the right and reaches the 22. Play returns infield but the penalty is called and Australia have a massive decision – do they accept the draw, or go for the win? They kick to the corner!
80 mins: O’Connor’s short restart is perfect and forces an Argentinian knock-on. One attacking drive remaining for the Wallabies to force a result.
PENALTY! Australia 21-24 Argentina (Mallia, 79)
With one minute on the clock, the fullback strokes Argentina into the lead!
78 mins: This is a massive moment in the match. 35m out, 15m in from the right touch. The penalty against Tizzano for not rolling away, slowing down Argentina’s ball.
Updated
77 mins: Australia box kick to halfway. Carreras takes it superbly and the Pumas get into their running again. They go to the right, recycle to the left. The interchange forwards are industrious, hitting the gainline. Mallia spots a gap and almost wriggles through – and he earns a penalty advantage in kickable range!
76 mins: It’s been all Australia this half but Argentina are now gifted a scrum free-kick to allow them to establish some territory.
75 mins: Gah! 40m out, Australia attack off the back of the scrum but McDermott and Ikitau don’t connect with timing and the runner spills possession in contact.
74 mins: Argentina maul off their lineout just inside their own half. The ball disappears under a mass of humanity with both sets of players waiting for the referee’s arm… it points Australia’s way!
73 mins: Argentina, now back to a full complement of defenders, hold their line resolutely under immense pressure. The Wallaby lineout on the left wing leads to a crisp drive infield but with the crossbar casting a shadow over the breakdown there’s an incorrect entry and the Pumas can kick clear.
71 mins: Scrum penalty to Australia. Kellaway takes it quickly – too quickly – and the rest of his backline is unsettled. Eventually O’Connor is late on his pass to Tizzano and the ball hits the grass. But the TMO is getting involved again. The referee blew his whistle twice to announce the initial free-kick, which is what confused Kellaway, and so play returns to the original infringement and Australia kick deep.
69 mins: Argentina are wilting late on here in Townsville. Kellaway’s bomb is fielded by Carreras but he coughs up possession in contact near halfway under pressure from Toole. The Pumas have two minutes remaining with just 14 men on the field.
67 mins: The Pumas get another reprieve with a scrum penalty, but they just kick possession back to their hosts.
65 mins: Argentina eat up some time at the scrum then try to milk the clock in midfield on Australia’s 22 but the Wallabies pounce on the breakdown and get lucky with a couple of ricochets to clear their lines. The Pumas come again, this time down the right, but a simple pass to Delguy is grasses with the winger blinded by the sun. Kellaway seizes the moment, chipping into the vacant corridor and gathering his own ball. The gold jerseys stream forward in support but the ball doesn’t come out cleanly and Argentina hold on.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 21-21 Argentina (Sua'ali'i, 63)
Sua’ali’i has a second! From the set-piece the Wallabies expand from right to left. Jorgensen almost gets through the line but that honour instead falls to Sua’ali’i who crosses just to the left of the uprights. The O’Connor conversion is unmissable. What a turnaround this is in Townsville.
Yellow Card! (Mateo Carreras, 63)
With the penalty eventually called Mateo Carreras is sent to the bin for being the unlucky man at the end of a second spell of repeat offsides for Argentina this second-half.
63 mins: The Wallabies come again, spreading to the right then bedding in for repeat phases in the corner. The advantage is called as Wilson, Ikitau, and Paenga-Amosa all burrow into the blue wall.
61 mins: Australia win good lineout ball just inside Argentina’s half. O’Connor changes the direction of attack superbly, floating a long ball from inside back to the left touchline for Wilson. The skipper chips and chases – then charges down the clearing kick! HOw will it bobble? Argentina’s way – just – and Ovideo does well to avoid the dropout, just getting back into play.
59 mins: Another healthy delay as Australia’s scrum is set and reset. Eventually Australia cut left with Jorgensen, who feeds Sua’ali’i, but after hitting the line hard he’s too cute on the ground and his ambitious offload finds blue hands. The Pumas counter down the right but spill possession in tight. O’Connor spots an acre of space in behind Argentina’s defence and kicks long – but it’s agonisingly one roll too long and the Pumas can take play all the way downfield.
Or not. The TMO has spotted something behind play against Chocobares, God knows how many phases ago, and Australia are gifted a penalty.
And now there’s another drinks break.
Rugby.
56 mins: The left-winger Carreras has had enough and goes for a run, but with Argentina enjoying go-forward the ball is tossed horribly forward by Petti and the move breaks down. The Pumas have threatened to rip this game open in the past ten minutes or so without quite hitting their marks.
Australia have nearly emptied their bench already, including O’Connor, in a bid to get back into this match.
55 mins: A rare minute of duelling kicks. How novel.
54 mins: From a lineout on the right wing near halfway Argentina are soon bursting down the left following another demonstration of their crisp catch-and-pass running rugby. The chip ahead becomes a second kick but McDermott does well on the ground as the last line of defence. The Pumas aren’t finished though and Carreras snipes through from five-eighth – but there’s an obstruction and the Wallabies can breathe a sigh of relief.
52 mins: Argentina are committed to their running game this afternoon, and led by winger Mateo Carreras they beat Australia’s first line of defence again. They look for repeat offloads in the middle of the park but there’s one too many as Bell snaffles a simple interception and lower the tempo of the contest.
50 mins: Australia miss their kick for touch so Argentina go back to their running game to eat up metres. They cross the 22 at speed but as they cut to the left they run out of room and the Wallabies bundle the ball carrier into touch. The lineout is secure, Jorgensen gains valuable metres and the clearing kick takes both teams back to halfway.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 14-21 Argentina (Sua'ali'i, 47)
This second attack lacks the same incision and White is forced to box kick – but Toole’s aggression turns it into a promising bomb and then both teams commit a mass of bodies to the breakdown with the ball in dispute. Argentina then commit one, then two, then three advantage penalties at the breakdown! The Wallabies won’t be budged though and grind away for precious metres until Ikitau makes the difference, standing up his opposite number and drawing in a second defender before popping out a superb offload for Sua’ali’i on the burst to bullock over!
Lynagh adds the simple extras and Australia are back into this contest.
46 mins: Australia gather the dropout on the left and Valetini sets up a powerful drive. They go through phases infield then spot some room on the right and go through hands. The passing isn’t crisp though and momentum stalls so by the time it reaches Jorgensen he’s forced to kick again. Which he does to perfection, forcing another dropout!
44 mins: The first lineout steal of the day goes Argentina’s way! On halfway they secure possession and accept a series of slow phases until expandin to the left – where Sua’ali’i monsters Cinti, ripping the ball from his grasp. The ball is passed back to Jorgensen who kicks an inch-perfect ball in behind the Argentina defence that is touched down for a dropout. That was superb vision.
42 mins: Lynagh doesn’t find touch with his cleaing kick following the restart so Argentina hurl themselves at the gold line down the right wing. The ball is recycled nicely to the left touchline before the phases slow and move infield. The Wallabies defend solidly as the Pumas grind and earn a penalty as two Argentines cross paths and commit an obstruction.
The teams are back out for the second half. It remains warm in Townsville but the shadows from the stands now cover more of the playing surface, cooling the playing conditions.
Joe Schmidt has his players surrounding him in a ring as he delivers an unusually collective half-time address. Presumably he’s telling his charges to focus on the breakdown and remedy the 8-3 penalty count against his side.
That was very old-Australia areas: poor discipline at the breakdown, avoidable handling errors, and a lack of go-forward up front. These are very evenly-matched sides and the gap currently stands at two spilled balls punished by decisive set-piece running rugby.
Argentina’s front foot defence has been superb, as has their decision-making off the back of the scrum. The first try, to the right corner, showed beautiful timing between 9 and 12, then the second, to the left, was all about confidence and freedom of expression through multiple pairs of hands.
Half-time: Australia 7-21 Argentina
After a stop-start half full of errors, penalties, and reset scrums, it’s Argentina who head to the air conditioned changing rooms with a healthy 14-point advantage.
40 mins: That decision turns out to be a dreadful one as Argentina are penalised as the scrum is being set and Australia kick to touch to bring a chastening half to its conclusion.
39 mins: Australia do well to slow the ball down on halfway but the box kick lands in blue hands and White is penalised on the ground in kickable range. Carreras dribbles a kick through the line that Kellaway does well to gather but Argentina are then quickest to the ruck. Instead of the three-point penalty the Pumas accept a 5m scrum deep in the left corner.
37 mins: Again Australia go to their backs and make good ground until Kellaway kicks straight to his direct opponent. The Pumas regain possession, the Wallabies are offside, and Argentina are back on attack.
PENALTY! Australia 7-21 Argentina (Carreras, 36)
From just to the right of the posts 30m out Carreras continues his excellent half with the boot.
33 mins: Australia are shellshocked. Kellaway and Lynagh try to run their way out of defence and get it all wrong. Eventually the latter is mauled at the breakdown and Carreras has another golden opportunity to extend Argentina’s lead.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 7-18 Argentina (Carreras, 31)
UNBELIEVABLE TRY! This is champagne rugby from Argentina! Another costly error in possession from the Wallabies allows the Pumas another scrum feed on halfway. This time they break to the left and Cinti is the man who unlocks the Australian defence. With all the momentum and runners on the burst the visiting backs just keep the ball alive in contact, offloading like Harlem Globetrotters to the left touchline, then looping passes back infield until Mateo Carreras bashes over. Wonderful free-flowing running rugby.
Argentina go bang-bang. And this time Carreras adds the extras.
TRY! Australia 7-11 Argentina (Delguy, 29)
The sands of time ebb away as Argentina’s scrum is set and reset. Eventually the ball comes out in the nick of time and the scintillating Chocobares times his burst to perfection to hit the ball on the run and carve open the Australian defence. It’s then a catch-and-pass training drill through a couple of pairs of hands to allow Delguy to cross near the right corner. Beautiful crisp set-play rugby, orchestrated by Garcia behind the scrum.
The conversion misses the right upright by a matter of millimetres.
Updated
28 mins: The Wallabies clear to halfway then try to work through the phases infield off the lineout but are soon in quicksand. Valetini then spills in contact as Vivas executes a routine tackle.
26 mins: Argentina get a decent look from the restart, working through phases from right to left. Sua’ali’i stands up well to a rampaging drive from Kremer, then McReight is quickest to the breakdown and earns his side a clearing penalty.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 7-6 Argentina (White, 24)
Straight after the drinks break Australia score the first try of the day! From a 15m lineout Wilson breaks off the back to gain ten metres. Argentina are offside trying to regroup as White looks to the short side for Frost on the burst. He draws in bodies but White is quick in support and snatches the opportunity to pick the ball off the turf and dive over the line. Excellent alertness from the home No 9.
Lynagh strokes over an easy couple of points from just left of the posts.
Australia’s discipline at the breakdown has been poor and their forwards are making no inroads at the gainline without the hulk of Skelton. The backline has looked lively but haven’t seen enough of the ball yet to cause much danger.
24 mins: Lynagh now takes a good contested high ball and Argentina are too eager at the breakdown, allowing Australia to kick to touch deep on the left.
Drinks break.
22 mins: Jorgensen claims a box kick superbly just inside Argentina’s half to give his side some go-forward but the promising attack is curtailed when Sua’ali’i is penalised for a sloppy offside. Argentina can’t capitalise. This is a scrappy error-strewn contest.
20 mins: The lineout is short and effective. Argentina threaten to steer the maul into touch but the ball comes out and White threatens to darts through. The Pumas regroup, and again demonstrate their superb defence in tight, denying Australia any momentum and eventually earning a penalty on the ground as the phases grind to a halt.
Wilson might rue that decision to decline points.
Updated
18 mins: Australia soon earn a penalty advantage after claiming the long dropout, which they accept after another series of fruitless one-out drives. The Wallabies are grinding but struggling to pierce this defensive line.
Wilson shows intent by declining the three points on offer and instead kicking to the right corner for a 5m lineout.
16 mins: The scrum is refreshingly drama free and Australia get to work on the left edge with repeat slow one-out play. Argentina’s defensive line and work at the breakdown is superb. Eventually White decides his forwards are banging their heads against a brick wall and dabs a rugby league-style grubber towards the in-goal area that Mallia is forced to dab down and concede a dropout.
14 mins: Argentina deal with a deep restart and kick towards halfway. Molina then does superbly to erupt from an Australian ruck and swat the ball back his side’s way. The clearing kick changes the direction of play but Kellaway runs it back at speed, offloading to McReight, then Wilson, to build attacking territory. The drive comes to a halt over on the left wing near attacking 22 for an Australian scrum.
PENALTY! Australia 0-6 Argentina (Carreras, 12)
42m out, 15m in from the left touchline, and Carreras rides the breeze superbly to double Argentina’s advantage.
10 mins: The second scrum of the day, like the first, has to be reset. When White finally feeds it there’s an even amount of force until both front rows concertina upwards and we have a third feed. This one is allowed to play and the Wallabies split at pace from right to left. This is crisp from Australia – until the final pass to Toole from Sua’ali’i is too high and powerful, forcing the winger to cling on off-balance and hurl the ball back into play straight to a blue jersey to avoid going into touch. Argentina counter while the Wallabies regroup and gain a penalty advantage just after halfway. This is just about kickable.
8 mins: Another excellent lineout from Argentina sets Chocobares on the burst in midfield. The Pumas sense an opportunity and go through hands to the left wing only for Cinti to drop a chest pass just inside Australian territory.
7 mins: Argentina get the first scrum feed of the day, on their own 22, and it looks susceptible to a powerful Australian shove, but that drive is penalised for not coming in square and the Pumas can kick clear again.
PENALTY! Australia 0-3 Argentina (Carreras, 5)
Argentina win their first throw and get to work in midfield until Sua’ali’i nails a beautiful ball and all hit. Some powerful rucking gets the Pumas inside the 22 but after shifting back inside with a one-out runner McReight is too quick jackaling at the breakdown and earns the referee’s arm. However, the TMO then gets involve for an infringement against Tupou on the ground. The decision is reversed and Argentina get a shot for goal from point blank range. Santiago Carreras makes no mistake.
2 mins: Argentina fumble the kick-off on their own 22 and Australia are immediately on the front foot. Two quick phases are stalled by a poor pass from White and Argentina assert themselves in defence with a couple of massive hits, one on Frost and one on Ikitau. Robertson is then penalised at the breakdown and the Pumas can clear.
Today’s referee is Paul Williams from New Zealand, by the way.
Kick-off!
18 minutes later than advertised round three of the Rugby Championship is under way…
As Argentina’s invigorating anthem rolls around North Queensland Stadium the TV cameras locate a very animated and noisy knot of travelling fans. They are located in the open north-eastern end of the stadium so hopefully they have slip slop slapped.
Now we see them, striding out past the delightfully kitsch Puma Trophy.
Ten minutes after the advertised start time, still no sign of either team on the Townsville turf.
Much to my disappointment, Argentina have mothballed one of the most beautiful jerseys in international sport for today’s fixture. Instead of the usual powder blue and white hoops, Los Pumas will wear an all-navy number.
The Wallabies will be in traditional gold with green accents.
Australia’s coach Joe Schmidt has had a few words with the host broadcaster.
Confidence comes from a long way back that we’re building as we go along. We built through the Lions series, we built through South Africa even though we won the first game and lost the second game, the second game was three tries apiece, and had a kick to go ahead with about 12 to go. That could have swung things around. So we know we’re not always going to get the margins in our favour, so we’ve got to work hard enough to get enough margins that it doesn’t matter to the end result if we do miss a couple. That takes a lot of hard work, and I’ve no doubt that the players are ready roll their sleeves up today.
We’re going to have to be ready to cover the field with their [Argentina’s] kicking game and at the same time front up to whatever they’ll bring in in their carry and clearout… we’ve got to be ready for both.
Conditions in Townsville may not be conducive to high-octane rugby. The temperature is pushing 30C and there’s a decent easterly breeze blowing across the 25,000 capacity venue.
North Queensland Stadium has hosted one previous Wallabies fixture, back during the Covid disruption of 2021, and that also happened to be against the Pumas. On that occasion Australia ran out 27-8 winners, but it was night memorable more for the early contest between New Zealand and South Africa that was snatched by the All Blacks with a last gasp penalty.
Argentina XV
Santiago Carreras comes in at fly-half with Tomas Albornoz nursing a hand injury. Blindside flanker Marcos Kremer returns, prop Joel Sclavi will start, Geronimo Prisciantelli should debut off the bench while loosehead Boris Wenger will also earn his first cap after playing in the unofficial Test victory over the Lions.
Argentina: 1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 3 Joel Sclavi, 4 Franco Molina, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Pablo Matera, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 10 Santiago Carreras, 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Lucio Cinti, 14 Bautista Delguy, 15 Juan Cruz Mallia.
Bench: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Joaquin Ovideo, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 23 Benjamin Elizalde
Australia XV
Andrew Kellaway is first in line to audition for the 15 jersey after regular fullback Tom Wright suffered a devastating ACL injury against the Springboks. Elsewhere in the backline Tom Lynagh returns from concussion to nudge James O’Connor to the pine, while further forward, Harry Wilson has recovered from a knee injury to resume captaincy duties. He comes into the XV in place of Will Skelton, who is back in France playing club rugby.
Australia: 1 Tom Robertson, 2 Billy Pollard, 3 Taniela Tupou, 4 Nick Frost, 5 Tom Hooper, 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 9 Nic White, 10 Tom Lynagh, 11 Corey Toole, 12 Len Ikitau, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Max Jorgensen, 15 Andrew Kellaway.
Bench: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Filipo Daugunu.
Pedant’s whinge here (cue the tiny violins). Kick-off is advertised as 2:30pm. The host broadcaster has a countdown clock indicating the actual start time won’t be until 2:47pm. This minor inconvenience irritates me no end. Rugby Australia, Channel Nine, it just makes you look shifty – cut it out.
There’s plenty of context to today’s encounter.
In The Rugby Championship each team has played two, won one lost one, with only bonus points separating the four combatants.
On the World Rugby rankings, Australia (6th place) lead Argentina (7th place) by just 1.45 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.
For example, the Wallabies gained a maximum 3.0 ranking points for their 15+ point victory away to the much higher-ranked Springboks recently, but lost only 0.23 for the narrow defeat that followed.
This formula means Australia are effectively defending ranking points over the next fortnight, while Argentina have a couple of free hits.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v Argentina in round three of the 2025 Rugby Championship. Kick-off at North Queensland Stadium in Townsville is 2:30pm (AEST).
The Wallabies are back – literally, and, it would appear, metaphorically. Following a historic trip to South Africa, Australia welcome Argentina for a double-header with expectations higher than at any point in almost a decade.
The 22-38 triumph over the World Cup holders at Ellis Park three weeks ago follows on from a deserved final Test victory over the British and Irish Lions, concluding a three-match series that contained plenty of reasons to be cheerful.
Joe Schmidt’s work behind the scenes is clearly paying off, while access to the best Australians playing overseas has elevated a willing mob into one sprinkled with stardust. As Daniel Gallan wrote following the comeback over the Springboks: “Maybe a team with a solid set-piece, a totem in the lineout, berserkers at the breakdown, ballers in the midfield and dazzlers in the backfield are simply a formidable outfit that deserve more respect than they’ve been shown.”
The challenge now is to embrace that expectation and deliver as favourites, an unfamiliar sensation after five consecutive matches grinding as underdogs.
Doing so without Will Skelton increases the degree of difficulty. The man mountain has been key to Australia’s resurgence but with his bulk back in La Rochelle the Wallaby pack is less potent. And there remains the challenge of establishing a long-term partnership in the halves. 35-year-old Nic White retains the No 9 jersey despite announcing his international retirement in August, and he will partner 22-year-old Tom Lynagh in Townsville, after spending the South African tour alongside fellow veteran James O’Connor.
White and Lynagh will have their hands full against an Argentina side relishing their own historic success after they defeated New Zealand on home soil for the first time a fortnight ago.
Los Pumas boast a fearsome experienced pack, and the Wallabies will be all too aware of the try-scoring potential outside after Argentina ran in nine this time last year when the fixture was played in Santa Fe.
Australia appear to have come on in leaps and bounds since that record defeat. The next couple of hours will begin to reveal if there is substance behind that assumption, or whether Australian rugby is again tormented by another false dawn.
If you want to get in touch this afternoon, the address is jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
