The Wallabies almost pulled off another trademark comeback but fell short 28-26 to Argentina in Sydney.
The hosts were made to pay for their early discipline issues as Los Pumas held tough for a deserving win.
Watch the Wallabies tackle Los Pumas at Allianz Stadium live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
So what did we learn?
Assistant coach Laurie Fisher summed it up best when he said at half-time the Wallabies didn’t respect possession enough.
There were too many occasions where they either went one out and got isolated or threw the unnecessary offload that gifted possession back to the visitors.
The penalty count was also way higher than usual under Schmidt, adding to their woes as at one point it sat at 12-2 against them.
They outscored Argentina four tries to one but the weight of kickable penalties made it way too hard.
The trademark comeback came late, but ultimately, they couldn’t produce another burst of magic in the dying minutes.
The Los Pumas were always going to come out firing and they were dominant in Sydney.
They kept to the game plan that caused the Aussies trouble early in Townsville and pressed them all afternoon.
The aerial game was a massive part of it, with the injection of Rodrigo Isgro making a big difference.
They found themselves on the back foot late after a sloppy yellow card but did just enough to hold on.
It adds to their ever-growing list of scalps as they’ll go into two Tests away in South Africa confident of continuing the hot run.
The Wallabies' last-quarter push may have fallen short, but it could be massive for the future of the team.
The Wallabies will lose their spot in the top six for now, which is crucial with the 2027 World Cup draw at the end of the year.
But the late burst of Andrew Kellaway and Filipo Daugunu (x2) limited the maximum damage that a loss would’ve caused to 15+ points.
It seems like nothing but at the end of the year, it could be the difference between avoiding one of the big guns in the group stages.
On top of this, it reinforces the notion that there's no point in the match in which the Wallabies are out of the game.
Julian Montoya was intent on celebrating his 50th game as captain in style.
Los Pumas feed off energy and the hooker’s early charge down try on Edmed fired the team up for a big performance after an early Suaalii try.
He then kept the pressure on the Aussies with a perfect pilfer penalty in the second half.
Montoya has been at the helm of some famous wins in Los Pumas' history, with this win crucial for their push into the top six on the World Rankings - critical in the scheme of the year.
Even in defeat, the rise of the Wallabies has been recognised in Sydney as an excellent crowd that brought great energy.
The sellout was the highest ever at Allianz Stadium since the redevelopments in 2022 and it was evident with one of the best Australian anthems in recent memory.
The strong Argentina influx helped the atmosphere, bringing their trademark energy as they celebrated their crucial win in style in fantastic scenes post-match.
It’s the Wallabies’ fifth sellout in their last eight home games, with a 1-4 record in those games, signs of the next step they need to take if they are to capitalise on the revival in support.
