The Wallabies have continued their strong start to the Les Kiss era, surviving a surge from Los Pumas either side of halftime to win 27-21 in Jujuy - handing Argentina their second ever loss at Estadio 23 de Agosto.
The hot conditions at altitude in the northern Argentine city made for a fatiguing clash, but a fast start from the visitors saw them never relinquish the lead across the match, a Tom Hooper try in the final 20 minutes proving critical to get them over the line.
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After a tense opening five minutes, the visitors got on the board through Brandon Paenga-Amosa, a build-up of attack seeing Josh Canham break the line from deep, finding fellow lock Jeremy Williams, whose final pass found his hooker to score on the line.
The Wallabies then extended their lead in the 11th minute, building off early set piece ascendancy to score again off the blind side, with Carter Gordon the benefactor.
However, the Pumas struck back quickly for their first score through Gerónimo Priscinatelli, the hosts’ attack finding the defence short to cut the margin to five points with their first real attacking opportunity.
The Wallabies responded through persistent forward play, Fraser McReight scoring the third try of the afternoon for the visitors, hot conditions seeing the game open up in the first 10 minutes with fatigue playing an early factor.
After surviving a persistent period of attack by the Pumas on the Australian line which saw Harry Potter sent to the bin, the visitors managed to hold on for several raids, the hosts finding an inroad through the aerial game and attacking close to the ruck.
The visitors survived with 14 men, but the Pumas’ persistence paid off: a tap-and-go off a scrum saw Joaquín Moro barge over the line to cut the margin back to five close to halftime.
However, the visitors would score the final points of the half; an offside penalty by the Pumas as the clock went red saw Lonergan deliver from the kicking tee, the three points pushing the margin out to more than a converted try, the score 22-14 at halftime.
The hosts came close to scoring early twice in the second half through transitions, but after ten minutes of persistence, the side finally scored their third try through Boris Wegner in the 52nd minute, cutting the margin to just one point.
However, the Wallabies struck back five minutes later as Tom Hooper benefited from a Hunter Paisami break in play to score, restoring the lead to six points.
As the final 20 minutes clicked over, fatigue saw play break down and the game in the balance, and with less than a converted try between the sides, the match became a matter of who would take their chances.
In the 71st minute, a critical scrum saw the Wallabies earn a corner, with Jeremy Williams looking to have scored before the TMO caught a knock on just before the line, with a second effort from Tate McDermott held up over the line.
The Pumas surged, with the Wallabies looking to pin the hosts back and wind the clock down in the closing stages, the ball changing hands several times at both ends of the field.
However, as the clock turned red, Matera knocked the ball on in play, with McDermott wasting no time in kicking the ball out and handing the Wallabies a critical win at home.
The series now moves to Mendoza, with the visitors having the chance to claim the Puma Trophy for the first time since 2022.
"Certainly happy with the win, for sure and nothing short of what we expected against a team that just kept on coming," Kiss said.
"Happy with certain elements of our game. However,we did put ourselves under pressure and offered too many opportunities at that time with some options that just gave them field position and gave them the ball freely."
"Yeah, we're not going to lose the run of ourselves, but we'll also accept that it's test rugby, and to get a win is very important on their home turf with the passion of their crowd; we'll still enjoy what we got out of that game. A W is very important."
Argentina 21 (Tries: Priscinatelli, Moro, Wegner. Cons: Carreras 3/3) def by Wallabies 27 (Tries: Paenga-Amosa, Gordon, McReight, Hooper. Cons: Lonergan 2/3, Donaldson 0/1. Pens: Lonergan 1/1. Cards: Potter)
