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It was a bruising affair, dominated by eager forwards, but the draw was probably a fair result.
Argentina 28 Australia 28 AUSTRALIA’S FOUR-MATCH winning run came to an end in Mendoza on Saturday as the Wallabies failed to exploit a late two-man advantage in a 28-28 draw with Argentina.
New coach Les Kiss failed to win for the first time in his fourth match in charge, following a victory last week against the Pumas and two successes over Japan. Even so, the result gave Australia a 1-0 series win, their first in Argentina. It was a bruising affair, dominated by eager forwards, but the draw was probably a fair result.
Argentina did at least halt a run of three straight defeats, although they remain on just the single victory in this calendar year, against Wales in July. Advertisement Australia opened the scoring halfway through the first half through captain Harry Wilson. After Pumas lock Franco Molina was sent to the bin, wing Max Jorgensen extended the Wallabies’ advantage. The game then turned on a yellow card for lock Jeremy Williams.
Still down to 14 men themselves, Argentina responded through captain Pablo Matera. Back to full strength, they levelled things up after Ignacio Mendy burst through a gap to score as the teams went into the sheds at 14-14. The forward battle continued after the break as flanker Fraser McReight restored Australia’s lead, only for hooker Ignazio Ruiz to level up again. Flanker Matera barged over for his second after Argentina went through 23 phases against a desperate defence.
The Pumas then imploded, coping two yellow cards in quick succession for deliberate knock-ons by their two most experienced backs. Lucio Cinti went first and fly-half Santiago Carreras followed, giving away a penalty try in the process to level the scores at 28-28. Despite playing the last 10 minutes with a significant advantage, Australia did not come close to snatching a winning score. – © AFP 2026
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