Wallabies seek Rugby Championship redemption after last year’s record loss in Argentina

By Canadian Press on September 4, 2025.

TOWNSVILLE, Australia (AP) — An embarrassing, record loss a year ago in Santa Fe inspired a resurgence in the Wallabies that will be only truly assessed in a rematch against Argentina on what is forecast to be a steamy Saturday afternoon in Australia’s tropics.

“It hurts. It still stings,” Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt said of that 67-27 loss the last time the teams met in the Rugby Championship. “You never want to be beaten like that.”

The Wallabies were coming off back-to-back home losses to South Africa and a narrow 20-19 win over the Pumas at La Plata before blowing a 20-3 lead at Santa Fe, Argentina last September and losing on a grand scale — the most points ever conceded in a test by Australia.

It’s a vastly different scenario heading into the Townsville test.

All teams in the Rugby Championship are 1-1 following Australia’s upset win over the World Cup champion Springboks at Ellis Park and narrow loss in Cape Town, and Argentina’s first ever home win over the All Blacks two weeks ago.

Old rivals

The coaches are well acquainted after regularly crossing paths in European rugby, and full of respect for each other. The opposing players know what to expect from each other.

Schmidt credits the rugged Pumas backrow as being among the best in the world, acknowledges the kicking game and strong midfield and the threat posed in counterattack from the wings and fullback.

Pumas coach Felipe Contepomi said the Australians will bring a strong, athletic challenge right across the field and he knows there’s pace out wide, plus he’s expecting a few things he hasn’t yet seen from a Schmidt-coached team.

“He is so detailed on everything he does,” Contepomi said. “He’ll bring something, he will have under his sleeve a trick, or two or three. We don’t know, that’s why we are expecting a really, really tough game.”

Momentum

The Pumas are coming off an impressive win over the No. 1-ranked All Blacks, they’re confident after their record win over the Wallabies last year and they also won their last match in Australia, 34-31 in Sydney ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

They’ve won three of the last four tests against Australia, and one of the big reasons is Contepomi’s attitude toward results.

“For me, I hate more losing than what I love winning,” he said. “For us, it’s start from zero the following day.

“We are preparing for Australia and we are trying to focus on being our best version … trying to improve on what we did the last game.”

Pivot points

Both teams will have relatively fresh playmakers, with 22-year-old Tom Lynagh returning from a concussion sustained in Australia’s narrow series loss to the British and Irish Lions and relegating veteran James O’Connor to the bench.

For Argentina, Santiago Carreras will start at flyhalf after a composed and assured performance as a replacement against the All Blacks after Tomos Albornoz went off injured after just 13 minutes.

Lineup changes

Contepomi made three changes. Schmidt also had to shuffle his lineup to accommodate the returning skipper Harry Wilson, who will start at No. 8, moving Rob Valetini to blindside flank, and shift Tom Hooper into the second row in the absence of giant lock Will Skelton.

Pumas captain and hooker Julian Montoya celebrated his 100th test cap in that big win over the Wallabies last year. He’s expecting a different kind of game this weekend.

“That was one year ago. You see the path where (the Wallabies) are now,” he said. “They beat the Springboks at Ellis Park and they almost beat the Springboks again last game. So it’s a world-class team. We’re expecting the best from them.”

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

The Associated Press

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