Argentina
Australia
Estadio 23 de Agosto, San Salvador de Jujuy
Championship Standings
This two-Test series exists because the 2026 Rugby Championship doesn't — South Africa and New Zealand broke away to stage their own head-to-head series, leaving Argentina and Australia to arrange a tour of their own. Test 1 is in Jujuy at 1,259 metres, Test 2 follows a week later in Mendoza, and the winner of the series gets the only silverware on offer between these two this year. The recent Rugby Championship history is genuinely even: they split the 2025 fixtures (Australia 28–24 in Townsville, Argentina 28–26 in Sydney) and the 2024 pair (Australia 20–19 in La Plata, then Argentina's record 67–27 in Santa Fe). Both sides start the series on zero.
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Argentina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 |  Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Argentina
W1, L4Los Pumas have lost five of their last six and four of those were at home, which is the number Felipe Contepomi will least enjoy reading. The defeats are all close — 7, 7, 9 and 4 points — and all to top-six opposition, but the trend is unmistakable: a side that beat the All Blacks and the Lions in 2025 has become a side that loses tight games. The 10–17 loss to South Africa in Buenos Aires three weeks ago summed it up — Benjamín Grondona's early try, a 3–0 and 10–7 lead, then a Springbok scrum penalty that set up Cameron Hanekom's decisive try, and Matías Moroni spilling the levelling score in the corner off the final play. Ten points at home is a worrying return for a backline this talented, and it's why Contepomi has picked exactly the same XV to go again.
Australia
W3, L2Three wins on the spin and 148 points in three games is the best run the Wallabies have put together in over a year — but look at who it came against. Italy were routed 57–10 in Perth, Japan were edged 35–32 in Osaka and then crushed 56–17 in Townsville, with 42 unanswered second-half points and every try scored by a forward. Les Kiss, who took over from Joe Schmidt for the Japan series, is two from two, and his pack is the reason: the front row scored four tries in Townsville. The two losses that bookend the run — 33–31 to Ireland and 42–26 to France in the Nations Championship — are the more relevant reference for what happens when a tier-one defence gets in Australia's face, and Argentina's lineup is a level above anything they've beaten since July.
Head-to-Head Record
6 – 2 – 20
Argentina wins · Draws · Australia wins (last 28 meetings since 1991)
Argentina (6)Australia own the long-run record — 30 wins to 10 with three draws all-time, and 20 of the 28 meetings since 1991 — but the fixture has flipped since 2022. Argentina have won four of the last six, including a 34–31 upset in Sydney in 2023 and last September's 28–26 win in Sydney that split the 2025 series. The two Pumas wins on home soil in that span weren't close: 48–17 in San Juan in 2022 and the 67–27 record demolition in Santa Fe in 2024, when Australia conceded the most points in their Test history. The counterpoint is that the Wallabies have also won in Argentina in each of the last two visits — 41–26 in Mendoza and 20–19 in La Plata — so this is a rivalry that swings violently from week to week, which matters with a second Test in Mendoza seven days later.
Recent Results
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | Rugby Championship | Australia 26–28 Argentina |
| Sep 2025 | Rugby Championship | Australia 28–24 Argentina |
| Sep 2024 | Rugby Championship | Argentina 67–27 Australia |
| Aug 2024 | Rugby Championship | Argentina 19–20 Australia |
| Jul 2023 | Rugby Championship | Australia 31–34 Argentina |
| Aug 2022 | Rugby Championship | Argentina 48–17 Australia |
Average score in the last 6 meetings: Argentina 37 – Australia 25 across the last six meetings. Argentina have won four of the six, but three of the six were decided by four points or fewer — and the two blowouts both went the Pumas' way at home.
Extended Form
Argentina4W, 7L (last 12 months)
Wins over Australia (28–26 in Sydney), Wales twice (52–28 in Cardiff, 35–21 at home) and Scotland (33–24 at Murrayfield). Losses to Australia (28–24), South Africa three times (67–30, 29–27, 17–10), England twice (27–23, 31–24) and Scotland (47–38).
The ceiling is still high — the November tour of Britain produced two wins and a four-point loss at Twickenham — but the last six weeks have exposed a side that keeps losing the big moments: three home defeats in July and August by a combined 23 points. Argentina remain 7th in the world, one place and 0.46 rating points above Australia, but they're falling toward the Wallabies rather than pulling away.
Australia5W, 9L (last 12 months)
Wins over Argentina (28–24), Japan three times (19–15, 35–32, 56–17) and Italy (57–10). Losses to Argentina (28–26), New Zealand twice (33–24, 28–14), England (25–7), Italy (26–19), Ireland twice (46–19, 33–31) and France twice (48–33, 42–26).
Nine losses in 14 is the honest reading of Australia's last year, and the November tour — beaten by England, Italy, Ireland and France in successive weeks — was the low point that ended Joe Schmidt's tenure. Kiss has since restored some order with a physical, forward-led game plan, but every one of his wins has come against Japan or Italy. This is the first serious examination of the new regime, and it comes at altitude, away from home, without the regular captain.
Argentina XV
Felipe Contepomi names an unchanged starting XV from the 10–17 loss to South Africa — the first time in his tenure he has repeated a side — and Pablo Matera captains from the blindside in his 126th Test with Guido Petti (102 caps) and Santiago Carreras as vice-captains. Carreras stays at fly-half with Gerónimo Prisciantelli at fullback and Simón Benítez Cruz at nine, while the Sánchez Valarolo–Cinti midfield and the Mendy–Isgró wings all keep their places. The only changes are on a bench reshaped from a 6–2 to a 5–3 split: Dragons loosehead Rodrigo Martínez replaces Mayco Vivas for his first Test since 2021 and just his fourth cap, Nicolás Roger comes in for Juan Martín Scelzo as fly-half cover, and Matías Moroni will win his 99th cap from the bench. There is no Julián Montoya, Marcos Kremer or Tomás Albornoz in the 23.
Australia XV
Les Kiss rotates his pack and rests tour captain Harry Wilson — workload management, not injury — so Allan Alaalatoa captains the Wallabies for the seventh time in his 93rd Test, anchoring an all-new front row with Isaac Kailea (first Test since December 2024) and Brandon Paenga-Amosa. Tom Hooper returns from a shoulder injury for his first start of 2026 alongside Fraser McReight and Rob Valetini, with Josh Canham and Jeremy Williams retained at lock. The backline is unchanged from the 56–17 win over Japan — Ryan Lonergan and Carter Gordon at half-back, Hunter Paisami and two-cap Isaac Henry in midfield, Harry Potter, Max Jorgensen and Tom Wright in the back three. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii returns from a hamstring strain as a utility option on the bench, Len Ikitau is given another week on his ankle, and Massimo De Lutiis — Wallaby No 1000 in Townsville — wins his second cap.
Key Matchups
This is a contest between an Argentine pack that knows exactly what it's doing and a Wallaby back three that can score from anywhere. Petti, Lavanini and Matera give Los Pumas a lineout and maul platform with 350-odd caps of know-how, and against a front row that has never started a Test together — Kailea hasn't played one since 2024 — the set piece is where Argentina should build their lead, provided the scrum holds better than it did against the Springboks. Australia's route is Valetini and McReight winning the collisions and the breakdown, then Gordon getting Wright, Jorgensen and Potter into space; they've scored 148 points in three games doing exactly that, and Suaalii off the bench is the game-breaker Argentina don't have in reserve. The pivot is Santiago Carreras at fly-half: he's a superb athlete playing the most important position on the field, and against a Wallaby side that will kick to him and press him, his decision-making at 1,259 metres decides whether Argentina's forward dominance turns into points. Matera versus Valetini is the individual duel — 126 caps of cunning against the most destructive carrier in the game.
Match Forecast
This is a close, low-margin Test and the scorecard says so — a net of just +2, with Argentina's altitude and lineout edge (+3 home, +1 set piece, +1 squad) almost entirely cancelled by Australia's superior form (-3) and a more dangerous back three (-1). The World Rugby rankings model lands at 65% for the home side with just 0.46 rating points separating 7th from 8th, our table says 69%, and the average of the two — 67% — is a fair reflection of a match that Argentina should win but won't win comfortably. The case for Los Pumas is Jujuy: 1,259 metres, a 25,000 crowd they've never lost in front of, two weeks in camp versus a squad that flew from Townsville, and a Wallaby front row that has never started a Test together facing Petti and Lavanini in the air. Australia's form is real but built on Italy and Japan; the last time they faced a tier-one defence they conceded 42 to France.
The risk for Argentina is obvious: they've lost five of six, they scored 10 points against South Africa, and Carter Gordon and Tom Wright are more than capable of putting 30 on a defence that leaked 47 to Scotland in July. If Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight win the collisions the way they did in Townsville, and Suaalii comes on with 25 minutes to go against tiring legs at altitude, this becomes the fourth home loss of the Contepomi era in six weeks and the Wallabies fly to Mendoza with a series lead. But three of those Argentine losses were by seven points or fewer, the pack is back to full strength and Matera in his 126th Test at a ground the Pumas treat as a fortress is a big reason to trust the home side. Expect the lineout maul to score once, the crowd to matter in the final quarter, and Argentina to hold on by a score.
Argentina by a score at altitude — the lineout wins it, but Australia's back three will make it uncomfortable to the end.
Estadio 23 de Agosto sits at 1,259 metres above sea level — the highest venue Australia will play at this year — and Los Pumas are unbeaten in two Tests there, beating Georgia 45–29 in 2017 and Scotland 26–18 in 2022.
Argentina have won four of the last six meetings — including a record 67–27 in Santa Fe in 2024 — despite Australia leading the all-time series 30–10 with three draws.
Pablo Matera captains Argentina in his 126th Test, the most in Pumas history, with Guido Petti (102) alongside him and Matías Moroni set to win his 99th cap from the bench.
Felipe Contepomi names the same XV that lost 17–10 to South Africa — the first time in his tenure Argentina have repeated a starting side.
Dragons prop Rodrigo Martínez ends a five-year Test exile on the Argentine bench for just his fourth cap, while Isaac Kailea starts his first Wallabies Test since December 2024.
Australia have scored 148 points in three straight wins under Les Kiss and Joe Schmidt — including every try by a forward in the 56–17 rout of Japan — but the two games before that were losses to Ireland and France.