{"id":873542,"date":"2026-08-30T06:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T06:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/873542\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T06:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T06:42:12","slug":"wallabies-problems-were-on-show-in-win-over-argentina-but-kiss-found-awkward-answers-australia-rugby-union-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/873542\/","title":{"rendered":"Wallabies\u2019 problems were on show in win over Argentina, but Kiss found awkward answers | Australia rugby union team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rob Valetini bulldozed, barged through and brought the hammer down on home hopes in San Salvador de Jujuy during the Wallabies\u2019 27-21 win over Argentina<\/a>, Australia\u2019s fourth victory on the trot.<\/p>\n

It was a rare start for Valetini, filling in for captain Harry Wilson in the gold No 8. The man they call Bobby V turns 28 this week and looks to be building towards his peak just in time for next year\u2019s home World Cup<\/a>. The person Valetini may have damaged more than anyone with his brutal performance, however, was the rested captain.<\/p>\n

This Wallabies era is defined by imperfections, and it was again obvious in the weekend\u2019s performance. \u201cWe weren\u2019t perfect, neither were they,\u201d coach Les Kiss told Stan Sport after the match. Winger Max Jorgensen echoed the sentiment: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t near perfect, we\u2019ve still got a lot of work to do, but to come away with a win in Argentina is very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perfection, of course, is unattainable. Four wins in a row<\/a> \u2013 even if only this one was against an elite opponent \u2013 is reason enough for celebration for longsuffering Australian rugby fans, especially given how hard it is get a result in Argentina. But within today\u2019s Wallabies makeup there is still a clunkiness, a series of gnawing to-dos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii looked promising in his 15 minutes, including one gallop and offload down the right, even if it came at outside centre \u2013 much to the frustration of those wanting to see him at wing. And where might Angus Crichton, the other high-profile rugby league recruit due to come back to union next year, slot in? Hunter Paisami, who was one of the best in the Wallabies\u2019 second half here, and Len Ikitau prove Australia\u2019s depth at No 12.<\/p>\n

There was the questionable kicking of finishing scrumhalf Tate McDermott, who had one charged down and another that failed to find touch, as well as service that could be improved. Flyhalf Carter Gordon had moments of promise<\/a>, and was brave in returning to the field after a jarring facial injury, but had errors off the boot including sending one late kick dead in goal when the Wallabies needed a surer hand.<\/p>\n

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was influential during a 15-minute cameo off the bench for the Wallabies in the win against Argentina. Photograph: Marcos Brindicci\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Kiss has rotated the pack heavily<\/a>, and was rewarded with four lineout steals and a brilliant first try engineered by an unlikely combination down the wide blind side. Fraser McReight found Jeremy Williams, who gave it to Josh Canham, who got it back to Williams in a wrap-around, culminating in a Brandon Paenga-Amosa aerial put down. It was Australia\u2019s best backline move of the day, and not a single back was involved.<\/p>\n

The head coach knows, however, miracle tries don\u2019t win the ruck and maul, and his focus remains on building depth and refining execution. He flagged there would be more changes for the second Test in Mendoza this week. \u201cThose options will narrow down as we get closer to the end of the year, but at this stage, I\u2019m really happy with how the forward pack have bought into what we\u2019re trying to achieve,\u201d Kiss said.<\/p>\n

No Wallabies imperfection is more glaring, however, than that which surrounds the captain, a selection which should \u2013 according to traditional thinking \u2013 be the first made. Wilson has at times been inspirational in gold, having almost led an uprising against the British and Irish Lions, and having scored in the side\u2019s two most memorable recent victories against England and South Africa. His daring in not settling for a penalty goal and draw against Argentina in Townsville last year, instead procuring a try and a win<\/a>, will not be forgotten.<\/p>\n

Yet Australia boasts world class openside flankers in McReight \u2013 man of the match against Los Pumas \u2013 and the rested Carlo Tizzano, and Kiss has said he would like to see more of the pair playing together. Then there is the powerful Tom Hooper, who started at blindside flanker against Argentina and scored, and the mobile Charlie Cale, a genuine game-breaker in the backrow.<\/p>\n

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Hooper\u2019s employment with the Exeter Chiefs in the English Premiership \u2013 where he was named to the team of the season this year, the first Australian selected since Will Skelton in 2019 \u2013 mean he is likely to miss the Wallabies\u2019 September and October fixtures against South Africa and New Zealand. But Kiss has shown commitment to Hooper, which has been reciprocated, despite a club-versus-country tension that usually sees Australian rugby the loser.<\/p>\n

Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight tackles Argentina full-back Geronimo Prisciantelli during an outstanding display in San Salvador de Jujuy. Photograph: Ramiro Vega\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old was full of praise for his backrow colleagues McReight and Valetini after the match. \u201cAs the lineout forward, I know that I\u2019ve just got to get through a bit of work, and those guys can do the flashy stuff. Bobby can wreck blokes and Fraser\u2019s usually sniffing around for a bit of meat, so it\u2019s a good combination,\u201d Hooper said.<\/p>\n

In January, Kiss named McReight captain of the Queensland Reds, even though the playing group also includes Wilson. Influential former Wallaby Tim Horan, speaking on the Stan broadcast on Sunday, did not dance around the issue of the side\u2019s leadership when discussing the impact of McReight, who captained the Wallabies in the absence of an injured Wilson<\/a> against South Africa last year and led the side against Argentina when Allan Alaalatoa went off in the second half. \u201cIt was interesting to see how animated Fraser McReight was in that second half,\u201d Horan said. \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s very proud of his forward pack, but his leadership took another step today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson remains a useful contributor for the Wallabies, and retains the faith of Kiss, who flagged his return for the second Test. The Wallabies have been humbled recently in their second outings in Argentina, including a 67-27 embarrassment two years ago<\/a>. Given the selection merry-go-round for these work-in-progress Wallabies, the only thing perfect about this week in Mendoza is the opportunity for the returning captain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rob Valetini bulldozed, barged through and brought the hammer down on home hopes in San Salvador de Jujuy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-873542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}