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CONVERTED TRY! Australia 7-10 Argentina (Montoya, 9)
Wow! What is going on in Sydney? Argentina kick-off short down the right but after a couple of phases concede a penalty. From the resulting scrum the Wallabies are gifted a free-kick but Edmed dallies over it and allows Montoya the opportunity to sprint in his direction, charge it down, then benefit from a favourable bounce, pounce on the loose ball and slide over the line. Out of nothing, the Pumas are back ahead!
Carreras can’t miss from just to the right of the posts.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 7-3 Argentina (Sua'ali'i, 5)
Another short kick-off ricochets favourably Australia’s way on the left wing, and it’s honoured by strong runs from Valetini and Wilson as the Wallabies gather momentum. Play stalls on Argentina’s 22 after six phases but the halves don’t panic. Edmed picks the right moment to expand and he sets off a move through hands to the right. There appears to be an overlap as Kellaway accepts possession in the right centre position, but instead of looking to his outside he turns the ball back in to Sua’ali’i. The rugby league convert then turns on the afterburners, accepts contact, and drags three Argentinians over the line with him! That was an awesome demonstration of power finishing from the young superstar. What a statement of intent.
The touchline conversion from the right by Edmed is beautiful. Australia are back in front.
Penalty! Australia 0-3 Argentina (Carreras, 4)
Santiago Carreras strikes a beautiful penalty from 40m out just to the left of the posts. Like last week, the Pumas are in front early.
2 mins: Toole knocks-on the short kick-off but his effort was a good one and a great demonstration of Australia’s intent. The first scrum is clean and from the right wing Argentina go through hands from their own 22 to halfway. Now on the left the penalty advantage arm is extended, not once but twice, as play is recycled back to the right. There’s plenty of ball movement but little penetration as play returns to the left, at which point there’s a juggle from Ovideo and play is recalled for the shot for goal.
Kick-off!
Round four of the Rugby Championship is under way…
Argentina’s rollicking anthem reverberates around the ground and turns the visiting fans into a mob of frothing energy. Then a slick man loudly sings Advance Australia Fair in a posh voice. “If that doesn’t get you going, nothing will,” the man paid to talk on the telly informs me.
The two teams make their way out in front of a packed house at Allianz Stadium. Half the playing area is bathed in spring sunshine, the other half cast in shadow. Expect some tactical kicking towards the sun-drenched corners.
After turning out last week top to toe in navy blue, Argentina revert to their traditional albiceleste (white and sky blue).
It is one of my favourite uniforms in international sport, and here’s why. The colours are beautiful, soft, and complementary. Le Coq Sportif is uber cool and carries association with shaggy haired French soccer players of the 1980s. The golden Puma is unfussy. The sponsor is top-tier and occupies the correct amount of real estate. My only criticism is the absence of a collar, recent iterations of this jersey were elevated further by a crisp white fold.
Australia are in their familiar gold and green combination.
Christophe Ridley is today’s referee. He’s Paris-born but England-raised and a relative newcomer to the Test scene.
It’s mild, sunny, and still in Sydney this afternoon, indicating perfect conditions for Test match rugby at Allianz Stadium. However, the east coast of NSW has been drenched this winter and suffered another deluge earlier this week, so conditions underfoot may well be heavy.
Today’s match is a sell-out, which is a reflection of the turnaround in Australian rugby this season, as well as the standing of Argentina, who are usually relegated to the second-tier arenas.
A Wallaby win would make it three victories from their opening four Rugby Championship matches for the first time since 2011.
As well as The Rugby Championship and The Pumas Trophy, there is the all-important matter of world ranking points at stake.
On the World Rugby rankings, Australia (6th place) lead Argentina (7th place) by 2.56 points.
This could prove significant at the 2027 World Cup. With the tournament expanding to 24 teams for the first time, the group phase will feature six pools of four nations. The six top-ranked sides in the world will be separated at this stage of the draw, and if early matches go to form, they should also avoid each other in the first knockout stage (round of 16). The ranking cut-off point for this huge advantage is December 2025.
Rankings points are traded during each Test. These are based on the match result, the relative strength of each team, the margin of victory, and there is an allowance for home advantage. In short, this means underdog victories are worth their weight in gold, while upsets at home can prove very costly.
Last week, Australia gained 0.55 points, while Argentina lost 0.56 points. But during the tour of South Africa the Wallabies gained a maximum 3.0 ranking points for their 15+ point victory away to the much higher-ranked Springboks, losing only 0.23 for the narrow defeat that followed.
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New Zealand P3 W2 L1 PD18 B2 Pts10
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Australia P3 W2 L1 PD12 B1 Pts9
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South Africa P3 W1 L2 PD-15 B1 Pts5
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Argentina P3 W1 L2 PD-15 B1 Pts5
Australia are second on the Rugby Championship table, a point behind New Zealand. The All Blacks host South Africa in Wellington this evening.
Argentina XV
Perhaps mindful of how his side was overrun late on in Townsville, Felipe Contepomi has named some first XV firepower as finishers in Sydney. Franco Molina and Pablo Matera both start on the bench, swapping places with Guido Petti and Joaquin Ovideo, to bolster an inexperienced interchange that was incapable of withstanding the Wallabies fightback last week.
The only other change is in the backline, where Bautista Delguy makes way for Rodrigo Isgró – the 2023 World Rugby Sevens player of the year.
Argentina: 1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 3 Joel Sclavi, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Joaquin Ovideo, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 10 Santiago Carreras, 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Lucio Cinti, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 15 Juan Cruz Mallia.
Bench: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Justo Piccardo, 23 Ignacio Mendy
Australia XV
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has made four changes to his starting XV but only one unforced, with veteran prop James Slipper restored to the front row for his 149th Test cap in place of Tom Robertson.
Tane Edmed will wear the No 10 jersey for the first time in place of the luckless Tom Lynagh, who is nursing a hamstring strain after already missing the South Africa tour with concussion. Len Ikitau has a laceration on his knee that has failed to heal enough to take the field so Hunter Paisami will play his first Wallabies Test of the season at inside centre. Jeremy Williams returns to the second row alongside Tom Hooper, with Nick Frost being managed due to a tight back.
Australia: 1 James Slipper, 2 Billy Pollard, 3 Taniela Tupou, 4 Jeremy Williams, 5 Tom Hooper, 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 9 Nic White, 10 Tane Edmed, 11 Corey Toole, 12 Hunter Paisami, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14 Max Jorgensen, 15 Andrew Kellaway.
Bench: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Filipo Daugunu.
Just like last week, the advertised kick-off time of 2pm is a bald-faced lie. The host broadcaster countdown clock indicates we’ll be underway around 2:16pm. I think I’ll mute the next 38 minutes of uncritical cheerleading.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v Argentina in round four of the 2025 Rugby Championship. Kick-off at Allianz Stadium in Sydney will be sometime around, but not before, 2pm (AEST).
The feelgood factor in Australian rugby prevails – just – after last week’s nail-biting victory over Argentina in Townsville. Despite the Pumas leading for 81 minutes of play it was the Wallabies who ran out winners, executing a spirited second-half comeback and holding their nerve at the death, finding the match-winning try after repeatedly declining point-blank shots for goal that would have earned a draw.
It was a performance of two halves from the men in gold. The first period was bad old Australia, full of handling errors, indiscipline at the breakdown, and poor kicking options. After a rollicking from the increasingly impressive Joe Schmidt at the break, Australia were transformed at the ruck, the interchange dominated, and confidence began to return.
It was another demonstration of the split personality of this Australian group, one full of potential, but still lacking game management nous. The majority of first XV names are aged 26 or under: Max Jorgensen is a star at 21, Joseph Sua’ali’i a worthy marquee at 22, and Angus Bell is a world-leading prop at 24. There remains a gaping hole in the halves, and the constant chopping and changing of 9s and 10s through form and fitness continues to deny the Wallabies a clear identity. With Tom Lynagh going down again Schmidt is onto his third starting flyhalf in four matches, all of their partnering a scrumhalf who announced his retirement a month ago.
For Argentina last week was further confirmation that they belong at this elite level. A stronger interchange would have surely sealed a deserved victory, one built on power up front and dash behind, especially in the centres where Santiago Chocobares and Lucio Cinti were dynamic.
The Pumas have a decent record in the Harbour City with two wins and a draw from their last three visits, although these matches were all played at Commbank Stadium in the western suburbs, not Allianz Stadium in the east.
I’ll be back with the line-ups shortly. If you want to get in touch this afternoon, the address is [email protected].
