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The Wallabies have scored two late tries to beat a gallant Argentinian side 34-9 in Mendoza.
Michael Cheika made several changes to the side that scraped through against South Africa last week, bringing Greg Holmes, David Pocock, Ben McCalman, Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Matt Toomua and Joe Tomane into the starting XV.
The alterations were largely seen as rotation ahead of the opening Bledisloe Cup match in two weeks’ time.
The new look team gelled together well in the early minutes, and from the opening kick-off Australia looked to go wide using second man plays and decoy runners.
Tragically, the Wallabies lost inside centre Matt Toomua to a concussion within the opening ten minutes, after he’d made several promising touches and strong tackles.
Curiously, Quade Cooper was brought on as a replacement 12, instead of Waratahs inside centre Kurtley Beale.
A tense period of play then began, where both sides looked to gain territory with the boot, however poor tactical kicking from Los Pumas gifted Australia with their first try.
Nicolas Sanchez sliced a kick in his own half that stayed low, and was caught by Israel Folau on the burst.
The Australian fullback ran left, beat his man and offloaded it to Bernard Foley, who also drew and passed to his winger Joe Tomane for an open run to the line.
Australia went up 5-0.
Good play from the home side on the back of a dominant scrum earned them a penalty, bringing them within two points of the visitors. Even though the scrum woes continued to affect Australia, they ran into the sheds at halftime leading 8-6.
The period after the break was much the same, with more penalties ticking the scoreboard over to 14-9, still in the Wallabies favour.
David Pocock was putting on a timeless display, both in the ruck and around the park, and there is no doubt coach Cheika would have been pleased to see big Will Skelton making good use of his size.
A turning point in the game for the Australians was the introduction of Scott Sio and Sekope Kepu. The new look front row pushed forward and won precious penalties for the green and gold.
The visitors made use of clever substitutions, and scored again after another poor kick from Argentina.
Dean Mumm, on for the limping Scott Fardy and playing his first Test in five years, used his strong fend and balance to storm down the sideline and plant the ball down.
Now up 19-9, the Wallabies began playing with renewed confidence, but a lazy stray arm from Quade Cooper around the neck of Los Pumas fullback Santiago Cordero earned him a trip to the sin bin.
Argentina failed to take advantage of the overlap, and even conceded a penalty with Cooper on the sidelines.
Tevita Kuridrani crossed for their third try of the match. A clever inside ball from Kurtley Beale gave Foley some space who managed to spin after contact and give a basketball pass to Kuridrani who waltzed over untouched.
With just two minutes remaining, it looked like the score was set in stone, but an Israel Folau linebreak from the following restart finished with Adam Ashley-Cooper crossing over in the corner.
The Springboks and All Blacks will be furious at the fatigued Argentinian defence, who gifted the Wallabies a precious bonus point win.
While it was by no means a comprehensive win, Australia’s ability to score four tries away from home despite injuries to key players and a yellow card suggest they’ve shrugged off their shackles of previous years.
To finish games well is a new string the Wallabies have added to their bow under Michael Cheika, especially when fielding two very different sides in as many weeks.
The 34-9 result, while flattering, gives the Wallabies great confidence ahead of their Bledisloe clash on August 8.
The big question now is, who forms the line-up with the best chance of taking down New Zealand?
AUSTRALIA 34 (Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Dean Mumm, Joe Tomane tries Bernard Foley con 4 pens) defeated ARGENTINA 9 (Nicolas Sanchez 3 pens) at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas.
Referee: Jaco Peyper
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