Wallabies v Argentina: Winners and losers as TMO leaves fans ‘shocked’ and playmaker struggles with ‘nerves’
Australia vs Argentina winners and losers
Argentina continued their impressive 2025 with victory over Australia on Saturday, as Los Pumas defeated their hosts 28-26 at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Here are our winners and losers.
Winners
Joseph Suaalii
It was Suaalii’s try that kicked off the Wallabies‘ afternoon, and his performance never seized up from then on. It’s hard to believe that he’s only been playing professional rugby union for a year. He’s looking better and better each match, and today he looked as at ease with the game as anyone on the pitch. With three tries now for the Wallabies, the future is very bright for this young man.
James Slipper
Although the veteran prop rarely exceeds the 40-minute mark in Tests nowadays, his time on the field is often marked with class. Today was no different. He scrummaged hard, looked lively in the contact area, and was one of the few shining lights in an otherwise drab Wallabies first half.
Julian Montoya
A mighty performance from the Argentinian captain. Leading the team by example, he jumped on a moment of indecision by the Wallabies fly-half Tane Edmed in the opening minutes to touch down for the Pumas opener and set the tone for the rest of the match. Remaining on the field until the final 10 minutes, he was involved in everything positive about the Pumas performance.
Argentina half-backs
Gonzalo Garcia and Santiago Carreras were simply superb. Scrum-half Garcia was the key heartbeat to the Pumas attack in the first half, dictating play as the Wallabies struggled to contain the pace of the game. When he exited the field on the 50-minute mark, his absence was very much felt. Carreras was spot-on from the boot, building up the scoreline as he took the visitors further and further out of reach. Carreras’s yellow card did coincide with an incredibly aggressive Wallabies comeback, mind.
Wallabies replacements
Filipo Daugunu and James O’Connor were deadly when they arrived on the field. The former scored two terrific winger’s tries to bring the hosts back to within two points of their opponents, while the latter added the creative buzz that had been missing for three quarters of the match. Both stars have put markers down to start in the next test against the All Blacks.
Losers
Tane Edmed
With the world-class James O’Connor available, it felt bizarre that Joe Schmidt allowed Edmed to remain on the field as long as he did. He had a kick charged down in the opening minutes following confusion surrounding a penalty, then messed up a catch with Nic White when he failed to call for the ball. Both instances could be down to nerves, but in as important an occasion as this, nerves need to be nipped in the bud early doors.
He failed to gain control of the match throughout, with his only redeeming action being an instinctive 50:22 midway through the first half. The Brumbies fly-half does not lack quality but he did not appear ready for the big time quite yet. Substitute appearances recommended for the foreseeable.
Max Jorgensen
The electric winger was sent to the bin for a deliberate knock-on midway through the first half, which would indirectly result in a further six-point gain to Los Pumas during his time off the field. In different circumstances, his indiscretion could have had no major impact on the end result, but with the match being decided by just two points, it’s hard to argue that his 10-minute break didn’t make a difference.
Argentina bench
After such an impressive first half, all the Argentina replacements had to do was continue the momentum that had been built, both on the pitch and on the scoreboard. Felipe Contepomi’s men failed to match the intensity of the match when they entered the field, however, and shipped three tries in quick succession in the final 20 minutes. Once again, the coaches need to look at how they introduce a bench to a winning scenario.