Kiss flags Wallabies' defensive shape must improve before second Pumas Test in Mendoza

Les Kiss has called on the Wallabies to sharpen their defensive structure after Australia edged Los Pumas 27-21 at Estadio 23 de Agosto in Jujuy on Saturday, extending their unbeaten run to three Tests under the new head coach.

Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Carter Gordon crossed for early tries to give Australia a 12-0 lead inside 10 minutes, and the Wallabies never surrendered that advantage. But Los Pumas stayed in the contest throughout, kept alive by Santiago Carreras’ accurate goal-kicking, and ultimately outscored Australia three tries to four.

“That’s Test rugby, isn’t it? We weren’t perfect, neither were they,” Kiss said post-match. “I think they really controlled the ruck well, didn’t they? Their speed of ball and their defence loaded up on us. I thought we didn’t manage that as well as we could have — we could have been more compact, try and penetrate, collapse their defence a little bit more. We’re going to have to be better in that area next week.”

The numbers underline the point. Argentina missed just 14 tackles from 201 attempts, completing at a 93 per cent success rate. The Wallabies, by contrast, missed 18 tackles from 130 attempts, finishing at 86 per cent — a gap Kiss clearly wants closed before the sides meet again.

There were genuine positives, however. The set-piece was a consistent bright spot, with hookers Paenga-Amosa and Billy Pollard combining to hit 93 per cent of their lineout targets from 15 attempts. Loose forwards Jeremy Williams, Josh Canham and Charlie Cale also drew attention for their work stealing ball on Argentina’s throw.

Kiss acknowledged that pressure was not fully converted into points. “We probably didn’t profit off those things enough in terms of shifting the ball into space, getting our kicking game right,” he said. “Still a little clunky in our game… the boys were calm out there the whole game. When it wasn’t going quite right they kept going back to the things that worked for them.”

The win means Australia have now strung together four consecutive Test victories in the same calendar year for the first time since 2021. Kiss indicated he expects to make some selection changes for the second meeting, which takes place in Mendoza — the final away fixture of the tour before the Wallabies return home to face South Africa in Perth.