The Wallabies remain undefeated in the Les Kiss era with a win, a draw and the bronzed Puma Trophy collected for a positive series win in Argentina.
It is no easy task to extract victories on Argentinian soil – Los Pumas have beaten Australia (2024), South Africa (2024), France (2024), New Zealand (2025) and Wales (2026) since the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2023.
The Wallabies held on for a strong 27-21 win over Los Pumas in Jujuy, but will rue not finishing off the home side in the 28-all draw a week later in chilly Mendoza when they played most of the closing 10 minutes against 13.
Here are six players who produced eye-catching performances in Argentina as the Wallabies head into tests against South Africa and New Zealand.
Rob Valetini
The crunch to Australia’s backrow found his best form of 2026 in Argentina, where his powerful charges were essential to tenderise the Pumas’ defence in the land of giant steaks and Malbec.
There’s subtlety as well as the post-contact metres to his running which are such a big part of the Wallabies getting go-forward.
It was a strong Valetini hit-up that created room on the left edge for the Wallabies early opening try in Jujuy.
Midway through the second half, a Tom Hooper try extended the Wallabies’ lead from 22-21 to 27-21. You notice Hunter Paisami’s bustling run and Hooper’s dot-down first – but integral to the lead-up was Valetini taking a short ball and his tip on to Paisami.
Deep in the test in Mendoza, Valetini’s strength held a Pumas’ back on his feet and turned the play into a maul and turnover. He’s turned into something of an ironman with 68 Tests to his name.
Jeremy Williams
One key Kiss call was pairing Jeremy Williams and Josh Canham as his starting second rows for both tests in Argentina.
Canham excelled again, and Williams showed why he’s 1.98m of underrated quality.
The Test in Jujuy was just six minutes old when heads were shaking at the two tall locks galloping away to set up Brandon Paenga-Amosa for a try.
Williams circled around Canham, dashed clear and threw the final pass. It said a bit about Kiss freeing the Wallabies to react on opportunities rather than a safe recycle as the first thought.
Williams stole an early lineout, too, to keep building the momentum for a 12-0 lead.
The workrate is there. He could have had a pick-and-go try of his own at the 70-minute mark but could not quite hold on to the ball.
Brandon Paenga-Amosa
The Western Force hooker continued to build his case in one of the most competitive positions in the Wallabies’ line-up.
Paenga-Amosa, Josh Nasser and Billy Pollard have all started in the gold No.2 jersey in 2026, and recent Wallaby Matt Faessler is fit again to add further depth.
You can’t miss Paenga-Amosa. He was a whirl of long braids when scoring the Wallabies opening try in Jujuy.
He marshalled some of the Wallabies’ best scrums in Argentina which meant standing up to one of the Pumas’ traditional strengths.
Strength at hooker across 80 minutes is something every top Test side searches for. In Jujuy they showed they have it as replacement Pollard teamed with prop Angus Bell for a huge double-teaming tackle in the tense closing minutes.
Fraser McReight
Whether it’s in Australia or at high altitude and chill locations in the shadow of the Andes, the Wallabies flanker proves himself in the top echelon of world class.
Saying he scored pick-and-go tries in each test in Argentina does him a disservice. You see players foiled on the line countless times in any test.
McReight’s quickness when seizing the ball and spearing over as low as he does is one of his assets. He was, justifiably, named player of the match in Jujuy.
There were his trademark moments where he zeroed in at the tackle to get hands on the ball to force a penalty. Doing so in the final minutes is what you get from the best opensides.
His workrate in defence was integral to some impressive try-line defence in both Tests from the Wallabies.
Philip Daugunu
You have to repay your team when you drop the opening kick-off to a test, as winger Daugunu did in Mendoza.
For the rest of the Test, he did just that.
There was his crunching tackle to force a turnover, the pick-and-goes in tight with the forwards and a massive turnover forced by hands on the ball like he was a flanker.
Funny about that. To be a more versatile package, Daugunu went into the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season trying to match McReight pilfer for pilfer.
He got some beauties too. It gives you an idea of his mentality.
He even packed a scrum as a flanker when Williams was in the sin bin in Mendoza.
Impressively, it meant McReight was not the only Wallaby forcing turnovers when Daugunu, Hooper, Canham and Charlie Cale were doing so in the two tests.
While he doesn’t still have the speed of Dylan Pietsch or a Harry Potter, Daugunu is a physical package to keep an eye on.
Ryan Lonergan
Increasingly, Lonergan is looking like the Wallabies’ first-choice halfback heading towards the Nations Championship’s northern series in Europe in November and next year’s Men’s Rugby World Cup.
His sure pass oils the backline in a way that makes width to the attack and planned moves that much more reliable.
He slotted three from three with the boot in the test in Mendoza, so he’s also the go-to goalkicker.
At the 65-minute mark in Mendoza, he made back-to-back tackles to prevent a Pumas’ breakout from their quarter. That’s a spirit the Wallabies are showing en masse – a promising sign as the Kiss record reads three wins and a draw.
