Thanks to this victory with the offensive bonus, and a better point difference, the Argentines are ahead of the Australians at the top of the standings, ahead of South Africa and New Zealand.

The Pumas' last victory against Australia was on September 15, 2018 (23-19), in Gold Coast.

Their last success at home dates back to 2014 (21-17), in Mendoza.

Saturday's stinging 48-17 is Argentina's biggest victory against Australia.

In their first encounter in Mendoza last weekend, the Argentines crumbled in the last twenty minutes, losing 41-26 after long jostling the Australians.

This time they held and even disgusted Wallabies, approximate and almost transparent.

For this second match, James O'Connor replaced Quade Cooper at the opening, caught up with a new injury after rupturing his Achilles tendon.

A new blow for an Australian team already deprived of its captain Michael Hooper, who returned to the country to preserve his mental health.

Express Start

The Argentinians got off to a flying start, scoring two tries in just seven minutes.

The returning Juan Imhoff, established on the wing in place of Santiago Cordero, first took advantage of an Australian misunderstanding to score a try in the second minute, the 15th for the Racing 92 player in the Pumas jersey.

A tackle released by O'Connor allowed the Argentinians to add a second try by Thomas Gallo (6th), converted like the first by Emiliano Boffelli.

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Led 14-0 after just seven minutes of play, the Wallabies reacted thanks to a try from their captain James Slipper (11th) and a transformation, then a penalty from O'Connor.

But when they had just been denied a try, the Australians, strangely amorphous, let Jeronimo De la Fuente slip away on try (23rd), again improved by Boffelli (21-10).

Still unleashed, the Pumas, coached by Australian Michael Cheika, added a fourth try by Juan Martin Gonzalez Samso (31st), but Boffelli did not convert this time.

With four tries in their pocket, the Argentines returned to the locker room with a 16-point lead (26-10), they who had already had 9 points at halftime last Saturday.

If a week ago, the Pumas had been weighed down by a temporary exclusion, they negotiated their second period much better.

A successful penalty by Boffelli worsened the mark (53rd, 29-10).

Then three new tries signed Gallo (64th), Boffelli (77th) and Albornoz (80th), against one from Ikitau (66th), buried the Australian hopes and secured the offensive bonus point.

After a fortnight's break, the Argentinians will face the New Zealanders in Christchurch on August 27, reinvigorated by their success in South Africa (35-23), while the Australians will welcome the South Africans in Adelaide.

© 2022 AFP