(Reuters) – Australia captain Harry Wilson is confident the Wallabies can continue to make improvements after notching up a last-gasp 20-19 win over hosts Argentina in the Rugby Championship in La Plata on Saturday.
Ben Donaldson’s late penalty earned Joe Schmidt’s side their first victory in this year’s competition after opening with comprehensive back-to-back defeats against South Africa, giving Wilson belief the Wallabies are on the right path.
“It gives us a lot more confidence,” said Wilson, who was captaining the Wallabies for the first time. “We’re a young group and we’ve been building since the start of the year.
“We played some decent footie against the Boks, but they’re the best in the world and we didn’t get the results there.
“It felt as if we improved in those games and then, tonight, we showed some more improvement. Just to get the win gives us that little bit more confidence to keep improving.”
The Australians trailed going into the dying minutes despite scoring two tries to Argentina’s one in abysmal weather conditions before Donaldson slotted over from close range with the final kick of the game.
The win was Australia’s first in the Rugby Championship since a 25-17 victory over South Africa in August 2022 but, despite picking up four points, Schmidt’s side remain rooted to the bottom of the standings.
“We stayed in there in that second half, it was a tough grind for 80 minutes,” said Wilson. “The way our backs put us in good field position late in that second half to give us an opportunity was awesome.
“It was pretty stressful in the last few minutes but I just love how composed we were at the end, going through our pick and drives and really trying to grind there until we got a penalty.”
The win was Australia’s fourth in six matches since Schmidt took over in the aftermath of the Wallabies’ dismal showing at last year’s Rugby World Cup, when the Eddie Jones-coached side were eliminated in the group phase.
“It was heart in mouth,” said Schmidt. “I’m just really delighted for the boys, they found a way to win.
“It’ll be back to the drawing board a little bit on Sunday but I think we might even enjoy this one, just because we really had to fight to get it.”
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Michael Perry)
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