The celebrations on the pitch were muted for the Wallabies after the siren rang out for fulltime and the tourists claimed their first-ever series win over Argentina in Argentina, with the bitter knowledge they let a golden opportunity slip as they managed to cling onto a 28-all draw thanks to a late penalty try.
Playing with a two-player advantage for the final 10 minutes and with scores locked, the Wallabies failed to take full advantage, kicking the ball away, producing several errors and playing with a franticness unneeded of a side that had everything in their favour to win the game in the closing minutes. Instead, the Pumas looked the more composed outfit, playing smart, retaining possession with tight carries inside the Wallabies' half and slowly eating away at the clock.
As the ball sailed over the sideline and the whistle blew for fulltime neither side looked happy as the old sporting saying came to mind: 'it's like kissing your sister'.
But the positives from the Wallabies far outweigh the negatives in a Test that could have just as easily ended in defeat if not for a well led fightback in the final quarter and the help of two yellow cards to Argentina in a frantic final 10-minute passage.
Ben Donaldson was astute at fly-half after he was handed his first start in almost two years, marching his forward pack around the park with aplomb as they once again muscled up and barged over the line, first through captain Harry Wilson and then again early in the second through Fraser McReight.
His kicking game was decent, despite a few wobbles early on, and he worked well with Ryan Lonergan and Len Ikitau beside him -- the latter strong in his return from injury -- but he will be keen to find ways to unleash his impressive backline.
The fly-half only seemed to grow in confidence through the game and was especially threatening following a short stint in the first half that saw Carter Gordon on the pitch to replace Filipo Daugunu during an HIA. The double play-making combination working a treat with Donaldson able to play off the back of Gordon and demonstrating his pace with an emphatic line break. An offload to send Max Jorgensen over in the first half capping off a solid night for the No. 10.
It will certainly give Les Kiss some confidence heading into their next clash against the Springboks in three weeks after Gordon was taken from the field late in the second with what could be a serious injury.
Fraser McReight, meanwhile, was the standout for a forward pack that had an inconsistent night at the set-piece. McReight was always threatening at the breakdown, pinching several turnovers and perhaps should have been rewarded once more in the closing minutes, while his defence remains solid.
With so many changes made to the lineup, including a new look front-row and back-row reshuffle, it was perhaps expected to see some hiccups at the lineout and the scrum, although Taniela Tupou will be disappointed with his lack of impact on the match.
Meanwhile, Kiss's defensive structure continues to shine through, but remains a work on, as the Wallabies were forced to make almost 100 more tackles than the Pumas and repelled several Argentina raids on their line.
"There is some really pleasing things in what our defence has grown into for sure," Kiss said postmatch.
"I think our line speed really improved, we're getting off the line a lot more consistently. The edge defence, we're certainly putting pressure on their skill sets and definitely getting some good double team tackles and getting the turnovers as we need it, which I think are crucial.
"The problem is at times we're probably not just managing the game away from our third of the pitch enough times.
"When we get up to the other third, we're definitely making sure we make hay while the sun shines and those opportunities, when we get up there, we do convert well. We're just probably two steps, three steps forward in controlling the game and then suddenly one or two steps we're back on our back foot again and in that first half we would have noticed that we had two scores to nil.
"We gave them a few opportunities and allowed them to get back into the game. The energy in their game and their crowd rose to the top and then it becomes a difficult Test match.
"I thought under those circumstances, is still a good, robust, resilient effort by the boys to not break there and to stay in the game, and whilst we would have loved to win, the draw gave us the trophy."
One area of the game that remains a consistent issue is the concerning number of errors that continue to riddle the game and only compounds their issues. While they raced out to a two-try lead early on, turnovers through loose carries, miscommunication at the breakdown and poor clearance execution invited the Pumas right back into the game and locked the match into an arm-wrestle the Wallabies didn't want to be in.
Particularly concerning was Wright's poor game management in the final minutes of the first half that saw the Pumas level the scores and had them just moments away from stealing a lead before the break.
First, a fumble and then a poor read as he ran the ball over the line while attempting a clearance kick. Moments later the Pumas had scored with a first-phase try off the lineout. The second was through an unnecessary moment on the shadows of halftime as he was penalised for using his forearm to the face of the Pumas' defender after grounding the ball for the break. It may have been innocuous, but it was a brain fade from the experienced fullback and could have just as easily led to a third Argentina try on the break if not for a strong Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii defensive read to kill the play.
The side's poor game management came into play once again in the final minutes when they allowed a 13-player Argentina side to hold onto the ball for simply too long and failed to convert their point-scoring opportunity in the final minutes.
"Look, it's not like it's a deep problem," Kiss said of the side's game management. "It's just two or three moments just takes it away from you and that's the big thing.
"We're not going to catastrophise it, but there's one or two key moments, three moments that just allows them to stay in the game. The boys are talking about it. They know there's a little bit more we can improve in terms of establishing how we get our exits properly, how we turn the ball back in front of our forwards at the right time.
"Two or three moments is all we're talking about, but that's Test rugby, it comes back to bite you, and once a team like Argentina get a hold of the ball, it's hard to get it back often when you're in your 22 defending for a period.
"That's why I think it was a pretty good effort by the boys, all those extra tackles, not to break completely and stay in the hunt."
Now, with two trophies in the cabinet and sitting on a five-match unbeaten run -- four under Kiss -- it appears the time for lineup experimentation is over with matches against the Springboks and All Blacks next on the agenda.
So far Kiss has looked to rotate his sides, making mass changes to his lineups as he and his coaching staff look to get an eye on close to every player in the squad and aim to build depth across every position of concern. While the fly-half role continues to have question marks -- especially given Carter's potential long-term injury -- Kiss should walk away from Argentina certain of his lineup going forward.
"I was just talking to the coaches earlier, just having a debrief, we feel that some of the decisions we've made over this four or five weeks, we got a lot of good information from it, that'll certainly narrow the mindset in terms of how we go forward for sure.
"But it was important that this whole group knew that we were going to back them. They knew that we were going to challenge them in many different ways, and I think we've done that for the group and I think we'll get a lot of pay from that down the road.
"We're certainly going to be doing what we can over the next two, three weeks to prepare well for the Springboks.
"We know that we're playing the number one nation in the world, what are we now? Seven or six or something like that, we're going to have to make sure we get some things better to be able to front up against the Springboks. It will be tough, but I'm pretty sure the boys will be up for the fight."
