After back-to-back wins over Italy and Fiji had lifted spirits, a trip to Argentina always looked like the tougher ask for Wales, and so it proved, with the Pumas running in five tries to seal a thoroughly deserved 35-21 victory.

Scotland’s earlier win on Argentine soil had sparked a flicker of hope that an upset might be on, but Steve Tandy’s side ran into a different animal altogether in San Juan.

Credit where it’s due, but the gap is clear

There was no shortage of fight from Wales, who stayed in touching distance long enough to chase a losing bonus point and, in truth, improved considerably on the 52-28 hammering the Pumas dished out in Cardiff back in November 2025.

But there was no hiding from the gulf in class: Argentina outmuscled their visitors, underlining exactly why they sit in the world’s top seven while Wales remain 11th.

“They’re a good team and they’ve had more time together off the back of the Scotland game as well,” said Tandy.

“We felt in a good place coming here and it’s disappointing the way the game finished for us.”

Argentina now turn their attention to a rare double-header with England with a World Cup semi-final also on the horizon on Wednesday before the final weekend of the Nations Championship.

Lessons to learn in defence

Wales’ defence was, as ever, committed, but too often lacking in that crucial first-up contact, and Tandy didn’t shy away from saying so.

“There’s a lot of lessons in there for us,” said Tandy.

“Coming away from home we need to be a bit more accurate and Argentina probably dominated the physicality.

“It’s something we definitely need to look at. We fell off a few tackles in the first half and that creates momentum which is hard to wrestle back.”

The numbers back it up starkly. Argentina racked up 458 metres in attack, with 15 clean breaks and 31 defenders beaten, compared to a Wales tally of just 209 metres, three clean breaks and 15 defenders beaten.

Front-row power the source of Wales’ scores

Wales’ route to points was a familiar one, built off the driving line-out rather than open, flowing attack.

All three tries came courtesy of the front row: Dewi Lake, Ben Warren, and Rhys Carre, the latter grabbing his fifth try in six internationals with a well-taken finish.

Getting over the gain line proved a persistent problem throughout, and it was only in the final quarter that Wales’ attack showed any real fluency.

The midfield picture also remains a work in progress, with Scarlets trio Sam Costelow, Joe Hawkins and Eddie James given the nod this weekend.

One shining light was flanker Jac Morgan, once again the standout performer with 23 tackles, a crucial turnover and a lively second-half burst that underlined his growing influence.

Exeter back-rower Kane James also impressed off the bench on his first cap.

Fitness worries for Lake and Murray

There was a nervy moment for the visitors when skipper Dewi Lake limped off in the second half with a leg injury, while full-back Blair Murray also looked to be struggling.

“The boys are having treatment so we’ll have probably more of an idea in the next 24 hours,” explained Tandy.

Onwards to South Africa — via very little sleep

Wales now face an immediate switch of continents, flying straight from South America to South Africa.

Rest was in short supply on their final night in Argentina too, with wild celebrations echoing through the streets of San Juan into the early hours after the hosts’ dramatic World Cup quarter-final win over Switzerland.

With a long, draining season catching up on his squad, Tandy looks set to freshen things up for Durban, with options like flanker Tommy Reffell and centre Ben Thomas still waiting for their chance in this year’s Nations Championship.

“Everyone might not get a chance but we’ll definitely make some changes from the game,” said Tandy.

“It’s a lot of travel and it was very physical playing against Fiji and Barbarians as well. We’ll assess everyone to see how they pull up and make a decision on the team.”

World champions await

As if the travel wasn’t demanding enough, crossing five time zones on a flight of more than 5,000 miles, Wales now face the small matter of facing the double world champions.

The scars of a 73-0 hammering by the Springboks in Cardiff last November are still fresh, and South Africa have already dispatched England and Scotland in this tournament using a heavily rotated squad in the latter.

Tandy, though, insists there’ll be no hiding behind circumstance.

“It’s brilliant for us and I talk a lot about us, where we’re going from our first campaign to our third,” said Tandy.

“We had a great result last week and now there is this disappointment against Argentina.

“Going to the world champions we know they could probably put two or three teams up that are really impressive. So we will be up against it but these are the challenges we want.”

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