The Wallabies are hard to pin down and, for now, that’s just the way coach Les Kiss likes it. He has flipped his entire starting pack for the match against Argentina this weekend, rested his captain, and deployed Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on the bench.

Kiss said ahead of the match “it may not seem like order”, even if he is adamant there is method in his approach. Yet with barely a year until Australia hosts the World Cup, the Wallabies’ transition from former coach Joe Schmidt to his long-time friend in Kiss is not without surprise.

“I need to know that I’ve got two good XVs,” Kiss said. “That’s what I need to get to and yeah, as the games get tighter, there might be a little bit more repetition of certain people in certain positions for sure, but I think it’s right to give these guys a real shot at it and raise that competitive dial.”

The Wallabies have eight matches left to play in 2026, including the upcoming two in Argentina, one in Perth against South Africa and the home-and-away Bledisloe Cup, before a three-match Nations Championship tour in the UK.

The runway is finite ahead of the most important year for Australian rugby union in a generation, as Kiss is aware. “As we get further on this year, there’s going to be less opportunities to do some of the things we’re doing now, that’s for sure,” he said.

“It’s not taking the eyes off a dangerous Argentinian team, it’s a good side that they’ve picked. It’s focusing on what our strengths are, and how we can utilise our different strengths in a way that allows us to be a bit future-proof when we need to be.”

In the past, a Test against Argentina might have been a straightforward exercise for the Wallabies, who won nine straight against Los Pumas between 2000 and 2014. Yet Australia currently sit one place behind their opponents this weekend, who are seventh, in the World Rugby rankings.

Argentina are missing several players due to European club commitments, including captain Julián Montoya, but are unchanged from the side which lost narrowly 17-10 to South Africa earlier this month. Wins against the British & Irish Lions, New Zealand and Scotland last year are a reminder of the threat of Los Pumas, who split the series with Australia last year 1-1.

“They’re a bloody brilliant team with ball in hand, particularly when they’re in flow,” Kiss said. “If we turn off at any given time, they’ll punish you in the loose [open play]. Quick taps, quick throws, they’ll attack from deep, they’re bloody dangerous for sure.”

Fervour is expected come kick-off time on Saturday night in Jujuy (Sunday 5am AEST), the northern city which is the 15th largest in Argentina with a population of not much more than 300,000. It is just the third Test match at the 25,000-capacity Estadio 23 de Agosto.

The name refers to the date in Argentina’s war of independence with the Spanish when residents abandoned the city in 1812 in an operation known as the Jujuy Exodus. It was a torrid sacrifice that helped overcome their enemy and is remembered annually by patriotic Argentinians, a zeal obvious when their sporting teams play.

“A couple of the guys in their first experience here made note of that culture,” said Wallabies fullback Tom Wright. “Around whether it’s rugby or soccer – the two big ones [sports] that they follow here – yeah, they’re certainly full of beans.”

In addition to the forward rotations, Kiss flagged that Suaalii could see game time at winger or fullback when he emerges off the bench. The coach has also turned to prop Allan Alaalatoa for the captaincy instead of Fraser McReight in the absence of Harry Wilson.

The regular captain is being rested this week, but his place in the side is taken by Rob Valetini, perhaps the team’s most damaging player who is equally comfortable at blindside flanker or No 8.

Australia’s fluidity in the backrow is both a strength and point of contention, with the likes of Brumbies’ No 8 Charlie Cale, Tom Hooper – named to start at blindside flanker this weekend – and the omitted Carlo Tizzano all in selection calculations alongside McReight.

That competition and Kiss’s appetite for change means Wilson’s position is far from guaranteed, even if the coach said the Queenslander remains Australia’s captain for the rest of the year.

“Harry’s the man who is in situ, he’s the man that we will back,” Kiss said, highlighting Wilson’s emotion, “footy smarts”, respect among teammates and work rate.

“The traits that he has already represents that [captaincy], but the responsibility of that is massive – but I don’t want it to be a weight, I want it to be something that inspires whoever is the captain.

“And someone who’s been through the mill and doing the job is probably the first person I look to as we get into ‘27, but for now, Harry’s going to be captain for the rest of the season.”