The Wallabies will have a 24 hour flight home to Australia to reflect on their second half capitulation against Argentina, having blown a 17-point lead to concede a record 67-27 score against Los Pumas in Santa Fe.

After a gritty one-point win in the wet in La Plata last weekend, the Wallabies looked like they were on the cusp of making it two-from-two on tour as they burst out of the blocks against Felipe Contepomi’s men by running in two quick tries to open a 20-3 lead after 30 minutes.

But the Wallabies conceded 38 straight points either side of half-time, before Tate McDermott’s quick feet and Tom Lynagh’s accurate boot reduced the deficit to two converted tries after 70 minutes.

Any prospect of staging a second-half comeback was quickly snuffed out, however, as the Wallabies “fell off a cliff”, according to coach Joe Schmidt.

Los Pumas then ran in another four quick tries, including replacement backrower Joaquin Oviedo’s second in a completely dominant second-half, to make it an afternoon of celebration under the hot Argentinian sun for what was Julian Montoya’s 100th Test match.\

The 67 points the Wallabies conceded was 19 points more than their previous record against Argentina suffered two years earlier under Dave Rennie, but it was also the most they’ve conceded in their history. The loss surpassed the 61-22 loss to the Springboks in Pretoria in 1997, which brought the curtain down on Greg Smith’s coaching tenure.

The 40-point loss was the second largest ever, with the 53-8 loss to the Springboks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg the greatest.

“To lead a Test match 20-3 and get run down in the manner in which we did is really disappointing,” Schmidt said.

“We will review the entire match and there were some positives in it in the first 30, but we cannot let a game get away from us like it did and fall off a cliff effectively.”

Former international loose-forward Stephen Hoiles described the defeat as “humiliating”, as James Slipper’s record-equalling Wallabies appearance (139) fell flat.

The defeat comes less than a fortnight ahead of the Wallabies’ Bledisloe Cup home clash against the All Blacks, with Scott Robertson’s side also under the pump after successive defeats in South Africa meant they too have lost three of their opening four Rugby Championship fixtures.

Asked what his messaging would be ahead of the Bledisloe opener on September 21 in Sydney, Schmidt said he wouldn’t beat the Wallabies with a stick.

“We’ve got to continue to be pragmatic because it’s very easy to wash away some of the gains that we’ve made with that second 40,” the New Zealand coach said.

“But to be 20-17 ahead at half-time, to be 20-3 ahead after 30 minutes, I think we’ve got to try and anchor on those things that are positive.

“Fire and brimstone now leading up to the All Blacks in two weeks, I think it’s got to be more about trying to build back confidence, try to build on elements on the game that were sufficiently well delivered and then there’s some aspects we’ve got to go after and be a heck of a lot better at.”

The statistics painted an ugly picture for the Wallabies, with the men in gold leaking nine tries.

After keeping on the right side of the whistle during their 20-19 victory last weekend in Buenos Aires, the Wallabies lost the penalty count 11-5 and copped a late yellow card.

Although both sides were guilty of missing tackles (30-24 in favour of Australia), it was the 17 offloads Argentina managed that hurt the Wallabies and where defence coach Laurie Fisher will point to as the 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing statistic.

Early on the Wallabies managed to open up a lead thanks to the front-foot ball generated by starting props Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou, as well as Jeremy Williams who made a couple of strong bursts from kick restarts.

The early momentum allowed Ben Donaldson to free up his backline.

The recalled playmaker’s decision to play down the short side in the 29th minute worked a treat as some lovely hands from the Wallabies’ outside backs allowed Max Jorgensen to send Andrew Kellaway in to score. The fullback’s try came after Carlo Tizzano crossed for his first five-pointer in Test rugby.

But the longer the first half went, the looser the Wallabies’ defensive line became, with Mateo Carreras running a lovely line off Pablo Matera to hit back after 31 minutes.

Montoya crossed soon after to help cut the deficit to three points.

The Wallabies were handed their second reprieve of the first half when Matera lost the ball after falling inches short of the tryline. The blown five-pointer came after Marcos Kremer was denied a try after his teammate Tomas Lavanini made contact with Wallabies captain Harry Wilson close to the line.

While it took until the 48th minute for Juan Martin Gonzalez to post the first points of the second half, the signs were ominous from the start of the second half.

Indeed, balls were spilt, the breakdown became a mess and the Wallabies discipline, including at the scrum, fell apart.

The Wallabies weren’t helped by Marika Koroibete’s spilt ball at the back, before a poor clearing kick from Donaldson allowed Los Pumas the territory they craved.

The wheels fell of in the 54th minute when Jake Gordon was penalised for failing to retreat from Donaldson’s next clearing effort.

It meant Argentina got a scrum near Australia’s line and the home side went to work, with Matera scoring shortly after.

Eduardo Bello’s breakdown steal on James Slipper then turned the screws on the Wallabies as the home side spread the ball through the hands before Joaquin Oviedo crossed for his first of two second half tries.

McDermott breathed some life back into the Wallabies but it was short lived as the Pumas crossed for four tries in the final ten minutes, including a double to fullback Juan Cruz Mallia.