Wallabies coach Les Kiss knows they need to reach another level to match the best in the world, starting with Argentina.
The two-Test series in South America kicks off a brutal run of Tests for Kiss and the Wallabies, beginning Sunday in Jujuy.
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This is followed by Tests against South Africa and New Zealand, the two top ranked sides in the world, followed by the Northern leg of the Nations Championship.
While Argentina is ranked seventh in the World Rankings, their recent scalps paint a different picture.
Los Pumas have recorded wins over South Africa, New Zealand (x 2), and France over the past two years, to go with a 40-point win against the Wallabies on their last visit to Argentina.
But the historic victory over the British & Irish Lions before their Australian trip was their crowning moment, shocking the combined team in Dublin for their first ever win.
“They're a dangerous proposition. They beat the Lions last year… I've come up against them with the Irish team in World Cups and they're tough," Kiss said.
“They have a certain style and a certain way that they can really hurt you in the blink of an eye; things can happen, and then there's two blinks of the eye, and it happens again.
“They're a very talented team. I've had the pleasure of coaching probably half a dozen to eight Argentinians when I was in London.
“They're special athletes, special footballers and when they play their way, they're dangerous.”
Kiss has moved on from the high of a two-game winning streak to start his tenure, sweeping Japan in Osaka and Townsville.
The former Reds boss focused on the side's continued growth in the new system as the competition ramps up to finish the year.
“The last three or four weeks [have] certainly been a good opportunity to embed some new and different things, particularly in defence and some of the mechanisms that play in that part of our game that are slightly different, but they're starting to get a little handle on it, I think," he believes.
“We saw that grow in that second half in the second game against Japan. Certainly we wanted to make sure our set piece continues to grow from the Nations Championship and I think we've seen growth in that area.
“We purposefully looked at a couple of different options there as well to try see where our depth is in that area. In attack, I think there are certain things we're doing that build on the qualities we already have. We're a very skilful team; they like to express themselves, so some of the principles and structures we've added into the folder have grown.
"Overall, I think there's been growth for sure, but they get harder now, so we’ll find out more over the next two weeks.”
