September 4, 2026 — 7:12amNew coach Les Kiss conceded he will soon be making some tough decisions and settling on a preferred Wallabies line-up after again ringing in major changes for the second Test against Argentina in Mendoza on Sunday.Western Force five-eighth Ben Donaldson was placed in the driver’s seat for the Wallabies for the first time in two years as one of eight changes to the starting side – and 14 overall – that beat the Pumas in Jujuy last week.The Wallabies will have a new front row, Harry Wilson returning as captain in the back row and big changes in key spots of the Wallabies’ backline. Many of the changes, said Kiss, were pre-planned to provide energy for the second week in Argentina, in which the Wallabies have followed up wins with big defeats in the last two tours in 2022 and 2024.Ben Donaldson scoring against Italy in July.Getty ImagesDonaldson’s last start in the Wallabies No.10 jersey came in the worst of them - the second Test against Argentina in 2024 in Santa Fe, which the Wallabies lost 67-27. It is the highest score conceded by Australia.The man Donaldson replaced, Carter Gordon, will come off the bench after copping a head cut last week. Kiss said the change was a chance to see Donaldson start and round out a period of examining all the No.10 options.“From the outset, we wanted to make sure we saw the 10s, all of them, in some form. Deckie [Meredith] had a good run early with three Tests. Carter’s come in. ‘Donno’s’ had the bench there,” Kiss said.“He’s had a great season, Donno. We felt it was just an opportunity to make sure he just feels Test-ready again as we move into the rest of the season.“The three 10s that are here have been very good all year. If we come up to a big game suddenly later down the year and someone hasn’t played a Test match for a while, we just felt it was the right time to do something there as well.”The Wallabies midfield has also been swapped out, with Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii named to start. They have replaced the in-form pair Hunter Paisami and Isaac Henry, but the latter has been named on the bench.“That competition is fantastic for us, I’ve said it often,” Kiss said.“We want competitive pressure on each position. But we saw ‘Su’ (Suaalii) come off the bench last week. We worked Lenny back into a good training profile over the last two weeks and he’s ready to play. So really looking forward to seeing that combination comes along and it’s got a lot of experience together. So that’s a big plus. Both class players, it’s an opportunity to see them back together for sure.”Ryan Lonergan recovered from a knock in the Jujuy win to start at halfback, but Kalani Thomas has replaced the injured Tate McDermott on the bench. Filipo Daugunu has also earned a start on the wing, with Harry Potter out.An all-new starting front row of Angus Bell, Billy Pollard and Taniela Tupou have been given the run-on duties, replacing Isaac Kailea, Brandon Paenga-Amosa and Allan Alaalatoa. All three have been rested, with Josh Nasser, Aidan Ross and Massimo de Lutiis on the bench.Wilson, who was rested for the last Test, has returned in the hotly contested backrow. Tom Hooper, who returned last week from a shoulder injury, has been left out of the side as a precautionary measure.Angus Bell against Italy earlier this year. Getty Images“He was right ... it was just not risking it any further,” Kiss said. “Risk is probably not the word. I just didn’t want to put it under any more pressure. He’s working hard. Well, you know, he’ll be available for the next Test match after this one. Then he goes back to Exeter.”Lukhan Salakaia-Loto has been named on an experienced bench as lock cover, replacing Lachie Shaw.Kiss has made changes in all his Tests in charge so far, but he conceded the time was approaching when he would begin to bed down a side – however difficult that would be.“Thinking forward, we definitely start to narrow down our options for sure. The competitive pressure certainly put some interesting decisions for myself to come up with the coaches about what (team) we do play going forward,” Kiss said. “And I’d say that’s in every position at the moment.“In terms of managing the squad or rotating, probably more managing is probably the word we use. What we’re trying to do is just manage energy throughout the group, because we’ve had a lot of travel.”Argentina have made six changes to their starting side, with Pedro Delgado and Franco Molina added to the pack, and Efraín Elías switching to lock and Guido Petti to flanker. In the backline, Nicolás Roger starts at fly-half, shifting Santiago Carreras to fullback.The Pumas bench has almost been entirely changed. The reserves include veterans Tomás Lavanini and Gonzalo Bertranou alongside two potential debutants Facundo Cardozo and Mateo Soler.News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners