Argentina resisted a stirring fightback by Italy in their one-off Test in Genoa on Friday to claim a 20-18 win over the hosts at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium.
Italy, fresh from a 24-13 win over Samoa last week, took a 12-10 lead into the break despite conceding a try from Lucas Amorosino just before the halftime whistle.
However, a further try from Jeronimo De La Fuente just before the hour proved costly for Jacques Brunel’s men and handed Argentina their first win of the tour following a 41-31 defeat to Scotland last week.
Brunel has been desperate to overturn a forgettable 2014 campaign in which Italy ended up with the Six Nations wooden spoon followed by a summer tour of the South Pacific which left them with Test defeats to Samoa, Fiji and Japan.
After the joy of their win last week, the Frenchman said after the game: “Argentina didn’t win the game – we lost the game. That’s why we are so disappointed.
“We matched one of the strongest scrums in world rugby and, in the lineouts, we did very well.
“But in terms of efficiency, we were below par. We created a lot of chances that we simply didn’t transform into points.”