The Wallabies had their heads hanging low when they were booed off the field in the first half, but they bounced back in the best possible way to maintain an unbeaten Canberra record.

It was ugly and frustrating for 40 painful minutes, but we saw glimpses of what the Wallabies can do when things start to click. They beat Argentina 45-20 and avoided a host of nasty records.

Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was just a team trying to learn how to win again after a lean 12 months. Either way, it wasn't pretty but a win is a win.

Where does it leave the Wallabies? Well, the pressure is off temporarily. They avoided their worst start to a Rugby Championship and the embarrassment of losing against Argentina in Australia for the first time since 1983.

Maybe it was a Michael Cheika blast at half-time that changed things. The coach was ropeable when his team trailed by three points.

"There's no urgency. I'm not sure if we realise we're playing in a Test match. Urgency, speed, aggression, missing in the first half. We're lucky to only be 13-10 behind," Cheika said.

The words must have stung. The Wallabies scored five tries to one in the second half.

WILL THE WALLABIES COME BACK TO CANBERRA?

There were some nervous moments at the ARU this week when ticket sales barely had a heartbeat. There were genuine fears a record low crowd would turn up for the first Test in Canberra since 2010.

The drama off the field in Super Rugby this year and the cold weather didn't help. But a solid crowd of 14,229, with a sprinkling of Australian gold, should be enough to give Canberra a chance of hosting the Wallabies in the coming years.

The Wallabies have struggled to build support at home games this year and failing to win a Rugby Championship game before arriving in Canberra certainly didn't help.

The crowd was almost 1000 less than the Matildas, the Australian women's soccer team, attracted to a game in Penrith on Saturday, but almost 1000 more than the lowest crowd in Wallabies history.

The Wallabies were booed off the field at half-time after a lacklustre 40 minutes that left them trailing by three points, but they found a spark and are unbeaten in Canberra after five Tests.

Will the Wallabies return to Canberra? The ACT government lobbied for four years to get the Wallabies back to town and it would be silly to turn them away now. Surely the only way is up for Australian rugby.

ANOTHER NEW TIME, BUT IS IT TIME FOR WALLABIES TO SETTLE?

Fijian speedster Marika Koroibete became the 10th new Wallaby this year when he ran on to Canberra Stadium in the 50th minute against Argentina.

His Test debut came less than a year after making the switch from the Melbourne Storm to chase Wallabies gold after NRL premiership heartbreak in the grand final.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has used 60 players, including 23 rookies, since the World Cup final in 2015. He is clearly searching for the right combination to build a team capable of winning the World Cup.

But we're now entering the home stretch of the World Cup preparation and it might be time to pick and stick. The problem is only a handful of Wallabies have stood up as the men for the future.

IZZY STILL THE MAN

Wallabies fullback Israel Folau created headlines this week for a controversial tweet about same-sex marriage. But he let his rugby do the talking when he finally got on the field.

Folau is still the Wallabies' go-to man and is almost unstoppable when teams give him room to move. His combination with Kurtley Beale is still growing, but if those two click, the Wallabies will be a brilliant attacking unit.

Folau scored a double, including the try that broke the Pumas' back in the second half to get the Wallabies back in front and give Australia some much-nneeded confidence.

Lock Adam Coleman is another who continues to stand tall, but the big man let his temper boil over at the final when he went toe-to-toe with his opposite number, Matias Alemanno.

AT A GLANCE

WALLABIES 45 (Israel Folau 2, Sekope Kepu, Will Genia, Nick Phipps, Jordan Uelese tries; Bernard Foley 6 conversions, penalty) bt ARGENTINA 20 (Martin Landajo, Matias Moroni tries; Nicolas Sanchez 2 conversions, 2 penalties) at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night. Referee: John Lacey. Crowd: 14,229.