Wallabies stage epic comeback over Pumas

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Michael Cheika reckons Australia's stunning Salta comeback is proof his blueprint for next year's Rugby World Cup will work - provided his players are mentally strong enough to pull it off.

For weeks the Wallabies have been re-writing the record books for all the wrong reasons.

Now, after Sunday's (AEDT) 45-34 win over Argentina, they'll be proud they did.

Their epic 24-point comeback after halftime was the greatest ever seen in tier one rugby, let alone Australia or the Rugby Championship.

It came after an atrocious opening stanza in which the shell-shocked tourists conceded their biggest score in history against Los Pumas to teeter on the brink of catastrophe.

A halftime bake from an angry Cheika seemed to do the trick - their problematic defence suddenly stiffened and their misfiring attack somehow clicked as they ran in five tries and gave agitated supporters a glimpse of what the Wallabies are capable of.

In the process, they also dodged what would have been their maiden Rugby Championship wooden spoon.

The lesson was clear - when they're switched on, Cheika's playbook is more than good enough.

When they're not, they struggle to compete.

"That'll be up to the individual .... the contrast they can see in their own performances individually and what was different between half one and half two," Cheika said.