Round three of the 2024 Rugby Championship heads to Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi in South America where Argentina will play host to Australia on Saturday night.
After two rounds of captivating rugby, Argentina are in third place in the competition standings with four points, while Australia are bottom of the table and yet to get off the mark.
Match preview
© Imago
The first two rounds of this year's Rugby Championship were the epitome of what we have come to expect from Argentina, as they went from pulling off a remarkable 38-30 victory over the All Blacks to receiving a 32-point shellacking in the space of seven days.
Historically, Los Pumas have struggled to follow up big results with good performances, but rest assured, the South Americans will pay little mind to the latter result, as it will be the victory in Wellington that they will hang their hats on when all is said and done.
Still, beating the three-time world champions in their backyard is no mean feat and that result adds to the progress Argentina have made over the last 18 months, a period during which they rid themselves of the Wooden Spoon in the last edition of this competition, and narrowly lost to England in the bronze final of the Rugby World Cup.
Key to that first-round win, and the team's progress in recent years, has been the influence of their longest-serving player Agustin Creevy, who may understandably be a little emotional this weekend, with the 39-year-old set to call time on his 19-year international career when the final whistle blasts in his hometown on Sunday morning.
No doubt, the Los Pumas' multiple record-holder would love nothing better than to bring an end to his incredible journey on a winning note, and perhaps, he could not have picked a better time to face the Wallabies than right at this moment.
© Imago
Indeed, Australian rugby is in a difficult space right now, and the concerning point from an Aussie perspective is that there has been very little notable progress made since the team's turbulent stint under Eddie Jones.
Looking at just the recent timeline, it was last year in this competition and against their upcoming opponent that Jones looked to be on the verge of notching up his first win in charge, but Australian hearts were broken in the final minute when Juan Martin Gonzalez scored the winner, which ultimately led to the Wooden Spoon changing hands for the first time in three years.
Since then, Wallabies fans have seen their side exit the Rugby World Cup in the group stage for the first time in their history, and while three July Test victories over Wales and Georgia provided some encouragement, reality struck earlier this month when the side were humbled by the Springboks on home turf, twice.
Those opening-round defeats reminded onlookers of just how far away the Australians are from challenging the top teams globally, and also revealed the massive task at hand for new boss Joe Schmidt.
Despite their struggles, though, passion remains something the Wallabies possess in scads, and the team will need every bit of that this week in La Plata, where they will undoubtedly be expecting a hostile reception from the home crowd.
Argentina Rugby Championship form:
- W
- L
Argentina form (all competitions):
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
Australia Rugby Championship form:
- L
- L
Australia form (all competitions):
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Imago
Felipe Contepomi has selected a very similar matchday 23 to the one that downed the All Blacks in round one, though the one notable change is the addition of Santiago Cordero replacing Matias Moroni on the wing.
Mateo Carreras and Juan Cruz Mallia complete the back three, Santiago Chocobares and Lucio Cinti will start in midfield, while Santiago Carreras and Gonzalo Bertranou once again team up in the halfback pairing.
Meanwhile, Australia have named Harry Wilson as the captain for this trip to South America - the Wallabies number eight will become the 90th player to lead the team and the eighth in their last 15 Tests alone.
Taniela Tupou returns to the squad after missing the losses to South Africa and he will be joined by Angus Bell and returning hooker Matt Faessler at the front of the scrum. Nick Frost has shaken off his concussion injury and will partner Lukhan Salakaia-Loto in the second row.
Argentina starting lineup: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Tomas Lavanini, 21 Joaquin Oviedo, 22 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 23 Tomas Albornoz
Australia starting lineup: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen
We say: Argentina 24-17 Australia
Argentina's victory over Australia in Sydney last year marked the first time that Los Pumas ever beat the Wallabies in back-to-back matches following the win in San Juan 2022. Since then, the South Americans have made significantly greater strides forward than the Wallabies, and we feel they will edge this weekend's result.
No Data Analysis info
Devesh Jaganath
