Australia and Argentina will look to bounce back from crushing defeats in the first round of the 2023 Rugby Championship when they face off in round two at CommBank Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.
The hosts come into the second match of this shortened tournament following a 43-12 thumping in the South African highveld, while the visitors slumped to a 41-12 loss against the might of the All Blacks in Mendoza.
Match preview
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Fair to say, Eddie Jones's return to the Wallabies' backroom could have gone a lot better than it did, having to look on as his side was taken apart by what many had dubbed as the Springbok 'B' team.
After taking an early lead through Marika Koroibete, the Wallabies were only able to hang on to their advantage for five minutes before their opposition got onto the scoresheet, and it was pretty much all downhill from there.
The new/old boss now finds himself under pressure, not for his job, but from the Australian faithful, that dished out plenty of abuse to Dave Rennie during his reign for his team's style of play, though a win rate of 38% did not help the situation much either.
While it is well-known that Australian rugby is going through a transition period, the concern for Jones will be that his side were outplayed in almost every department as Kurt-Lee Arendse ripped through their defence on three separate occasions while Nic White and Quade Cooper kicked away from most of the breakdowns wastefully.
Australia finished third in the 2022 Rugby Championship, posting an identical record to Argentina's with two wins and four losses, though they did manage one more bonus point than the Pumas.
With the competition being shortened to accommodate for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in a couple of months, the Wallabies cannot afford another loss this time around, or they may find themselves holding the wooden spoon for the first time since 2020.
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The Pumas have built something of a reputation for starting tournaments slowly, and that proved to be the case again last week as they were steamrolled by the All Blacks in the first half and went into the break down 31-0.
Admittedly, the Pumas had a better second half, but the damage was already done, while a plethora of errors made throughout the match ultimately cost Michael Cheika's men any chance of making a comeback.
Lucio Sordoni got the Pumas on the scoreboard 50 minutes into the match, and Agustin Creevy bundled his side's second try over the line in the dying moments, but it was a mere consolation by that point.
However, while the All Blacks massively overpowered them, there were several positives that the Pumas boss would have taken from the match as they outperformed their opponents in terms of defenders beaten and carries across the gain line, while they also missed fewer tackles.
Cheika will need to dust off the disappointment quickly, though, as he now returns to his homeland against the side that he played for and coached for five years, and that led to him being awarded the World Rugby Coach of the Year award in 2015.
Argentina have ended each of the last six Rugby Championships with the wooden spoon, and they will know that there will be few better opportunities to overcome the Wallabies in their backyard than right at this moment.
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Team News
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On Thursday, Jones insisted that Australia "get down to work" and implemented five alterations to his starting lineup ahead of their match against Argentina.
In preparation for Saturday's match in Sydney, Australia will be without their co-captain Michael Hooper, who is sidelined due to an injury, and in his absence, Fraser McReight will step in as the openside flanker.
Another significant alteration in the lineup involves Mark Nawaqanitawase taking the place of Suliasi Vunivalu, who transitioned from rugby league, but delivered a subpar performance against the Springboks.
Cheika has chosen to hand a Test debut to Rodrigo Isgro, a renowned sevens player, to occupy the right wing in this match, and he will be joined by the dependable Emiliano Boffelli at full-back and the dynamic Mateo Carreras on the wing
There is a notable alteration in the midfield, with Jeronimo de la Fuente assuming the role of inside centre, while Lucio Cinti moves to the number 13 position, forming a fresh and untested partnership.
Shifting attention to the forward pack, Juan Martin Gonzalez moves to the number eight position, allowing flanker Santiago Grondona to make a starting appearance alongside the experienced Pablo Matera on the flank.
Australia starting lineup: 15. Tom Wright, 14. Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13. Len Ikitau, 12. Samu Kerevi, 11. Marika Koroibete, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Nic White, 8. Rob Valetini, 7. Fraser McReight, 6. Jed Holloway, 5. Will Skelton, 4. Richie Arnold, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 2. David Porecki, 1. James Slipper (capt)
Replacements: 16. Jordan Uelese, 17. Angus Bell, 18. Pone Fa'amausili, 19. Matt Philip, 20 Rob Leota, 21. Josh Kemeny, 22. Tate McDermott, 23. Carter Gordon
Argentina starting lineup: 15. Emiliano Boffelli, 14. Rodrigo Isgro, 13. Lucio Cinti, 12. Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11. Mateo Carreras, 10. Santiago Carreras, 9. Gonzalo Berntranou, 8. Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7. Santiago Grondona, 6. Pablo Matera, 5. Tomas Lavanini, 4. Matias Alemanno, 3. Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2. Julian Montoya (capt), 1. Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16. Agustin Creevy, 17. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18. Eduardo Bello, 19. Lucas Paulos, 20. Rodrigo Bruni, 21. Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22. Nicolas Sanchez, 23. Matias Moroni
Head To Head
The teams have met thirty-four times in the past.
Australia currently lead the head-to-head standing with 25 wins, while Argentina have won six and three matches ended in a draw.
We say: Australia 17-21 Argentina
Of all four teams, Australia's performance was the worst by some distance last week, despite the Springboks' dominance.
Argentina, on the other hand, went toe-to-toe with New Zealand for large parts but were outclassed in the end; however, the playing fields are much more level this time around.
The Wallabies are in a bad way at the moment, and we think that the Pumas may just be able to claim a rare win down under in this one.
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Devesh Jaganath
