The first test between Argentina and Australia takes place in San Salvador on Saturday night and in the early betting the home side are slight favourites with the bookmakers
Argentina vs Australia, Saturday 29th August, San Salvador, KO 20:00 (South African time)
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referees: James Doleman (NZR), Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)
Weather Forecast – San Salvador
Argentina:
Argentina took on South Africa in Buenos Aires on 8th August and they went down 17-10. The Boks scored 2 tries to Argentina’s 1 and late pressure from Los Pumas threatened to tie things up but they came up a touch short.
Argentina’s campaign in the recently launched Nations Championship began on a losing note when they were beaten 47-38 by Scotland in Cordoba. They did beat Wales 35-21 in Round 2, doing all the damage in the first half but next time out they went down 31-24 to England in Santiago. Los Pumas picked up 7 log points from those 3 matches which makes them fourth best in the South and already 8 points adrift of the Boks and All Blacks.
Australia:
The Wallabies most recent action came in two tests against Japan. The opening test in Osaka was the first for new Wallabies coach Les Kiss and his side came through with a 35-32 victory in humid conditions. The teams then moved on to Townsville, Australia for the second test which was a much more one sided affair with the Wallabies scoring 7 tries in cruising to a 56-17 victory.
After the first 3 rounds of Nations Championship matches the Wallabies are in third place on the Southern log with 8 points, already 7 shy of South Africa and New Zealand. Australia were edged out 33–31 by Ireland in Sydney in their first match where they earned two bonus points whilst in Round 2 they went down 42-26 to France, salvaging a bonus point with a late try. The Wallabies coughed up what looked like match winning leads in both those matches but Round 3 saw them thrash Italy 57-10 in what was Joe Schmidt’s final game in charge.
Recent Head to Head
Sep 2025 RC Australia 26-28 Argentina
Sep 2025 RC Australia 26-28 Argentina
Sep 2024 RC Argentina 67-27 Australia
Sep 2024 RC Argentina 19-20 Australia
Team News
Argentina: 15 Gerónimo Priscia.ntelli, 14. Rodrigo Isgró,13. Lucio Cinti, 12. Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 11. Ignacio Mendy, 10. Santiago Carreras, 9. Simón Benítez Cruz, 8. Joaquín Moro, 7. Benjamín Grondona, 6. Pablo Matera (Captain), 5. Tomás Lavanini, 4. Guido Petti, 3. Francisco Moreno, 2. Ignacio Ruiz, 1. Boris Wenger
Replacements: 16. Leonel Oviedo, 17. Rodrigo Martínez, 18. Tomás Rapetti, 19. Efraín Elías, 20. Juan Penoucos, 21. Agustín Moyano, 22. Nicolás Roger, 23. Matías Moroni
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Isaac Henry, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Josh Canham, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (captain), 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Isaac Kailea.
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Massimo De Lutiis, 19 Lachlan Shaw, 20 Charlie Cale, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii
The Betting
Updated 28 Aug 08h04
Argentina -1.5 points
Australia +1.5 points
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
Betting Angle - Betting related news and bets posted below, newest post on top
Bet 2: Argentina v Australia
Posted 29 August 20h06
Bet: 2 units (1–5) – Argentina to win at 12/10 with Hollywoodbets.
I was originally bullish on Argentina, and despite the market moving strongly towards Australia this week, I'm going to stick with my initial view and back the hosts.
Argentina are missing a number of their established players, which has clearly influenced the market, but there is still plenty of skill in this side. They pushed South Africa all the way in their last outing, losing just 17-10, and I'm happy to take the bigger price now available on them at home.
The points line is 57.5 and the forecasts I am looking at are inconclusive so wont get involved
Argentina to win at 12/10 is the play.
Bet 1: Argentina v Australia
Posted 29 August 08h12
Bet: 0.5 units (1–5) – Tate McDermott, last Australia try scorer at 14/1 with PokerBet.
Money has come for Australia since the teams were announced, and Argentina are now +1.5, having opened -3.5 in the betting. The best price I've seen on Argentina to win the game outright is now 33/20, and I'll be back later in the day to look at a possible play on the hosts.
The total points line is 56.5, which is unchanged, but the weather still seems inconclusive. Showers are forecast around the time of the match, although there's also every chance it could stay dry.
While still considering my main bet on this game, I do like a bit of Tate McDermott to score Australia's final try. He's coming off the bench, so should be on the park towards the end of the game and will be dangerous against tiring legs.
Money for the Visitors
Posted 28 August 08h08
There has been money for Australia, with the +3.5 now a thing of the past and +1.5 currently on offer.
The total points line for this game is set at 55.5. I've seen conflicting weather reports, but there certainly appears to be a chance of showers during the game.
I'll be keeping a close eye on both the weather and the betting before deciding how to get involved.
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Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.