The first action in Round 4 of the Rugby Championship sees Australia host Argentina in Sydney on Saturday and after the Wallabies edged out Los Pumas last weekend they are now second in the standings
Australia v Argentina, Saturday 13th September, Sydney, KO 06:00 (South African time)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees: Paul Williams (New Zealand), Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
Weather Forecast - Sydney
Australia:
These teams met in Townsville in Round 3 on Saturday, the Wallabies were 6.5 point favourites on the main handicap line and the total points line was 55.5. The Wallabies looked to be in some trouble at half time when they trailed 21-7 but they fought back in the second half and a try 6 minutes after the hooter gave them a 28-24 victory. Angus Bell scored the decisive try at the death, Suaalii scored 2 tries and White crossed for the other as the Wallabies were rewarded for turning down 3 opportunities to level the scores from the kicking tee.
Australia defied the odds to beat South Africa in Round 1 in Joburg thanks to a sterling comeback from 22-0 down early on to come out on top 38-22, their first win in South Africa since 2011. They couldn't follow up in Cape Town in Round 2 when they went down to the Boks 30-22.
The Wallabies are in second spot on the log with 9 points, 1 shy of New Zealand and 4 better off than South Africa and Argentina. After this Australia travel to New Zealand in Round 5 and then host the All Blacks in the final round.
Australia are now 5/1 shots to win the Rugby Championship with Betway
Argentina:
Bautista Delguy and Mateo Carreras scored first half tries for Los Pumas in the 28-24 Round 3 defeat in Townsville but having looked on course for victory at the break they left with only a losing bonus point to show for their efforts.
In the earlier rounds Argentina hosted the All Blacks twice. In Cordoba in Round 1 they slipped to a 41-24 defeat, scoring 3 tries and conceding 6. Round 2 was a different story and despite starting at around 11.5 point underdogs Argentina made history, beating the All Blacks 29-23 in Buenos Aires, their first ever home win over the New Zealanders.
Los Pumas now have 5 points on the log and an identical record to the Springboks. After this they will come up against the Boks in Durban in Round 5 and the second clash against South Africa will be staged at Twickenham.
After the Round 3 results Argentina are now 40/1 outsiders to win the Rugby Championship title with Betway.
Recent Head to Head
2025 RC Townsville Australia 28-24 Argentina
2024 RC Santa Fe Argentina 62-27 Australia
2024 RC Buenos Aires Argentina 19-20 Australia
2023 RC Sydney Australia 31–34 Argentina
2022 RC San Juan Argentina 48-17 Australia
2022 RC Mendoza Argentina 26-41 Australia
2021 RC Gold Coast (Aus) Australia 32–17 Argentina
2021 RC Townsville (Aus) Australia 27–9 Argentina
Team News
Australia: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Corey Toole, 10 Tane Edmed, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Tom Hooper, 4 Jeremy Williams, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Filipo Daugunu
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo García, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martín González, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Agustín Moyano, 22 Justo Piccardo, 23 Ignacio Mendy
The Betting
Average early show, subject to change
Australia -5.5 points at 9/10
Argentina +5.5 points at 9/10
Note, odds quoted are available at the time of writing but are subject to change.
This Weeks Bets
Brent Graham's betting angle and plays for Week 4 of the Rugby Championship will be posted on this blog
Likewise Currie Cup semi finals and Womens RWC news and bets will be posted in separate blogs
Finally, all this week's rugby tips from members of the Goodforthegame community can be found on the weekly rugby thread on our brand new discussion forum. If you haven't done so already, register a forum account here.