The first action in Round 3 of the Rugby Championship sees Australia host Argentina in Townsville on Saturday and the Wallabies start as the bookmakers favourites.
Australia v Argentina, Saturday 6th September, Townsville , KO 06:30 (South African time)
Referee: Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (RFU), Sam Grove-White (SRU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
Weather Forecast - Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
Australia:
The Wallabies defied the odds to beat South Africa in Round 1 in Joburg thanks to a sterling second half showing but they couldn't follow up in Cape Town in Round 2 when they went down 30-22. The teams shared 6 tries with Toole, Jorgenson and Paenga-Amosa crossing for Australia, O'Connor was on target with 2 conversions and 1 penalty but was also guilty of missing from the tee 3 times in a row and the Wallabies left empty handed.
In Round 1 the Wallabies came from 22-0 down early on to turn things around at Ellis Park to come out on top 38-22, their first win in South Africa since 2011.
The Wallabies are in second spot on the log with 5 points, 1 shy of New Zealand and 1 better off than South Africa and Argentina. After this Australia host Argentina again, this time in Sydney before they travel to New Zealand in Round 5 and then host the All Blacks in the final round. Australia remain 7/1 shots to win the Rugby Championship with WSB
Argentina:
Despite starting at around 11.5 point underdogs Argentina made history in Round 2, beating the All Blacks 29-23 in Buenos Aires, their first ever home win over the New Zealanders. Although they scored just the 2 tries (González and Garcia) the penalty count helped them scoot 13 points in front at one stage in the second half and they held on for the win.
Los Pumas also took on the All Blacks in Cordoba in Round 1, they were in the region of 8.5 point underdogs on the bookmakers main handicap line but they found themselves 31-10 down by half time and eventually slipped to a 41-24 defeat, scoring 3 tries and conceding 6.
Los Pumas have 4 points on a congested log. After this they take on the Wallabies again in Sydney. 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 2 results Argentina are now 22/1 (from 80/1) to win the Rugby Championship title with WSB.
Recent Head to Head
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 Len Ikitau, 11 Corey Toole, 10 Tom Lynagh, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Tom Hooper, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 Tom Robertson.
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Filipo Daugunu
Argentina: 15-Juan Cruz Mallia, 14-Bautista Delguy, 13-Lucio Cinti, 12-Santiago Chocobares, 11-Mateo Carreras, 10-Santiago Carreras, 9-Gonzalo Garcia, 8-Pablo Matera, 7-Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6-Marcos Kremer, 5-Pedro Rubiolo, 4-Franco Molina, 3-Joel Sclavi, 2-Julian Montoya (captain), 1-Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16-Ignacio Ruiz, 17-Boris Wenger, 18-Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19-Guido Petti, 20-Joaquin Oviedo, 21-Agustin Moyano, 22-Geronimo Prisciantelli, 23-Benjamin Elizalde
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 3 of the Rugby Championship will be posted on our Rugby Championship Blog which you can view here.
Likewise Currie Cup Week 7 bets will be posted on this blog and picks for the pool stage of the Womens RWC can be found here.
Finally, all this week's rugby tips from members of the Goodforthegame community can be found on the weekly rugby thread on our discussion forum.