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PREVIEW: Argentina fighting to avoid Rugby Championship bagel

Argentina will be looking to avoid going winless in the Rugby Championship when they face off against Australia at the Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday.

Pablo Matera of Argentina
Image Copyright - Steve Haag Sports

Argentina will be looking to avoid going winless in the Rugby Championship when they face off against Australia at the Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

The penultimate fixture of this year’s Rugby Championship will see the Wallabies take on Los Pumas out in Robina.

The two sides have experienced contrasting fortunes this term with the Wallabies enjoying a renaissance while Los Pumas have fallen drastically with the South Americans yet to score a point in this year’s comp’.

Argentina vs Australia
Saturday 2 October
Robina Stadium
09:05

To Win Match

Argentina 11/2
Draw 33/1
Australia 1/9

Handicap

Argentina (+16.5) 9/10
Australia (-16.5) 9/10

Should his charges win this weekend and claim second spot on the log, then Dave Rennie will view this season’s Rugby Championship as solid progress. While his team were unable to beat the All Blacks, two victories over the Springboks and last week’s 27-8 victory over the Argentines shows that the Wallabies are coming to life two years out from the next Rugby World Cup.

While Rennie will be happy that his side has managed three wins on the trot for the first time since 2017, he may feel slightly underwhelmed by his side’s performance last week. They lacked the cutting edge they showed when they dispatched the Springboks on consecutive weekends. They let a lot of try scoring chances go begging, particularly during the last quarter of the game.

On to the Argentines now and it was a week to forget for Mario Ledesma’s men who not only suffered another defeat but were also snubbed from the captain’s promotional photoshoot, which left the Argentine mentor fuming. His side were an absolute no-show on the field and once again struggled in open play with their only try coming from a driving maul. That was just Los Pumas third try of the campaign, which is simply not good enough for a team filled with such rich attacking talent.

Verdict: Australia (-16.5) 9/10

I’m expecting a more clinical performance from the Wallabies which is likely to result in a beleaguered Argentine outfit catching a hiding at the Cbus Super Stadium.

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