Wallabies Next Game, Latest Odds and Analysis
They made an excellent start to their campaign in Mendoza last weekend, now Australia have their sights set on achieving a double success over Argentina in the Rugby Championship and betting sites fancy their chances of doing just that.
After losing out to England in a three-test summer series, the Wallabies were looking to make an early splash against the Pumas at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The withdrawal of Australian captain Michael Hooper for personal reasons dominated the pre-match build-up and his international compatriots were put to the pin of their collar in his absence.
Australia Come Good In The End Last Weekend
With an hour gone on the clock, the visitors trailed by six points (26-20) and were facing the prospect of just a seventh defeat in 37 test encounters with the Argentines.
Dave Rennie’s men dug deep in the closing-quarter however, helped in no small part by the awarding of a penalty try in the 61st-minute.
Folau Fainga’a and Len Ikitau (deep into stoppage-time) subsequently crossed the whitewash to complete an impressive turnaround for the Aussies and propel them to the top of the Championship table at the end of round one.
While the rest of his countrymen and women were delighted with this result, New South Wales native (and Argentina head coach) Michael Cheika was left frustrated.
Having achieved great success in Europe with Leinster and the Waratahs in Super Rugby, Cheika was handed the Wallabies reins in the winter of 2014. Less than 12 months later, he guided Australia to the World Cup final, eventually losing to arch-rivals New Zealand.
He struggled to scale the same heights for the remainder of his tenure (which ended in a World Cup quarter-final reversal to England in 2019), but Cheika still holds a strong reputation within the game and is now in charge of Argentina after previously working for them as an assistant/advisor.
He guided them to a series triumph over Scotland last month (two wins and one defeat) and had them within touching distance of a morale-boosting success at the expense of Australia.
The former back-row will have seen enough to suggest that they can go a step further in Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario this coming Saturday.
The big question is, do online rugby betting sites feel the same way?
Wallabies The Favourites To Prevail Again
Although Australian betting sites are offering odds of 3.1 on Argentina pulling off a win on home soil, Australia remain the favourites to come out on top.
The same bookmakers are rating Australia’s chances at 1.36, while Betfair have them valued at 1.44 to claim victory in San Juan.
For those who feel a draw might be on the cards (this is a distinct possibility given this fixture has ended in a stalemate three times in the past), then the 20.0 being offered by Unibet for such an eventuality might well prove enticing.
Australian Triumvirate Leading The Way As First Try Scorers
For those of you who are looking into the value being placed on the first try-scorer in Saturday’s game, then Ladbrokes have you covered.
Despite being a hooker by trade, Folau Fainga’a has an eye for the whitewash and has recorded three tries in his last four international appearances.
He is rated at 11.0 – along with team-mates Marika Koroibete and Jordan Petaia – to claim the first try this weekend.
Julian Montoya and Emiliano Boffelli are regarded as the most likely Argentinians to break the deadlock in their second consecutive showdown against the Aussies, with both of them listed at 15.0.
Even though he had the honour of doing so last weekend, Argentina’s bustling No 8 Pablo Matera is only 21.0 to be the first try-scorer in the forthcoming second round clash.
It may have flattered them to a certain extent, but Australia ultimately had 15 points to spare over their opponents last weekend.
The chances of them once again recording a win of between 11 and 15 points is rated at 6.5 with bet365, who are offering 5.0 on them winning by 1 to 5 points.
Argentina, on the other hand, are 7.0 to secure a victory by the latter margin and 9.0 to triumph by the former.
New Blood Emerging For The Aussies
While there is no denying the absence of an international centurion like Hooper was always going to impact Australia in some way, Fraser McReight produced a strong shift at openside flanker before making way for Rob Leota on 76 minutes.
McReight even crossed the whitewash in the 47th-minute to cap his third Wallabies appearance with a maiden try.
Loosehead prop James Slipper assumed captaincy duties from Hooper and proved himself to be a steady pair of hands.
As things stand, the Brumbies front-row has 110 senior international caps to his name and appeared in six of the seven games Australia played en route to the 2015 World Cup final.
Wallabies head coach Rennie also has his eye on unearthing new talent ahead of next year’s World Cup in France and handed out debuts to two players last weekend.
Although he is fast approaching his 30th birthday, Jed Holloway made his international bow alongside McReight and Rob Valetini in the Australian back-row.
Having previously enjoyed a short stint at Irish provincial side Munster as cover during the last World Cup in 2019, he will now be hoping to be on the plane for the next edition of the global tournament.
Also handed a first cap by Rennie was Rebels prop Matt Gibbon. He was introduced for Slipper with nine minutes of normal time left to play and having been used as an impact player by the Rebels on a consistent basis.
Gibbon will be hoping to do something similar at international level – especially if he can help improve his country’s Rugby World Cup 2023 betting odds.
Though it remains to be seen if Rennie will shuffle his starting line-up for his side’s second meeting with Argentina in the space of seven days, the impact of the replacements bench could well be the key to another successful outing for the Wallabies.