Argentina and Australia team winners and losers: Los Pumas legend set for final bow while new Wallabies captain keen to shine
Los Pumas veteran Agustin Creevy and new Wallabies captain Harry Wilson.
After a week’s break the 2024 Rugby Championship returns with some intriguing fixtures including the Wallabies travelling to Argentina to face Los Pumas.
Now that both teams have been announced we took a look at the winners and losers from the Argentina and Australia lineups.
Winners
Los Pumas back-row
The back-row from Argentina’s famous first round triumph over the All Blacks has been restored this weekend with Juan Martin Gonzalez packing down at eight with Marcos Kremer and Pablo Matera on the sides of the scrum.
It is this trio of stars that were absolutely colossal in Wellington leaving Planet Rugby’s James While in awe of their efforts in his post-match takeaways. The balance of styles and the experience between the loose forwards make them a real weapon for Los Pumas.
Santiago Cordero
Matias Moroni makes way for the experienced Cordero who will be desperate to add some additional dynamism on the wing for Argentina.
Moroni has some solid outings on the wing but is probably more suited to the midfield which is full of competition considering the form of Santiago Chocobares and Lucio Cinti. Still, Cordero will have to make the most of his chance in front of his home fans.
Thomas Gallo
Some might consider the mobile loosehead lucky to keep his spot after a battling period in the scrums but once again he gets the nod from Felipe Contepomi.
The prop contributions in open play are always good but he will need to show a bit more grunt in the set-piece which he has the chance to do against the Wallabies.
Retained starters
There is a lot of continuity in the selection for Argentina which speaks to the direction the team is moving with the centres and half-backs some of the combinations that have been maintained and rightly so.
Chocobares’ abrasiveness in the carry is well balanced by Cinti’s natural running ability while Santi Carreras and Gonzalo Bertranou have now played a boatload of Tests together making them an easy selection.
Agustin Creevy
Mr Los Pumas himself is back in the matchday squad and he will be looking to add even more joy to his international return with a win against Australia.
Creevy is the living embodiment of what it means to play for Argentina and the team’s ethos through and through. Veteran players like the hooker and invaluable for any Test nation and he will only add value.
Harry Wilson
It was just over a month ago when Wallabies legend Tim Horan said Wilson could well be playing for his Test future ahead of Australia’s clash with Georgia but things have certainly changed since then as the Reds number eight is now set to become his country’s 90th captain in this weekend’s fixture.
All eyes will be on Wilson as he becomes the Wallabies’ fourth skipper in six Tests – after Liam Wright, James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa – and it will be interesting to see how the leadership role affects his style of play.
The 24-year-old is no stranger to the position though as he took over the captaincy in Australia’s loss to South Africa in Perth when Alaaltoa left the field due to injury and will be hoping to impress in his new role in a bid to convince Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to make it a permanent position.
Hamish Stewart
Following an injury to Hunter Paisami, Stewart will get his chance to make his Test debut for the Wallabies and it is a fitting reward for the 26-year-old as he was one of the Western Force’s best players during their 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
The inside centre is a superb playmaker who is creative with ball in hand while he does not shy from executing his defensive duties and also brings versatility to his game as he is capable of slotting in at fly-half, centre and full-back.
It really has been a long time coming for the back who was first called into the Wallabies squad in 2018.
Taniela Tupou
The return of the man who is affectionately known as the ‘Tongan Thor’ is a significant boost for the Wallabies as he missed their first two Rugby Championship matches against the Springboks due to the death of his father earlier this month.
Tupou seldom takes a backward step at scrum-time and his presence in the front-row will bolster the Wallabies at the set-piece as they struggled in that department in those losses to the Boks. Apart from his prowess at scrum time, the 28-year-old is a superb ball carrier who will be expected to give them momentum on attack.
Jake Gordon
The Waratahs captain will make his return to action following his recovery from a head knock after last playing in the Rugby Championship opener against South Africa in Brisbane.
The 31-year-old is set to make his fourth Wallabies start out of their six Tests this year which is an idication that he is Schmidt’s first choice scrum-half and he will be determined to reward his coach’s faith in him with a solid performance.
Losers
Matias Moroni
The experienced campaigner falls out of the matchday 23 off the back of some decent performances on the wing although he did struggle in the second Test against the All Blacks.
As aforementioned the star is more suited to operating in the midfield and was caught on the edges one of too many times at Eden Park.
Ignacio Ruiz
What a roller coaster it has been for the developing hooker who started in the Wellington win against New Zealand for his injured skipper Julian Montoya only to completely miss out once the Leicester Tigers man returned.
It is a consequence of having the legendary Creevy in the squad. Ruiz would have loved more involvement but ultimately learning from the great duo of veterans is absolutely critical to his growth as a player. His time will come and we are sure he is more than happy to make way for the Pumas great this week.
Joaquin Ovideo
The powerful loose forward was brought in to start at Eden Park as the Pumas looked to leverage their ball-carrying strengths but unfortunately, the move did not pay off completely so now Kremer moves back into the back-row at Ovideo’s expense.
It really isn’t much of a surprise considering the sheer quality of the starters and at only 23 years of age Ovideo is still developing, luckily for him, he gets to learn from some of the country’s greatest ever back-rowers.
Allan Alaalatoa
The 30-year-old is a seasoned campaigner who always empties the tank for the Wallabies cause but with Tupou returning he has to be satisfied with a place on the Wallabies’ replacements bench for this fixture.
In the Wallabies’ previous encounter – against the Boks in Perth – Alaalatoa led the charge as captain but left the field due to a head knock and although he has recovered he will have to be satisfied with a lesser role off the bench this weekend.
Nic White
The veteran scrum-half was brought into the run-on side for the second clash with the Boks and was expected to provide the spark to get the Wallabies backline firing on that occasion.
Needless to say, that did not happen and he has been dropped from the matchday squad with Gordon named to start and Tate McDermott providing back-up from the bench. With being in the twilight of his career at the age of 34, he might find it difficult to usurp the aforementioned duo in the pecking order during the rest of the Test season.
James Slipper
Another seasoned campaigner, the veteran front-row came on as a replacement in the Wallabies’ loss to the Boks in Perth but misses out this week as Isaac Kailea is preferred as Angus Bell’s backup at loosehead prop for the clash with Los Pumas.
That means Slipper will have to wait to draw level with George Gregan as Australia’s most capped Test player (139 Tests) and hopefully he gets a chance to do that and break the record later in the year.
READ MORE: Argentina revert back to winning All Blacks’ formula for Australia showdown
