Wallabies want ‘big asset’ to make his presence felt in crunch clash with Argentina

After missing the Wallabies’ first two Rugby Championship matches, Taniela Tupou will be crucial to their cause when they face Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

Australia are currently languishing at the bottom of the standings after suffering back-to-back bonus-point defeats against South Africa and will be desperate to get a win under their belt against Los Pumas.

Needless to say, Tupou, who is affectionately known as the ‘Tongan Thor’ and who missed the encounters with the Boks due to the death of his father, will be expected to hit the ground running upon his return.

Fellow Wallabies front-row Isaac Isaac Kailea, who will start on the replacements bench against Argentina, said Tupou’s absence was felt in against the Springboks.

“We sort of missed him in those two games against South Africa, and in particular around the scrum,” Kailea told reporters.

‘Such a big asset’

“He’s such a big, literally, such a big asset in the scrum and around the field, whether he’s got the ball in his hands or he’s outside you for that little tip pass.

“He’s got real good skill and he’s such a powerful ball carrier.

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“He’s going to draw in eyes and a lot of attention to himself and I think he’ll thrive off that.

“And I think he’s really keen to get into the game as well, just speaking to him throughout the week.”

The Wallabies are expecting a tough battle against Los Pumas, who are always extra competitive on their home turf.

In 2022, both matches between these sides were played in Argentina and although Australia were victorious in the first one in Mendoza, the home side bounced back in San Juan before also beating Australia in Sydney in 2023.

Although he was not involved in those matches in 2022, Wallabies flyer Andrew Kellaway said it was a discussion point in the build-up to this weekend’s Test.

‘Not dissimilar to the way South Africa plays’

“We got peppered with high balls … to be frank, that’s not dissimilar to the way South Africa plays so that’s beneficial in terms of preparing for this game,” he said.

“The challenge for us is to make sure we’re on and we’re prepared and we’re certainly doing our best to do that.

“The focus has been almost exclusively on us this week, making sure we’re getting the stuff right that we need to do on our side of the ball and hopefully that puts us in a position to win the game.”

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