No 'baggage' for these Wallabies

Australia's build-up to their final Rugby Championship Test of the year, against Argentina at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, in Mendoza, has hit a few speedbumps.

Their long haul from South Africa to Argentina, where they finally arrived on Monday, caused the first problem – nobody's luggage arrived at their training base.

The Wallabies' preparations were then further hampered after coach Ewen McKenzie failed to attend the team's first training session on Tuesday.

McKenzie apparently got held up while attending a previously arranged meeting with local figures, and the Wallabies trained at the San Isidro ground under the guidance of the assistant coaching staff.

It was not the way the Australians had hope to start their build-up to a match that concludes an underwhelming Rugby Championship campaign.

Coming off a 10-28 loss to the Springboks at Newlands last week, McKenzie and his charges were left pacing around their Buenos Aires hotel in the same clothes they wore on their 20-hour, three-leg journey from South Africa.

"It's complicated, you play a Test match and get back to the hotel at nine-o'clock [21.00], then you're shipping bags out at three-o'clock [03.00] in the morning," McKenzie said in a video posted on the Australian Rugby Union's YouTube channel.

"Then you fly for another 20-odd hours.

"We arrived here in Buenos Aires and minus all our baggage, 100 pieces of [luggage are] still in Brazil.

"It's been an interesting 24 hours since we got here because we've got no gear.

"We've had to be creative but that's what happens and our gear's finally started to arrive now so we'll finally get a change of clothes and get on with the preparation.

"It's a difficult way to travel, with the timezones as well so you do feel a bit numb at the front end of the week."

Despite the setbacks flyhalf Bernard Foley said victory over the Pumas is non-negotiable, as the weary Wallabies strive to restore pride and avoid a dubious place in history with a successful end to the Rugby Championship.

Defeat would hand the Pumas their first Rugby Championship victory in more than two years and 18 Tests of trying against Australia and fellow southern hemisphere heavyweights New Zealand and South Africa.

With rugby struggling to keep pace with the rival football codes in Australia, Foley knows the Wallabies are on a hiding to nothing and can't afford a slip-up against the un-fancied but improving South Americans.

"With the environment back home, every time we play we're going to have to put on a show – get the result but also entertain," he said.

"So for us this week is vitally important, especially coming off the back of the disappointing last few minutes of last weekend."

The Wallabies trained for the first time in Buenos Aires on Tuesday following their 24-hour journey from South Africa, but Foley said the punishing schedule was all part of the deal.

"Every team has got to endure it. They do it when they come to us, so it's not anything that we can use as an excuse," he said.

"Some teams use it as a distraction and it's not until later in the week that you get into your rhythm.

"But having yesterday off and a couple of good nights of sleep, you can really start preparing as early as possible."

Video footage showed the bleary-eyed players sitting in a hotel meeting room watching a replay of themselves as an animated McKenzie stood by the screen and waved his arms around.

The Pumas almost upset the Wallabies with a late blitz on the Gold Coast in their first clash of the Championship and will fancy themselves to topple the wounded tourists for their first win after nearly three years of frustration in the tournament.

"It doesn't get much tougher than playing Argentina over here," said McKenzie.

"The crowd support is pretty parochial and they'll be disappointed they haven't got more out of the championship to date.

"They'll be keen to get a win, they haven't had one in the championship yet so it's going to be a very hard game.

"We've just got to regroup. I mean, it's not ideal that our luggage and all that stuff's not here, but that's life; you've just got to get through it," Kepu said.

"It's just part of the obstacle of getting to the end goal and that's putting on a performance this weekend."