Wallabies searching for a 'remedy' for their ills
The Wallabies are looking to prop Taniela Tupou to make his giant presence felt and help them collect their first win of the Rugby Championship against an Argentina side running high on emotion.
The Australians have missed Tupou in two disappointing losses at home to South Africa, with the tighthead given time to grieve the death of his father.
But in the La Plata clash on Saturday [Sunday AM Down Under], the Wallabies are hoping Tupou can make an early impact, with coach Joe Schmidt opting to start Allan Alaalatoa from the bench, with Angus Bell the run-on loosehead prop.
Veteran James Slipper wasn’t considered after his late arrival into camp following the birth of his second daughter.
Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi is expected to be heaving after their historic win over New Zealand to open the tournament, while home-town hero, former captain Agustin Creevy announced he would retire after the Test.
Named on the bench, the 39-year-old hooker will end a 19-year international career with a record 110 caps including 51 as skipper, and the only Puma to have played in four World Cups.
Young Wallabies prop Isaac Isaac Kailea, included in the reserves, said that the team missed Tupou against the Springboks.
“In particular around the scrum,” said 24-year-old Kailea, set to play his fifth Test.
“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.
“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 contest will be Harry Wilson’s first as captain of the Wallabies.
“It’s a huge honour,” Wilson said.
“It’s something I wasn’t really expecting.
“I’ve had so many nice messages from home. The family were over the moon and then to hear from some Wallabies legends like John Eales, Paul McLean and co was awesome.”
On their previous visit to Argentina in 2022, the tourists won their first Test in difficult circumstances with skipper Michael Hooper withdrawing on match eve for mental health reasons while playmaker Quade Cooper ruptured his achilles mid-game.
The Pumas roared back to take the second Test, while Argentina also won their only meeting last year before they went through to the World Cup semifinals.
Veteran utility back Andrew Kellaway didn’t play in 2022 under then coach Dave Rennie but said that the matches had been a talking point this trip.
“We talked about that quite a bit,” he said.
“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,” the 28-year-old 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.”
