Australia vs Argentina LIVE: Rugby Championship result and reaction as Pumas beat Wallabies

The players run out on to the pitch with the light show flashing away. Must admit, I’d temporarily forgotten that Australia like to pretend a match is going to kick off at one time but not even bring the players on to the pitch until five minutes or so after that.

It’ll be closer to 11am BST by the time we actually kick off than the billed 10.45am.

It’s two Aussies and, in fact, Wallabies head coaches past and present on the sidelines this morning. Eddie Jones and Michael Cheika have a complicated history but there seems to be a mutual respect there these days.

Jones is looking for his first win in his latest spell as Australia boss, while Cheika would love nothing more than getting one over on his homeland as coach of the Pumas

Only a couple of minutes until kick-off now and the fans are out in force in Sydney

A reminder of where we stand heading into the game

Rugby Championship fixtures 2023

• Round 1: South Africa 43-12 Australia
• Round 1: Argentina 12-41 New Zealand
• Round 2: New Zealand 35-20 South Africa
• Round 2: Australia vs Argentina - Saturday, July 15 - 10.45am, Sky Sports Action (BST)
• Round 3: Australia vs New Zealand - Saturday, July 29 - 10.45am, Sky Sports Action (BST)
• Round 3: South Africa vs Argentina - Saturday, July 29 - 4.05pm, Sky Sports Action (BST)

Given that Argentina have beaten Australia just four times since 1990, and only once on Australian soil in that period, the Wallabies are unsurprisingly favourites for this clash.

They’ll have to play better than last weekend to get a first win for Eddie Jones in his latest spell as boss though

Via Betfair

Australia win 1/4

Draw 22/1

Argentina win 3/1

Argentina boss Michael Cheika has also wielded the axe for the clash against his homeland, bringing in four new faces after their All Blacks mauling.

Ex-sevens star Rodrigo Isgro makes his debut on the wing, while centre Jeronimo de la Fuente is given the run of the No 12 jersey. Prop Francisco Gomez Kodela and flanker Santiago Grondona are the other alterations as Juan Martin Gonzalez switches to No 8 despite a sub-par performance last weekend.

Argentina XV: Emiliano Boffelli; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Jeronimo De La Fuente, Mateo Carreras; Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya (c), Francisco Gomez Kodela, Matias Alemanno, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Santiago Grondona, Juan Martin Gonzalez

Replacements: Agustin Creevy, Hahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Eduardo Bello, Lucas Paulos, Rodrigo Bruni, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Nicolas Sanchez, Matias Moroni

Anyway, on to this game and two wounded lions (or Pumas/Wallabies) after last week’s chastening losses.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, both teams have rung the changes following last week’s debacles. Eddie Jones has opted for five alterations to his starting Australia line-up that lost heavily to the Springboks.

Winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, centre Samu Kerevi, flankers Jed Holloway and Fraser McReight and lock Richie Arnold all come into the starting XV. Co-captain Michael Hooper is injured, meaning McReight gets his chance in the No 7 jersey. Another flanker, Josh Kemeny, could make his international debut from the bench and Jones has resisted the temptation to start young star Carter Gordon, insisting the rookie fly-half needs more experience from the bench first.

Australia XV: Tom Wright; Mark Nawaqanitawase, Len Ikitau, Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete; Quade Cooper, Nic White; James Slipper (c), David Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa, Richie Arnold, Will Skelton, Jed Holloway, Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini

Replacements: Jordan Uelese, Angus Bell, Pone Fa’amausili, Matt Philip, Rob Leota, Josh Kemeny, Tate McDermott, Carter Gordon

In the other Rugby Championship contest this morning, the All Blacks laid down a serious marker as they beat South Africa 35-20 in Auckland - a superb performance by Ian Foster’s men.

Given the shortened nature of the Championship this year, they’ve all but won the title now and will be excitedly eyeing the World Cup.

Follow all the reaction and relive the win with our blog from that game:

Australia and Argentina will be desperate to put chastening losses behind them this morning when they do battle in Sydney in round two of the Rugby Championship.

The opening weekend could hardly have gone worse for both sides as the All Blacks demolished the Pumas 41-12 in Argentina and while Wallabies coach Eddie Jones had talked big pre-match about making history in South Africa, the Springboks obliterated them 43-12 on home turf. With only one more round of games following this weekend’s action, both teams’ chances of lifting the trophy is already slim but a loss would extinguish that hope completely.

Jones was hoping to make a statement in his first game back as Australia boss but instead, the scale of the challenge in front of him with the World Cup looming became stark. His countryman Michael Cheika, with whom he has a complicated history, faces similar questions in his role as Pumas head coach.

History favours the Wallabies in this fixture – since 1991, only four of the 30 fixtures contested have been won by Argentina and only one of those victories came in Australia (in 2018). However, the Pumas did win the most recent game between the sides handsomely – 48-17 in last year’s Rugby Championship – and also recorded a pair of draws in Australia back in 2020.

Welcome to our coverage of Australia vs Argentina in the Rugby Championship. Both sides will be desperate to bounce back after disheartening defeats last week.