The Pumas head to Australia for the next two rounds following a one-all series outcome against the All Blacks in Argentina.

Los Pumas will first play the Wallabies in Townsville (September 6) in what will be the first of two matches on Australian soil. The match will be played in the afternoon (1430) and a warm temperature of 29 degrees is expected. The second match, to be played September 13, will be at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney and will also be an afternoon match (1400). 

Both teams have been based in Townsville for the week ahead of the match. On the side of the Wallabies, there is a lot of expectation about how the team will perform after its good performance on the tour of South Africa, while Los Pumas will seek to continue their improvement and grow game by game. At the moment, The Rugby Championship is very even with each team registering a win and a loss.

The Pumas last played in  Townsville in 2021, when they lost to the Wallabies 27-8. Of those called up for this match in Townsville, Mateo Carreras and Joaquín Oviedo made their debuts with the Argentine jersey in 2021.

The last meeting between the Wallabies and Pumas in Australia was 2023, the year of the World Cup. Los Pumas won in Parramatta by 34-31, thanks to a late try by Juan Martín González . In Parramatta, Rodrigo Isgró made his debut.

An experienced Pumas starting fifteen will see three changes from the side that beat the All Blacks in Buenos Aires, with Joel Sclavi, Marcos Kremer and Santiago Carreras all coming in.

Julian Montoya will captain the side once more with an unchanged second row in Franco Molina and Pedro Rubiolo supported by an imposing loose forward trio in Kremer, vice captain Pablo Matera and Juan Martin Gonzalez. 

Carreras at flyhalf marks the only change to the backline, with Santiago Chocobares and Lucio Cinti making up the centres, and Mateo Carreras and Bautista Delguy set to be unleashed on the wings.

Contepomi has made two additional changes on the bench with Boris Wenger set for his official Pumas debut.

Among the 23 players chosen by Felipe Contepomi for the Townsville match, there are two players who may make their official debut for the Pumas: Boris Wenger and Gerónimo Prisciantelli. Wenger played against the British & Irish Lions in Dublin, but no caps were awarded for that match.

Argentina team to play Australia in Townsville:

1. VIVAS, Mayco (33 caps)
2. MONTOYA, Julián (110 caps) (Captain)
3. SCLAVI, Joel (29 caps)
4. MOLINA, Franco (14 caps)
5. RUBIOLO, Pedro (25 caps)
6. GONZÁLEZ, Juan Martín (44 caps)
7. KREMER, Marcos (75 caps)
8. MATERA, Pablo (114 caps) (Vice-captain)
9. GARCÍA, Gonzalo (13 caps)
10. CARRERAS, Santiago (57 caps)
11. CARRERAS, Mateo (28 caps)
12. CHOCOBARES, Santiago (29 caps)
13. CINTI, Lucio (36 caps)
14. DELGUY, Bautista (35 caps)
15. MALLÍA, Juan Cruz (44 caps) (Vice-captain)

Replacements:
16. RUIZ, Ignacio (20 caps)
17. WENGER, Boris (No Caps) 
18. CORIA MARCHETTI, Francisco (3 caps)
19. PETTI, Guido (91 caps)
20. OVIEDO, Joaquín (15 caps)
21. MOYANO, Agustín (2 caps)
22. PRISCIANTELLI, Gerónimo (0 caps) 
23. ELIZALDE, Benjamin (3 caps)