Australia vs Argentina Odds and Picks
By Robert Duff in Rugby
Published:
- Australia are 18.5-point home favorites over Argentina in their final Rugby Championship match on Saturday, October 2, in Queensland
- Australia beat Argentina 27-8 on September 25 in their first meeting of the tournament
- Six Argentine players are banned from the match after violating the area’s COVID-19 protocols
Already having gotten the better of the best that Argentina has to offer, Australia will be facing an understrength Argentine squad in their final match of the Rugby Championship on Saturday in Queensland.
Six players from Argentina’s squad were prohibited from returning to Queensland after taking a day trip outside Queensland state. COVID-19 lockdown regulations were reinstalled in the area earlier this week following a COVID-19 outbreak.
Australia were 27-8 winners on Saturday, September 25 over a full-strength Argentina squad. The Wallabies are being set as 18.5-point favorites over the understaffed Pumas in the rematch on Saturday.
Australia vs Argentina Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | -1200 | -18.5 (-105) |
| Argentina | +650 | +18.5 (-125) |
| Draw | +2500 |
Odds as of September 30th at DraftKings.
Kickoff for Saturday’s match is 3:05am ET at Cbus Super Stadium in Queensland. The forecast is calling for cloudy skies, 3 mph wind, and a temperature of 59 degrees.
Argentina’s Unfortunate Journey
On Wednesday, a scheduled off-day, six Argentine players – Sebastián Cancelliere, Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, Felipe Ezcurra, Pablo Matera, Santiago Medrano and Santiago Socino -along with manager Lucas Chioccarelli and video analyst Rodrigo Martínez, spent the time off taking a day trip to a health resort across state lines in New South Wales.
While they were away, there was a COVID-19 outbreak in the area. Queensland Health reinstated restricted rules prohibiting cross-border travel other than for essential work. When they attempted to return to Queensland on Wednesday, the Argentines were declined entry.
📰 SIX players from the Argentina 🇦🇷 rugby team have been kicked out of #TheRugbyChampionship 🏉 for breaching tournament health rules 🧑🏾⚕️ pic.twitter.com/JNOPJmT77M
— 22Ours (@22Ours) September 30, 2021
Three of the banned players were part of last week’s squad that lost to the Aussies. Matera started at #8 and Medrano at tighthead prop. Both are first-team regulars. Hooker Socino was on the subs’ bench.
Coach Mario Ledesma has a 44-player squad at his disposal. He named Enrique Pieretto to replace Medrano. Rodrigo Bruni is replacing Matera. Those are among five changes to the side that lost last week.
Australia Kicking It Old School
Australian coach Dave Rennie is making three changes to the lineup that beat the Pumas. Pete Samu will start at blindside flanker. Jordan Petaia comes in on the wing for Marika Koroibete. Darcy Swain is replacing Matt Philip in the second-row forwards.
However, perhaps the most intriguing moves of the week came among the naming of players to the Wallabies’ bench. Prop Greg Holmes is a selection for the first time since 2016. Back-row forward Sean McMahon is getting a call up for the first time since 2017.
🤗 The moment Holmesy was announced in Saturday's 23.
🗓 This Sat 2 Oct 5:05pm AEST
📺 @StanSportAU & @9Gem#TRC2021 #Wallabies #ARGvAUS @etoroAU @CadburyAU pic.twitter.com/LofGbrLYss— Wallabies (@wallabies) September 30, 2021
At 38, Holmes is the oldest player to gain selection for Australia since the Second World War. Holmes asked to come to the Aussie camp to take notes. He’s planning a post-playing days move into coaching.
Rennie invited Holmes to work with the squad’s young front-row forwards. An injury to Allan Alaalatoa is opening the door to potentially getting the veteran back on the pitch for his country.
Wallabies Walloping Everyone
The Rugby Championship saw the Wallabies opening with successive losses to New Zealand. Since then, Australia is proving to be unbeatable. The Aussies won twice against South Africa before beating the Pumas.
Argentina is 0-5. The closest the Pumas have come to winning were 19-point losses to the Springboks and Wallabies.
It could be a long afternoon for the short-staffed Argentines.
Pick: Australia -18.5 (-105)
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
