Argentina vs. Australia: 5 Key Battles in 2015 Rugby Championship Game

Argentina host Australia this weekend with the Pumas looking to repeat their historic win in Mendoza last season.

The 21-17 victory was the South Americans' first success in the Rugby Championship, validating the decision to bring the 2007 World Cup third–placed team into the tournament.

Australia have since dispensed with the coaching services of Ewen McKenzie and replaced him with Michael Cheika in a bid to revitalise their mission to recapture the Rugby World Cup later this year.

The focus is very much on preparations for the global showpiece with the Championship being reduced to a round-robin format, so players know they are playing for more than just success in this competition.

Both sides have made changes for the clash, so there will be plenty of individuals itching to take this chance to shine. The incentive of a World Cup squad place combined with last season’s groundbreaking result in this fixture, should make for a full-blooded encounter.

Here are the key battles.

Two full-backs collide in Mendoza with varying skill sets but no less influence on their respective teams.

Joaquin Tuculet is heading home to join Argentina’s new Buenos Aires-based Super Rugby franchise next season, bringing with him a wealth of experience from Europe after spells in France, England and Wales.

His defence is solid and his kicking game sound, while he can cause havoc will a well-chosen line into the back division. He will need his boot to be on song to bring Israel Folau into heavy traffic to claim the bombs.

The Wallaby is probably the best No. 15 in the air, and his game-breaking ability is well known, yet does not seem any easier to stop. The Pumas need to shackle him if he is not to tear them apart out wide.

The Wallaby scrum had a curious weekend against South Africa, struggling horribly until the Boks rung the changes and Michael Cheika introduced Greg Holmes and Scott Sio to prop up hooker Stephen Moore.

Thereafter, Australia had by far the better set piece, and Holmes has been rewarded with a start this weekend.

The Pumas scrum is rugged, aggressive and destructive, and it will thoroughly examine the notion that Australia suddenly has a scrummaging unit that can mix it with the best.

Forward dominance will decide this game.

Nicolas Sanchez did not have a memorable evening against New Zealand last week, as B/R’s Tom Sunderland pointed out.

Nicolas Sanchez evidently felt the pressure in Christchurch as he let the hosts off all too generously on numerous occasions.

Kicking out on the full is a particularly frustrating offence for team-mates to witness in a match of this importance, and Sanchez's boot was wayward in the first period, to say the least.

Quade Cooper was the man in the No. 10 shirt for Australia last week, and despite orchestrating a nice early set move that led to Adam Ashley-Cooper’s try, the Reds man blew hot and cold with the boot.

When he came off and Matt Giteau moved to first receiver, Australia seemed to be able to build pressure for longer periods through the phases. Neither man starts this week, however, so it is the turn of Bernard Foley to show his coach what he can do.

Foley held the reins in this game last season and will want a much better performance from himself to avoid a repeat.

It would help if he is not distracted in his goal-kicking by lasers from the crowd, as happened last year, per the Sydney Morning Herald, but Foley knows he needs to show he can produce under pressure.

It seems obvious to say it given any game of rugby is a physical battle, but the preparations being made by the Wallabies this week have been deliberately abrasive in anticipation of what's to come.

Argentina at home make a point of imposing themselves physically on the opposition, and it was a key factor in last year's win for the Pumas.

It would appear Australia are not keen on coming off second best again this year, as their mid-week training sessions in Mendoza have illustrated.

The Sydney Morning Herald's Phil Lutton reported:

The cobwebs weren't so much as brushed away as hit with a bazooka. Cheika and defensive coach Nathan Grey smashed the tourists and are under no illusions as to the challenge they face against the Pumas, set-piece machines who will pour immense pressure on the Australian scrum and breakdown.

Winning the collisions at the breakdown and in general play appears to be priority No. 1 for the visitors this weekend.

Nick Phipps gets his chance this week as the injured Will Genia drops out.

Phipps made a significant difference with his speed to the breakdown and quality of service when he came on against South Africa.

Up against him will likely be Tomas Cubelli, who can catch teams unaware with his inventiveness and pace.

Two players with plenty to prove to their coaches should make for a feisty contest, but it will hinge on which man uses his boot best to pin the opposition back.