Townsville, Australia – Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa will return to the starting lineup for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash against Argentina in Townsville, as the team prepares for a fast-paced match in forecast temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius.
Alaalatoa, despite not having scored a try for the Wallabies, demonstrated strong try-scoring form for the Brumbies last season, recording eight tries. Teammate James Slipper noted the nature of those tries, joking, “They were all, like, one meter [away].” Slipper emphasized Alaalatoa’s power, stating, “He’s a powerful player. He’s a big man,adn you get a player that size close to the line,nine times out of 10,you’ll get him over the line.”
The wallabies are utilizing the warm conditions in Townsville to acclimatize before heading to Sydney for the second Test. “There’ll be a lot of hurt out there on the field, no doubt,” slipper said. “Luckily for us, we’re up here for the week, so we’ll get used to that.” He anticipates a high-tempo game, adding, “I think it will be a fast match – the Argentinians play at really high tempo, quick ball sort of rugby games, and we like to do the same. So it sets up to be a really fast game. The conditions will be telling.”
Slipper also expressed confidence in veteran five-eighth James O’connor, who missed crucial kicks in a recent loss in Cape Town.”His career speaks for itself. He’s been around for a long time. He’s played across the world,so his experience has been really good for the group,” slipper said.”Obviously he would love to have got those kicks, but knowing Rabs he’ll kick on from that, for sure.”