Australia vs Argentina

The Wallabies arrived in Perth under the darkest of clouds this week, having followed up back-to-back losses to the All Blacks with a 38-12 belting by the Springboks in Brisbane. That maintained Ewen McKenzie's winless start as Test coach and heaped even more pressure on an under-fire Australian outfit that just can't take a trick in 2013.

Saturday night's Test is the final Wallabies Test on home soil for 2013 and another loss would consign them to just one victory in Australia for the first time since 1989, when they won just one of their three Tests against the Lions.

Los Pumas are also winless this season in The Rugby Championship but have at least picked up a bonus point - in a narrow loss at home to South Africa - along with plenty of praise for the way they pushed the world champion All Blacks in last weekend's 28-13 loss in Hamilton. Argentina remain outsiders with the bookmakers, however, and are keen to hang on to the underdog status with veteran Felipe Contepomi describing Australia as ``a better team''.

Scott Fardy's rude introduction to Test rugby doesn't get any easier this weekend with Argentina skipper Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe the latest adversary waiting on the side of the scrum. The 31-year-old Pumas veteran, who plays his club rugby alongside Matt Giteau and Jonny Wilkinson with Toulon in France, missed the opening two matches of The Rugby Championship but made a strong return against the All Blacks in Hamilton.

A defensive workhorse who leads from the front, Fernandez Lobbe is part of an impressive backrow trio which created plenty of problems across the Tasman last weekend. Fardy, meanwhile, has been praised for his combative play despite the wider efforts of the Wallaby pack. He will need to work a little harder around the breakdown however, with coach Ewen McKenzie admitting his side haven't been committing enough forwards to the tackle.

A Test debut naturally brings with it pressure, but halfback White starts for the Wallabies for the first time in the most pressure-packed of situations - with his country desperate for victory and having displaced superstar Will Genia, arguably Australia's best player of the past three years. Luckily he's a feisty character who looks capable of taking it all in his stride. Whatever you think about Genia's demotion, White's run-on Test denit is deserved. He has a superior kicking game to the Reds' No.9, and that's an area of the game the Wallabies in general have been poor at all year. White will be expected to fire up Australia's flagging forward pack and spark a stuttering Wallabies attack that has crossed for just one try in the past two Tests. On the opposite side of the field will be another player making his first Test start for The Rugby Championship, with Cubelli replacing Martin Landajo. Argentina thrives on opposition mistakes and Cubelli will be the key link in getting quick ball out for the likes of `El Majo', Juan Martin Hernandez, to shine.

Again, here is some more dire reading for Australian rugby fans. The Wallabies have lost their past four matches by margins of 11 points or more - something they haven't done since a stretch between 1899-1907.
Australia have also been slow starters in 2013, trailing in all six of the Tests they have played at half-time. When you stack that up against the fact that the Wallabies were unbeaten in the seven matches they led at half-time (six wins, one draw) last year, it shows the importance of getting off to a bright beginning.

If the Wallabies are to get of to a solid start they might want to keep an eye on Juan Leguizamon. The Pumas No.8, set to play his 50th Test, has scored the opening try in Argentina's past two Tests.

Now for some more positive Aussie stats. For a start, the Wallabies - not surprisingly - own the head-to-head against Argentina, winning the past six and ten of the past 11 matches against the Pumas (their last of four total losses to Argentina was in 1997, and the only home defeat was back in 1983).

On another positive note, super boot Christian Lealiifano has missed just one kick at goal in his Test career. He's nailed 23 from 24 shots at goal.

The Rugby Championship aficionados will be right in thinking something is absent from the Argentina line-up - centre Marcelo Bosch misses the clash with the Wallabies after playing all but three minutes in the tournament for the Pumas since they entered in 2012. That's 717 minutes all up.