Argentina goes into their Pool A clash with Romania as warm favourites but spirited performances by the Oaks in their first two outings suggests the Pumas won’t have it all their own way.
Form guide
Argentina will be looking to continue the sort of form that netted it a 67-14 victory over Namibia in its last outing on 14 October.
That followed a committed performance in losing 24-8 to defending champions Australia in the RWC opener.
Romania will be smarting from its 90-8 loss to the Wallabies on October 19 after its encouraging 45-17 loss to Ireland in their first match in Gosford the week earlier.
Although still without a solitary point Romania have impressed with some solid defensive efforts and possess a powerful set of forwards.
Previous meetings
Argentina has won each of the six Tests it has played against Romania, their last encounter, in August 1998, resulting in a 68-22 win to the Pumas.
In and out
Romanian coach Bernard Charreyre has made five changes to the side that suffered a bruising 90-8 loss to Australia last Saturday. Marian Tudori, Ioan Teodorescu and Mihai Vioreanu are new faces in the run on side, while youngsters Paulica Ion and Florin Tata come onto the bench.
With fullback Danut Dumbrava out of action after suffering a shoulder injury in the match against Australia, Gabriel Brezoianu moves from the wing to take the number 15 jersey.
Argentina have made a host of changes with eight new players named in the run on side. The Pumas front row will include Mario Ledesma and Rodrigo Roncero, both of whom started on the bench in the last game.
The half back/ fly half combination will be the Fernandez Miranda brothers of Nicolas and Juan. The new skipper is veteran flanker Santiago Phelan.
Key players
Argentina coach Marcel Loffreda has a healthy respect for Romania with several members of their squad playing club rugby in France. Veteran skipper Romeo Gontineac will lead the Romanian charge with his trademark bone crunching tackles a feature of the Romanian defence.
For the Pumas, number 8 Pablo Bouza will again look to take the ball off the base of the scrum strongly as he did in his two try effort in the last game.
What it means
Argentina will be aiming to secure a win and pick up a valuable bonus point along the way ahead of their final pool game against Ireland on 26 October – a match Argentina hopes to win to snare a quarter finals berth.
For Romania, coach Bernard Charreyre will be looking for another 80-minute performance from his powerful and committed forward pack and a reduction in the error rate.
What they said
Romeo Gontineac the Romanian captain on the Argentina team:
"We saw the first game, but it was hard to judge them (Argentina) because it was the first game of the World Cup. We know they are tough .... they are very strong in the forwards, a very quick backline and they are very hard to beat."
On the plan for the Argentina match:
"Of course a good result would be to beat Argentina, but we have to try to put them (Argentina) under pressure in all sectors of the game."
"Our (Romania's) aim for the match is to keep good figuration and to expect an exciting game from both sides."
Match details
Argentina v Romania
20:30, 22 October
Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Chris White is the referee and the touch judges are Steve Walsh and Nigel Whitehouse.
Mark Lawrence is the TV match official.