Rookie Test prop Fletcher Dyson received the full backing of another Victorian-bred Wallaby today as he prepared to enter the lions' den against Argentina tomorrow night.

Former Wallaby great Ewen McKenzie, now assistant coach with the world champions, has no doubt Dyson will handle the immense pressure against the renowned Argentine pack in the first Test at Ballymore.

The Pumas scrum is daunting even for experienced front rowers, let alone a rookie tighthead like Dyson who freely admits to feeling the nerves kick in two days before a match. A weak link at the crucial tighthead position can cause havoc for a scrum and the hardened Pumas front row will relish the chance to baptise Dyson.

But McKenzie, the most capped Wallaby prop with 51 Tests, has watched Dyson train during the past week and rated the 27-year-old ready for Test action.

"He's done a very good job for Queensland this season and we're very confident he can do the job," McKenzie said. "To play your first Test is a big occasion but to play your first Test as a tighthead prop against Argentina is an even bigger occasion.

"But it's always going to be hard and you just have to get out there and do the things you're picked to do. Fletcher's capable of doing that and I'm expecting very good things."

Dyson is the latest in a small line of Victorian-born Wallabies, which lay dormant from 1932 until McKenzie made his debut in 1990. Dyson wasn't expected to continue that line, wandering as a fringe provincial tighthead prop for most of the 1990s until he accepted a lifeline with Queensland this season.

That helped catapult Dyson into Test consideration at such speed that he wasn't even included in the 41-man Wallaby squad for 2000. But McKenzie and Wallaby hooker Michael Foley have immense confidence in the former under-19 star, insisting they hadn't noticed the nerves hit Dyson this week.

"He's very much a typical prop - very quiet, he hasn't got much neck movement - he's got all the traits you would want from a tighthead prop," McKenzie said. "If he's nervous, he's not showing it but it's very much an inner battle when you're playing against well-known opponents."

Coach Rod Macqueen forecast a "keep it simple" campaign against Argentina as the Wallabies step out for the first time since their World Cup triumph last November. Macqueen virtually took a backseat at the Wallabies' final training session today, watching the world champions complete a sharp workout.

"It's very important for us to get the basics right so we're hoping to play a very simple game this week to ease ourselves into it," Macqueen said. "We've got to have good scrums and we've got to have good foundations with our lineout to get ourselves going - without that it destroys our whole game."

Argentina goes into the match as rank outsider despite beating the Wallabies when they last met in Buenos Aires in 1997.

Argentina's cause hasn't been helped by the loss of quality prop Roberto Grau, who suffered a rib injury against Queensland on Tuesday night to take some sting from the Pumas pack. But star halfback Agustin Pichot has overcome a minor shoulder problem, declaring himself a certain starter.

The 25-year-old is confident the Pumas won't be left at the starting gates in a repeat of their last Ballymore Test in 1995. Making his Test debut, Pichot was caught in a whirlwind 31-0 first-half from the Wallabies but he had his revenge in 1997, orchestrating the Pumas' 18-16 upset win.

AUSTRALIA: Chris Latham, Stirling Mortlock, Daniel Herbert, Tim Horan, Joe Roff, Stephen Larkham, George Gregan, Jim Williams, David Wilson, Matt Cockbain, John Eales (capt), David Giffin, Fletcher Dyson, Michael Foley, Richard Harry. Res: Jason Little, Rod Kafer, Sam Cordingley, David Lyons, Mark Connors, Glenn Panoho, Jeremy Paul.

ARGENTINA: Felipe Contepomi, Octavio Bartolucci, Diego Giannantonio, Lisandro Arbizu (capt), Diego Albanese, Jose Cilley, Agustin Pichot, Gonzalo Longo, Rolando Martin, Santiago Phelan, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Alejandro Allub, Martin Scelzo, Federico Mendez, Fernando Diaz Alberdi. Reserves: Agustin Canalda, Hugo Dande, Juan Fernandez Miranda, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Julio Garcia, German Llanes, Facundo Soler.

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