Scott Fardy has emerged from a fierce Wallabies training session in Mendoza needing stitches after being elbowed and kicked in the head.

Fardy, sporting a couple of decent cuts that produced plenty of blood, joked that his headgear would cover most of the damage after clashes with locks Dean Mumm and Rob Simmons in the Wallabies' first hitout since arriving in Argentina ahead of the Rugby Championship clash with the Pumas on Saturday.

"'Mummy' kicked me in the head in a pretty benign little drill that we were doing and towards the end of the session, 'Simmo' elbowed me in the head," Fardy said after he continued training with thick bandages around his head. "It's a pretty disappointing session for me, but I'll be right for Saturday."

The Wallabies suffered a humiliating 21-17 loss to Argentina - the Pumas' first Rugby Championship win - in Mendoza last year, but Fardy said they were better prepared this year.

"I think last time we had about 12 flights from Cape Town to get over here," Fardy said. "I remember being extremely jet-lagged. Our preparation has been a bit better than it was last time in terms of logistically getting here and with that comes the really good session that we had today. We were able to fly into it and we're really confident about what we can do on Saturday."

Michael Cheika is set to make several changes to the side that scored a late and unconvincing victory over South Africa in Brisbane, with David Pocock and Michael Hooper expected to start together against the Pumas. Pocock excelled off the bench at No.8, while halfback Nick Phipps and playmaker Matt Toomua are also expected to start against the Pumas given the injuries to Will Genia and Matt Giteau.