Argentina v England - Teams and Prediction

PREVIEW: Head coach of Argentina’s rugby team Felipe Contepomi said on Thursday that the feats of the country’s football side at the World Cup are an “inspiration” for his outfit as they prepare to face England in the Nations Champions in Santiago del Estero.

Holders La Albiceleste reached the tournament’s Final on Sunday in New York, where they face Spain having produced a comeback win to beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s semifinal.

“It’s inspiring,” Contepomi told reporters.

“I wouldn’t even say it moves me emotionally – it’s bigger than that.

“Emotions are momentary; inspiration stays,” the former Pumas flyhalf added before Saturday’s Test match.

Lionel Messi’s footballers are coached by Lionel Scaloni, who is eyeing back-to-back World Cup crowns.

Contepomi praised his counterpart from the round ball game.

“I don’t remember him making a bad substitution, I don’t remember him misreading the opponent’s game,” Contepomi said.

“Personally, I learn, I watch, I try to listen to what he says and how he says it, because he seems to me a very interesting person.

“It’s hard to copy, to imitate, but he’s definitely a reference point,” he added.

Teasing Pollock

The build-up to Saturday’s third-round fixture has included England back-rower Henry Pollock teasing Argentine fans in Buenos Aires.

Videos on social media show the 21-year-old taunting locals in blue and white football shirts with facial gestures as he sat in the England team bus driving through the capital city.

“I base my view on what he does on the pitch, and he plays well, very well,” Contepomi said.

“The truth is that, for his age, he does things very well.

“As for his character, he’s young, from another generation.

“I might agree or not with some of the things he does, there are things I wouldn’t do, and surely when I was young, I also did things that other people didn’t agree with.

“That’s just how it is.

“I don’t want to comment on his personality because I don’t know him,” he added.

Contepomi has made two changes to his starting team from last Saturday’s convincing win over Wales.

Bristol’s Matias Moroni replaces Saracens’ Lucio Cinti at outside centre while Mayco Vivas takes Boris Wenger’s spot at tighthead prop.

Cinti and Wenger drop to the bench.

Elsewhere, among the replacements recently-crowned French Top 14 champion in Toulouse lock Efrain Elias, Leicester Tigers back-rower Joaquin Moro and prop Pedro Delgado are the other new faces from last Saturday’s convincing win over Wales.

Players to watch

For Argentina: Tomas Albornoz will have to be smart with his decisions on attack, especially when it comes to using the ball from set-pieces. Pablo Matera will be playing off the bench and his introduction in the second half will be crucial when there are tired legs around the breakdowns.

For England: Henry Pollock has been in the media again and he could get some extra special attention after he was seen teasing Argentina fans during the week. His introduction off the bench will be interesting. Flyhalf Fin Smith is growing in confidence with each performance and he has the potential to be a match-winner on Saturday.

Prediction

Rugby365: England by six points.

Teams:

Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Justo Piccardo, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Tomas Rapetti, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Efrain Elias, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Joaquin Moro, 22 Simon Benitez Cruz,23 Lucio Cinti.

England: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ollie Chessum, 5 George Martin, 4 Alex Coles, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Ellis Genge.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Tom Curry, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 23 Noah Caluori.

Date: Saturday, July 18
Venue: Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero
Kick-off: 16.10 ART (20.10 BST; 19.10 GMT)
Expected weather: Mostly cloudy and not too hot.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)

AFP & Rugby365