No splits in Puma camp

Argentina captain Juan Manuel Leguizamon has denied there are splits in the Pumas camp ahead of this weekend's Twickenham Test against England.

There were reports that 'player power' had led to the recent resignation of coach Santiago Phelan and his replacement by Daniel Hourcade.

Argentina also finished bottom of the Rugby Championship after finding life tough against the established southern hemisphere powers of world champions New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

Now they will head to Twickenham without two injured stars in Juan Martin Hernandez and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe but 30-year-old loose forward Leguizamon insisted the Pumas were focused on the task at hand.

"The team is very tight and our objectives are clear. People are talking about that, but we don't care," he said at the squad's London hotel on Monday.

"Sometimes you have new coaches and you have to adapt yourself to the situation.

"We are all professional players and we must adapt ourselves as quickly as possible to the new system.

"There aren't many changes, so that makes things easier for the team."

Leguizamon, tour skipper after Lobbe was ruled out of all three matches with a broken elbow, added: "I'm very proud. It's a big thing for me to be captain for this tour.

"Being captain of my country is something very big, but now we are focused on the job we have to do. We are playing one of the best teams in the world. We have to be ready for that."

AFP