Pool B preview: Argentina v Scotland
Argentina were the surprise package of the 2007 World Cup, beating hosts France for third place, but this time around they find themselves facing a must-win Pool B match against Scotland on Sunday.
Los Pumas lost their opener to England by just four points (13-9), but went on to beat Romania 43-8 in their next game.
However, Scotland are sitting pretty with wins over the Romanians (34-24) and Georgia (15-6), albeit with a final pool game against England to come on October 1 after this weekend’s Argentine hurdle.
That leaves Argentina, who face Georgia in their final game, needing a victory to ensure at least qualifying for the knockout phase as runners-up of Pool B ahead of Scotland.
In a huge confidence booster for Los Pumas, talismanic skipper Felipe Contepomi will start at inside centre after coming back from a rib injury sustained in the England match which saw him ruled out of the win over Romania.
“I’m still in a bit of pain, I’m not pain free but it worked well, and hopefully I’ll be playing if nothing [ntoward]happens,” said Contepomi.
His presence was not under-estimated by No.8 Juan Fernandez Lobbe.
“Our captain is our leader, our soul,” Lobbe said. “He has just that kind of magic it’s not easy to find in a rugby player and we’re very, very happy he’ll be out there with us.”
Although it was Argentina who dispatched Scotland at the quarterfinals of the last World Cup, the Scottish notched up an away two-Test series win over Los Pumas last summer for a massive confidence booster.
Scotland coach Andy Robinson said that his team could revel in that first southern hemisphere Test series win, but warned that Argentina were an improving side.
“We can draw confidence from our victories in Tucuman and Mar del Plata last year, just as Argentina will retain happy memories from their win at Murrayfield in 2009,” the former England boss said.
“I also believe that Argentina – as they have already demonstrated in the last two months – are a better team than we faced on their soil last year.”
Ruaridh Jackson will start at flyhalf in place of Dan Parks because of his superior passing and running game.
“We want to get out there and have a go at Argentina. Who is our best passing 10? I think that’s Ruaridh,” Robinson said, adding that Jackson had “a very good ability to go to the line and challenge defences”.
“We believe it’s important for us to play with the ball in hand as well as have the balanced game of kicking.
“We’ve got to be able to play with the ball in hand and move Argentina around.”
Jackson is one of five changes from the team that beat Georgia 15-6 last week, Robinson also recalling Scotland’s most capped player Chris Paterson at fullback instead of Rory Lamont.
Up front, prop Geoff Cross, lock Richie Gray and openside flanker John Barclay replace Euan Murray, Nathan Hines and Ross Rennie, Murray ruled out of Sunday’s match because of his religious beliefs.
Scrumhalf Rory Lawson will skipper the team for the game that will likely decide the group runners-up.
“This is phase two of our operation in the World Cup, we’ve got two games to win,” said Robinson.
“Argentina on a good day can beat anyone in the world,” he added. “They’ll come out and play rugby against us, and we’ll have to match them.
“This is a top pool game. We know it’s going to be a tough game, we found the first two games hard, this will be even harder.”
Players to Watch:
For Argentina: Gonzalo Camacho has been excellent out on the wing for Argentina, offering some creativity and pace out wide and he’ll be more than a handful for the Scottish defence. Loose forwards Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamon have been two of the stars of the tournament so far and will be crucial to the Pumas’ cause.
For Scotland: This marks the first major test for the Scots, who have only faced Romania and Georgia thus far. Key men John Barclay and Kelly Brown will need to hit the rucks hard and their efforts will be pivotal in securing some possession from the powerful Argentinean pack. The spotlight will also be on tighthead Geoff Cross, who fills in for Euan Murray and must be a pillar of strength at scrum time.
Head to Head: The flyhalf battle will be interesting, as Argentina welcome back playmaker Felipe Contepomi, although he’ll play with the No.12 jersey don’t be surprised to see him slot in at flyhalf from time to time. Scotland have preferred Ruaridh Jackson to Dan Parks because of his running game, which indicates that the Scots plan to play an attacking brand of rugby.
Recent Results:
2010: Scotland won 13-9,Mar del Plata
2010: Scotland won 24-16, Tuman
2009: Argentina won 9-6, Edinburgh
2008: Scotland won 26-14, Buenos Aires
2008: Argentina won 21-15, Rosario
2007: Argentina won 19-13, Paris
2005: Argentina won 23-19, Edinburgh
Prediction: This will be tight and is likely to be a nailbiter right to the end, but the Argentina pack should give the Pumas the edge over an unstable Scottish scrum. Argentina to win by 7 or less.
The teams:
Argentina: 15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Felipe Contepomi (captain), 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Santiago Fernandez, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Martin Scelzo, 18 Mariano Galarza, 19 Genaro Fessia, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 22 Juan Jose Imhoff.
Scotland: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Max Evans, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Rory Lawson (captain), 8 Kelly Brown, 7 John Barclay, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Nathan Hines, 19 Richie Vernon, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Dan Parks, 22 Simon Danielli.
Date: Sunday, September 25
Venue: Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 20.30 (02.30 GMT)
Expected weather: Cloudy and raining all day. Max 12°C, Min 6°C.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
AFP and rugby365.com
