Wales v Argentina - Teams and Prediction

PREVIEW: Steve Tandy heads into his first game as Wales coach confident he has done the right thing by recalling Louis Rees-Zammit to a replacement role rather than throwing the wing straight into the starting side for Sunday’s clash with Argentina in Cardiff.

Rees-Zammit has been nursing a toe injury since being injured in his third game for English PREM side Bristol following an 18-month spell in American football at the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars that ended without him featuring in a senior NFL game.

The 24-year-old last played for Wales at the 2023 World Cup but could now come off the bench in a Nations Series opener against the Pumas at the Principality Stadium.

“There’s always a temptation to start someone like Zammo, but we’ve got to do what’s right by him and the group,” said Tandy.

“Zammo’s probably played two games in total since he’s come back and then he’s had an injury. It’s his first full training week, which has been awesome.

“He’s been doing some running and he’s been ticking the boxes in lots of the physical aspects, but then you’ve got [wings] Tommy [Rogers] and Jadzi [Josh Adams] who’ve trained really well. We’ve got two boys who are match fit and will give us something.

“Bringing Zammo off the bench does add a massive opportunity to add impact to the game.”

Tandy has made seven changes from the side which ended Wales’ record run of 18 consecutive Test defeats in Japan in July.

Wales have slipped to 12th in the world rankings ahead of a November programme that also includes fixtures against Japan, New Zealand and world champions South Africa.

‘Big boys’

Argentina, sixth in the global standings, are renowned for their forward strength but also boast an increasingly dynamic back division.

The Pumas recorded wins over Australia and New Zealand during the recent Rugby Championship, and lost to eventual southern hemisphere champions South Africa by only two points in the final game at Twickenham last month.

“There’s some big boys out there,” Tandy said of Argentina’s pack. “We can’t change our physical attributes but we have got some big aggressive boys as well.”

Sunday’s match sees Tandy returning to the scene, nearly 40 years ago, of his stint as a ball boy for club side Tonmawr.

Tandy’s father Peter was Tonmawr coach at the old National Stadium in 1986 when the village team – some four miles east of Neath – beat Cardiff side CIACS to win the Welsh Brewers Cup, a competition featuring the smaller district clubs in Wales.

It was a key staging post in a rugby journey that saw Tandy play as a flanker for Neath and the Ospreys before coaching stints in Australia, Scotland and Wales.

“I was the ball boy [in the Cardiff final], my dad was the coach, and it was Tonmawr’s invincible season,” Tandy recalled.

And while Tandy never won a Wales cap, his early experiences of being coached to be “energised and enjoy my rugby” have informed his career.

“When the boys go out there on Sunday, I want them to play with a little bit of freedom and not worry about every mistake,” he said.

“I’d rather them worry about what they can do.”

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Players to watch: 

For Wales: There will be pressure on the front row. Keiron Assiratti, Dewi Lake and Rhys Carre will have to dig deep to hand a perfect platform for their team at scrum time. Halfback partnership of Dan Edwards and Tomos Williams will have to dictated proceedings and create a balance between forwards and backs. From the bench, all eyes will be Louis Rees-Zammit is poised to make a return to international rugby union following an unsuccessful 18-month stint in American Football at the Kansas City Chiefs and the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he failed to feature in a competitive NFL game.

For Argentina: It is a very experience with threats all around the park. One name that stands out is Pablo Matera, the loose forward’s physicality and strength makes him a lethal ball carrier. The second row pairing of Marcos Kremer and Guido Petti will be a handful come line-out time. In the backline. Mateo Carreras and Bautista Delguy are incredible wingers. They have this skill to find space and break defense down with ease.

Prediction: 

Rugby365: Argentina by 10 points

Teams: 

Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit

Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Justo Piccardo, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Simon Cruz Benitez, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera (vice-captain), 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tomas Rapetti, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Juan Cruz Mallia, 23 Rodrigo Isgro

Date: Sunday, November 9
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 15.10 (12.10 ART; 15.10 GMT)
Expected weather: It will be sunny, however there is a small chance of rain and and a temperature around 14°C
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)