Wounded Pumas will fight back
Argentina will aim to get their World Cup campaign back on track when they face Romania on Saturday in a Pool B game they must win to keep alive their hopes of once again reaching the last eight.
The Pumas suffered a devastating 13-9 loss to England in their opener after leading for much of the match and they finished that game with a long injury list.
Centre Gonzalo Tiesi was subsequently ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a leg injury, while flyhalf and skipper Felipe Contepomi was left in great pain from badly bruised ribs.
Coach Santiago Phelan has brought in Marcelo Bosch to replace Tiesi, while Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino comes in at fullback to allow positional switches for Martín Rodríguez and Santiago Fernández, the latter of whom replaces Contepomi in the No.10 shirt.
No.8 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe has been named as Argentina captain in the absence of Contepomi.
On the plus side, veteran hooker Mario Ledesma is fully fit and will set a new record for World Cup matches for Argentina, playing his 15th. He previously shared the record of 14 with Agustín Pichot and Contepomi.
Fernandez Lobbe said that the loss of Contepomi was a big blow for the Pumas as “he’s our star, the leader and the captain, who can make a difference. But we believe we have a strong squad and can make it, so we don’t miss him too badly.”
Fernandez Lobbe said that he had been impressed the way that Romania had pushed Scotland to the limit in their opener in Invercargill before losing 24-34.
“They have a really good pack and a good defence – we saw that against Scotland,” he said.
“We’ll have the same approach – a great defence, keep our tackling low, and try to stop them at lineouts and rolling mauls,” added the hard-working loose forward.
Romania were left with some regrets over running out of steam in the last 10 minutes against Scotland after a powerful pack display which had the Six Nations stalwarts on the back foot.
Romania have lost all seven games they have played against Argentina including a 50-3 thumping in the 2003 World Cup, but skipper and hooker Marius Tincu, who was outstanding against the Scots believes that it could be a tight game this time.
“I saw the game against England and it was very physical,” he said.
“I think Scotland thought it wouldn’t be a strong game against us, maybe they say that Romania is a little team, but I think the Argentina team watched the game and want to put the same level against us as England and it won’t be easy.
“I know the guys from Argentina and they play good rugby, I think their squad is better than Scotland,” he added.
Oaks coach Romeo Gontineac has retained the same pack, but made three changes in the back division.
Tiberius Ionut Dimofte, who turned in an impeccable kicking display against Scotland, moves from centre to take over from Marin Danut Dumbrava at flyhalf while Florin Surugiu gets the nod at scrumhalf, replacing veteran Lucian Mihai Sirbu.
Constantin Gheara at centre and Ionel Cazan on the wing were also named in the starting line-up.
SAPA-AP
