Puma power not a problem for Cole
England prop Dan Cole hopes his hurt at not starting for the British and Irish Lions will spur him on as he prepares for the gruelling challenge of scrummaging against Argentina.
The 26-year-old Leicester front-row appeared in all three Tests of the Lions 2-1 series win in Australia this year but only as a second-half replacement, with Wales's Adam Jones starting all three matches against the Wallabies.
"I came back from the tour frustrated, but the Lions won the series so I can't complain," he said.
"I was happy to be involved in the Tests but obviously you want to play, you want to start. I didn't and Adam Jones did a brilliant job.
"You use it as motivation. The next time round you want to be starting.
"The Lions' starting tight-head (Jones) is probably the best tight-head in the world. He's certainly up there.
"You want to be that person so you work harder than you've done before to get there."
England had a definite advantage in the scrum as they opened their November campaign with a 20-13 win over Australia at Twickenham last weekend.
But immediately after that match, England coach Stuart Lancaster publicly warned his side to expect a tougher test up front when they played the Pumas, long famed for their forward power, at Twickenham on Saturday.
Cole knows all about Argentina's fondness for scrummaging having played in the same Leicester front-row as Pumas loosehead prop Marcos Ayerza.
"They want to scrum you out. They want to wear you out and take you on there," Cole said.
"They pride themselves on the scrum. They pride themselves on the gentlemanly way of pushing you backwards for a long period of time. If you don't get it right, they are good.
"When you speak to Marcos, who is versed in the Argentinian way, you find out there is a certain pride and honour in the way they scrum. They don't like cheating," Cole explained.
"It's a pushing context and the team that gives up, goes backwards. That is the gentlemanly way of doing it. It's good, it's effective.
"In scrum you are never at 70-80 percent, you are flat out, you are pushing as hard as you can," he said.
"Argentina try to outlast you and wait for a team to give up. They are there, static, waiting for someone to move.
"As soon as someone does that and it's in the wrong direction, that's when there is a crack and that's what they'll exploit. It wears you out.
"The human body is not designed to be pushed backwards for long periods of time. The front five can't run about — the lactic acid builds up in their legs."
AFP
