Pumas name team for Boks clash
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The Argentine coach Santiago Phelan has named the Puma team to take on the South Africans on Saturday. The side features six changes from the side that lost to Italy 13-12. Felipe Contepomi has been recalled and will also captain the side with Juan Hernandez not being selected after fracturing his hand against Italy.
The loss of Hernandez is a big one as he has shown genuine flair and enthusiam in his appearances for the Pumas. The selection of Contemponi is a life line to his Rugby career that he will be keen to grab as with the rise of Hernandez, Contemponi’s career was looking to be on the skids.
The Pumas will take on the Boks in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Argentina: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 José María Núñez Piossek, 13 Federico Martín Aramburu, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Felipe Contepomi (c), 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 3 Pedro Ledesma, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Esteban Lozada, 19 Álvaro Galindo, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Benjamín Urdapilleta
22 Rafael Carballo.
Are Pumas a one hit wonder?
Argentina had a fantastic World Cup in 2007 finishing third. The dour style of play was gone and in it’s place was a brash and exciting game styled very much in the style of French provincial Rugby where many of the Puma stars play.
Much was expected of Argentina in the tests played against Italy and Scotland but the Pumas post World Cup were world’s away from the side that took the Rugby world by storm. While the team have undergone some changes since the Rugby World Cup they will be keen to show they have something serious to offer the Rugby world.
Success or at least a strong performance will be pivotal for the Pumas if they are to show they are worthy of being a part of the southern hemisphere international Rugby calendar. With Argentina pushing for a place alongside the All Blacks, Wallabies and the Springboks a performance that will push the Boks all the way is the key to their potential acceptance in any expanded Tri-Nations series.
With the top four teams now all in the southern hemisphere Argentina have the chance to show they are deserving of their fourth place in the IRB rankings. I can’t see them posing a threat to the Boks and will be surprised if they are with 20 points at the end of the game but I hope for the Pumas and for Rugby in the region they push the Boks, or even pull off a major upset.
The Ruck and Maul will preview this match later in the week.
Steyn left out of Springboks squad
The South African Springboks have announced their squad for the upcoming match against the Argentine Pumas and the following Tri-Nations matches against the All Blacks and Australia.
In a surprising move coach Peter de Villiers left out star players Francois Steyn and Ruan Pienaar from the squad of 24. It is a surprising move as the versatility of both players makes them ideal choices to fill a spot in the team but perhaps this versatility has been their downfall as Peter de Villiers has shown a preference for specialist players.
This is a blow to both players who have played well and are capable of being first choice players in a range of positions for the Boks. I find the Steyn decision crazy as he has shown the ability to win a game single handedly with his skills or his kicking. I would consider Steyn and Ryan Kankowski who is also missing from the squad as automatic starting players. Two other players were also left out of the squad Odwa Ndungane and Gurthro Steenkamp.
The Springboks will be captained by Victor Matfield once again in the absence of regular captain John Smit. The Boks will take on Argentina in Johannesburg on Saturday 9th August.
Forwards: Adriaan Strauss, Andries Bekker, Bakkies Botha, Bismarck du Plessis, Brian Mujati, CJ van der Linde, Joe van Niekerk, Juan Smith, Luke Watson, Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger, Tendai Mtawarira, Victor Matfield.
Backs: Adrian Jacobs, Bryan Habana, Butch James, Conrad Jantjes, Enrico Januarie, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, Jean de Villiers, Jongi Nokwe, JP Pietersen, Percy Montgomery.
IRB World Rankings - All Blacks No. 1
The IRB have updated the latest rankings for all Rugby nations. After the win by the All Blacks against the Springboks the All Blacks have stolen the top spot followed by South Africa. Australia have also replaced Argentina in third place after the recent poor performance of the Pumas against Scotland and the shock loss to Italy.
The top 10 teams are;
1. New Zealand
2. South Africa
3. Australia
4. Argentina
5. England
6. Wales
7. France
8. Ireland
9. Scotland
10. Italy
Click here to see a complete list of all rankings.
Italy 13 Argentina 12
Italy triumphed 13-12 over Argentina in what was a costly night for Argentina. Not only did they lose a game they were expected to win but they lost star Juan Martin Hernandez after 20 minutes with a wrist injury.
Argentina led 12-3 at the break after taking a 6-0 lead early through 2 penalties to Hernandez. The game was uninspriring and was marred by referee Matt Goddard blowing 30 penalties to reduce the match to a bore fest. Italy came back strongly in the first half to bring the score back to 12-6. Argentina could have extended their lead but failed with two penalty attempts, those misses were to prove costly when Italy scored a last gasp try to replacement Leonardo Ghiraldini. It was then up to Marcato to convert fir victory and he held his nerve to provide Italy with an inspirational win against the Pumas in Argentina.
Italy 13
Tries: Leonardo Ghiraldini
Goals: Andrea Marcato 2 penalties, 1 conversion
Argentina 12
Goals: Juan Martin Hernandez 2 penalties, Marcelo Bosch 2 penalties
Argentina vs Italy Preview
Argentina and Italy will be primed for a big one off test at the Estadio Olimpico in Argentina. Italian coach Nick Mallett has recalled three stars from Stade Francois who were unavailable due to team commitments last weekend. Star Sergio Parisse will return and captain the side that lost to South Africa 26-0 in a brave performance last week. He is joined by teammates Mirco and Mauro Bergamasco who will give the Italian side more experience and impact. Luke McLean has retained his spot after a strong performance against the Springboks.
Argentina have also been strengthened by the addition of their stars from Stade Francois and Biarritz who both lost their semi final matches last weekend. Argentina have dropped a number of players from their shock loss to Scotland 26-14 at home. Gonzalo Tiesi, captain Felipe Contempomi, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Santiago Gonzales Bonorino, Marcos Ayerza and Federico Serra have all been dropped from the side that lost 26-14 to Scotland last week
Argentina should be too strong in front of their home crowd and with a number of stars back they should have to much firepower. Argentina by 12.
Argentina
Horacio Agulla, Miguel Avramovic, Lucas Borges, Marcelo Bosch, Alejandro Tomas Campos, Manuel Carizza, Martin Durant, Pablo Gambarini, Alvaro Galindo, Juan Francisco Gomez, Juan Martin Hernandez, Alfredo Lalanne, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Pedro Ledesma, Esteban Lozada, Federico Aramburu, Rodrigo Roncero, James Stuart, Bernardo Stortoni, Hernan Senillosa, Alvaro Tejeda, Nicolas Vergallo.
Italy
Andrea Marcato, Kaine Robertson, Mirco Bergamasco, Gonzalo Garcia, Matteo Pratichetti, Luke McLean, Simon Picone, Sergio Parisse, Mauro Bergamasco, Josh Sole, Carlo Antonio Del Fava, Santiago Dellape, Carlos Nieto, Fabio Ongaro, Ignacio Rouyet.
Reserves: Leonardo Ghiraldini, Alex Moreno, Tommaso Reato, Alessandro Zanni, Pablo Canavosio, Enrico Patrizio, Riccardo Pavan/Jaco Erasmus.
IRB World Rankings
The International Rugby Board (IRB) announced the latest rankings of all Rugby playing nations on 16 June 2008.
The only movement within the top 10 from last week is Scotland moving up one place after their surprise victory against Argentina and Fiji dropping back one spot as a result of the Scottish win. Among other major top 20 nations Samoa has moved from 13th to 12th spot and Japan from 16th to 15th after recent performances in the Pacific Nations Cup.
The top 10 are;
South Africa
New Zealand
Argentina
Australia
England
Wales
France
Ireland
Scotland
Fiji
A full list can be viewed at the Official IRB Rugby site.
Scotland 26 Argentina 14
Scotland had a successful end to their series against Argentina with an inspired performance that shocked the home side and left Scotland some positive signs for the future.
Scotland took the early lead with a penalty to Chris Paterson who was playing in his Scottish record 88th test appearance. This was soon extended further when Paterson slotted another penalty to give the away team a 6-0 lead. Scotland extended the lead further through a key turnover of the Pumas ball and Mike Ford capitalised with a try. Paterson converted once again and soon after converted a penalty for a 16-0 lead at half time.
Argentina had a chance to get on the board after 4 minutes into the second half with a penalty but Todeschini missed his second chance at goal. Paterson converted another penalty in the 52nd minute to give the Scots a 19-0 lead. The game was virtually gone by this stage but was not helped by some silly play by the Pumas captain Contemponi who went on with a spat with Euan Murray which had them both sent to the bin. The new Puma side was reverting back to their old self and were clearly faltering under pressure but as all seemed lost they produced a good try through Lobbe to bring the score back to 19-7. It could have soon been 19-14 but Paterson produced a last ditch effort to stop Agulla scoring.
In the 72nd minute an intercept by substitute Dan Parks led to a precision pass Graeme Morrison to score and after Paterson’s conversion it was 26-7. A late consolation try to Agulla reduced the loss to 12 but Scotland can be proud of their effort.
It was Scotland’s first win in 18 years against the Pumas and their first against a team in the southern hemisphere in 26 years. Argentina will be bitterly disappointed to have lost their composure and the 46,000 home fans in Bueonoa Aires will be looking for better things to come from the Pumas.
Scotland 26
Tries: Ross Ford, Graeme Morrison
Goals: Paterson 4 penalties, 2 conversions
Argentina 14
Tries: Fernandez Lobbe, Horacio Agullo
Goals: Federico Todeschini 2 conversiona
Argentina vs Scotland Profile
Argentina will be keen to make it two out of two against Scotland on Saturday in Buenos Aires. The Argentinians are showing they were no one World Cup wonders and on the strength of their performance in the first test they are likely to improve further.
Argentina now believe in themselves, whereas once they were a tough and uncompromising side up front but weak with scoring options on the backs they now have an impressive forward pack and equally impressive backline. Argentina should be too strong for a Scotland team that is still looking to get back on track. Scotland need to have a game breaker or two and this is lacking in their game, they have a solid team but no player is remarkable or a world beater at this stage. But the signs for the future of Scottish rugby are improving and this series in an important next step after the 2008 Six Nations. Argentina by 12.
Argentina: Bernardo Stortoni, Lucas Borges, Gonzalo Tiesi, Felipe Contepomi, Horacio Agulla, Federico Todeschini, Nicolas Vergallo, Manuel Leguizamon, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Martin Durand, Esteban Lozada, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Santiago Gonzalez Bonorino, Alvaro Tejeda, Marcos Ayerza.
Reserves: Pablo Gambarini, Juan Gomez, James Stuart, Alvaro Galindo, Alfredo Lalanne, Federico Aramburu, Federico Serra.
Scotland: Hugo Southwell, Chris Paterson, Ben Cairns, Graeme Morrison, Simon Webster, Phil Godman, Mike Blair, Allister Hogg, John Barclay, Alasdair Strokosch, Scott MacLeod, Matt Mustchin, Euan Murray, Ross Ford, Allan Jacobsen.
Reserves: Dougie Hall, Alasdair Dickinson, Alastair Kellock, Kelly Brown, Rory Lawson, Dan Parks, Nick De Luca.
IRB World Rankings
The International Rugby Board (IRB) announced the latest rankings of all Rugby playing nations on 9 June 2008.
The Top 10 are pretty much as expected and will depending on results in the current rugby season show some movements. South Africa are still ranked No. 1 after winning the 2007 World Cup. New Zealand are ranked No. 2 and will be keen to win the Tri-Nations to return to the No. 1 spot they have held for many years but failed to deliver at World Cup level. Argentina have pipped Australia for the third spot after a sensational World Cup campaign that surprised the rugby world. Australia will also been keen for a strong Tri-Nations to move back up the world rankings.
The top 10 are;
South Africa
New Zealand
Argentina
Australia
England
Wales
France
Ireland
Fiji
Scotland
A full list can be viewed at the Official IRB Rugby site.