The South Americans are a passionate bunch. The stereotype of your Argentine gentleman is
one with a curled mullet and sharp moustache who unleashes sharp shrills of
excitement when his post gets delivered.
Easily excited, even more easily riled, that stereotype of Latino passion
and flair is one which is obviously a tad over the top, but there are hints of
that in their sports teams. Play
Argentina in football and you’ll spend most of your time chasing shadows – play
Argentina in rugby and you’ll get your head kicked in. Yes, the Pumas key asset for so many years
has been that passion and aggression, combined with an almost unsurpassable
aggression and a thirst to prove themselves.
It was this that was the key driving force behind the World Cup 2007 run
and their victories at Twickenham and Cardiff; it was this that was starkly
lacking in their hammering against South Africa last weekend.
Never in my life have I seen an Argentina side give up. They’ve been soundly beaten before, against
the likes of the All Blacks, but they’ve carried on fighting until the final
whistle, earning the respect of their opponents. After 50 minutes against the Springboks, they
had given up. Falling off tackles, walking
between breakdowns – this was a shameful display from a side that has the
potential to mix it with anyone and everyone when they get their heads right. Even without their inspirational captain,
Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, there was enough power and panache in that side –
with the likes of Marcelo Bosch, Juan Martin Fernandez and Juan Manuel
Leguizamon – to put up a real scrap. It’s
difficult to pick up on tactical or technical shortcomings when the attitude is
that poor. And when the scrum is getting
hammered, you know the Pumas are in trouble.
If they are to compete in this game, they will rely on 2 things – getting
their heads right and Marcos Ayerza, the returning loosehead prop.
The South Africans, of course, are no strangers themselves
to brute force, and they administered the 60 point hiding last week with a
ruthless efficiency that also showed some surprising levels of invention, in
particular from fullback Willie Le Roux.
Heyneke Meyer will be acutely aware though that his side cannot expect
to come up against another wet-blanket display this time around, particularly with
a packed and vocal crowd in Mendoza roaring on the hosts. This will be a test of their power game and
Willem Alberts, outstanding last week, will have to lead the charge there,
whilst Morne Steyn, the most boringly effective man in rugby, will need to
diffuse any upper hand the Pumas game by playing territory with intelligence and
authority.
The South Americans will come out with renewed passion and
spirit this week, but is that enough to turn over a 60 point deficit? It’s time to live up to the stereotype.
Argentina Team
News
Juan Martin Hernandez has been ruled out through injury so
Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino starts at fullback. And in a further change to the
backs, Bath's Horacio Agulla gets the nod on the wing in place of Juan Imhoff
who is named on the bench. In the front-row Marcos Ayerza has recovered from
injury and takes his place at loose-head with Juan Figallo moving across to
tight-head. In the locks, Julio Farias Cabello and Mariano Galarza start in
place of Patricio Albacete and Manuel Carizza.
Starting Line-up: Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, Gonzalo Camacho,
Marcelo Bosch, Felipe Contepomi (captain), Horacio Agulla, Nicolás Sánchez,
Martín Landajo, Marcos Ayerza, Eusebio Guiñazú, Juan Figallo, Julio Farías
Cabello, Mariano Galarza, Pablo Matera, Juan Manuel Leguizamón, Leonardo
Senatore
Subs: Agustín
Creevy, Nahuel Lobo, Tomas Lavaninni, Benjamin Macome, Tomás Cubelli, Santiago
Fernández, Juan Imhoff
Key Player
Marcos Ayerza. The
set piece as a whole took a pasting last week, with the scrum looking about as
stable as Charlie Sheen after couple of shandies, but the big Leicester
loosehead lends a wealth of experience and power to the front row. Very rarely outscrummaged and with fantastic
handling skills, Ayerza has long been held back from starts for his country by
the legendary Rodrigo Roncero, and he will be fiercely determined to stamp his
authority on that number 1 shirt. If the
Argentines are to be at all competitive, they must front up physically – and
that will all start in the scrum.
South Africa Team News
Unsurprisingly the Springboks have named the same starting
line-up for the match in Argentina with the only change coming on the bench
with Jano Vermaak replacing Fourie du Preez who is unavailable due to his club
commitments with the Suntory Sungoliath.
Starting Line up:
Willie le Roux; Bjorn Basson, JJ Engelbrecht, Jean de Villiers (captain), Bryan
Habana; Morne Steyn, Ruan Pienaar; Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois
Louw; Juandre Kruger, Eben Etzebeth; Jannie du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Tendai
Mtawarira.
Subs: Bismarck du
Plessis, Gurthro Steenkamp, Coenie Oosthuizen, Flip van der Merwe, Siya Kolisi,
Jano Vermaak, Patrick Lambie, Jan Serfontein.
Key Player
Morne Steyn.
'Efficient' has probably never been a more appropriate description of a
player than for Steyn. He does nothing
flash – tackling solidly, passing well and kicking like a dream – but boy is he
effective at keeping that scoreboard ticking over. And why be flash when you have blokes the
size of rampaging rhinoceros on either side of you?! He will be expecting another armchair ride
from his forward pack so he can release the speed and power outside him, but if
the Pumas do show up he will have to show his cool head and play the corners to
diffuse any passion stirring in the crowd.
Key Battle
Pablo Mantera v Willem Alberts. The young Argentine blindside was one of the
few plus points to emerge from last Saturday's debacle in South Africa. Mobile and powerful, he was committed to the
end – but he will need to find a new realm of physicality if he is to compete
with Alberts. English players have
commented previously that Alberts was almost the sole reason why they have been
bullied by South Africa in recent years, and the bulldozing brute was at his
best last weekend – crashing through tackles and making yards with ease. Mantera must get into his face early on and
shut him down before he builds up some steam.
Prediction
Playing a full strength Argentine side in Mendoza is a tough
challenge, even if you are coming off a 60 point victory. You can bank of the crowd and coaching staff
riling the Pumas up for this one, and they won't be taking a backward step
against the visitors for the first half an hour. The key question is whether or not they can
maintain that physicality, without it dropping off alarmingly like it did last
week. If they can, we may be in for a
tight affair like the 15-15 draw last year – if not, they will be in for
another long night. South Africa by 12.
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