Pumas ready to 'tackle' Scots
Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:16
Argentina, minus several World Cup stars that are not being released by their French clubs, are preparing for a massive defensive effort when they face Scotland in the first of two Tests in Rosario on Saturday.
Two of Argentina's overseas-based professionals who did make the trip back home for the first international of the year, spoke on Wednesday of the defensive structures that will be in place at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito.
No.8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, who plays for London Irish in the Guinness Premiership, said they have "reviewed" their defensive structure at training this week.
"We looked at how we can improve our tackling and also introduced some new structures into our defensive game," Leguizamón said.
"Also, we managed to work on some attacking plays against opposition, which was a big plus," he added.
The No.8 admitted it is not going to be easy against quality opposition like the Scots, but they must take their training ground form into the game if they hope to have any chance of victory.
"Scotland is a very tough, physical side with quality players in the forwards and back. We will have to concentrate for the full 80 minutes, as the mental side will be as important as the physical aspects of the game," he said.
Genaro Fessia, a back row forward who plays for Sale Sharks, also spoke about the amount of work they did on their defensive structures.
"We made some adjustments to our defensive structures in a contact session against the Rosario club," Fessia said.
He added that it is vital for the Pumas to get the "basics" right in the first Test, before they can consider an expansive game.
"They are very tough opposition and they will have a full go at us," he added.
