Preview: Argentina v Scotland
Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:57
Fan fun: Argentinian supporters gearing up for the big day
Argentina play Scotland in Rosario on Saturday afternoon, a match which recent form suggests the Pumas would win. But will they?
The Pumas are ranked No.3, Scotland No.10. But those rankings relate to the 2007 World Cup, a glorious event for the Pumas which produced their best World Cup performance ever with two victories over France. It is the nature of man to look forward, though New Zealanders may still look back bitterly.
Looking forward this time is more necessary than usual because the teams are so changed.
The French season still has a month to run. It is a selfish season, allowing France to pick its best players for Northern Hemisphere matches but not when they send their weakened team south and not when it comes to foreign players.
Of the Puma squad at the World Cup, the following were not available for the Pumas in their match against Scotland - Horacio Agulla, Patricio Albacete, Rimas
Alvarez-Kairelis, Lucas Borges, Manuel Contepomi, Ignacio Corleto, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Martín Gaitán, Santiago Gonzalez, Omar Hasan, Juan Martín Hernández, Mario Ledesma, Gonzalo Longo, Lucas Ostiglia, Agustín Pichot, Rodrigo Roncero, Martín Schusterman, Juan Martín Scelzo, Federico Serra Miras and Alberto Vernet Basualdo. No all of these absences are French infected but many of the big ones are.
Of the Scottish side at the World Cup, the Scots have Chris Paterson, Dan Parks, Mike Blair, Chris Paterson, Ali Hogg, Scott MacLeod, Euan Murray, Ross Ford, Allan Jacobsen, Kelly Brown, Rory Lawson and Simon Webster in their line-up, two more than the Pumas have, though only three of their players were laid low by France - Chris Cusiter and locks Scott Murray and Nathan Hines.
Players to Watch: Certainly outside centre Ben Cairns (Scotland). Frank Hadden
clearly thinks of him as a future star. He has good opposition in this match - a good change to show his mettle - provided Dan Parks passes the ball. Mike Blair, the Scottish captain, is always worth watching. and Alasdair Strokosch (Scotland) could be on the way to becoming a great flank. Of the Pumas clever, adventurous Felipe Contepomi always attracts attention. If there is one player on both sides who can change the game by doing the brilliantly unexpected it is Dr Contepomi of Dublin.
Head to Head: There could be a great battle between the excellent goal-kickers - Contepomi and dapper Federico Todeschini for the Pumas and Parks impeccable Chris Paterson for Scotland. Who gets the most kicks at goal will depend partly on the two tight fives and here the Pumas may well have the upper hand. Even without some
of their top men that are physically tough and possess excellent techniques. Tactical kicking also plays a part and here Parks may well play an important role.
Previous Results
2007: Argentina won 19-13, Paris
2005: Argentina won 23-19, Edinburgh
2001: Argentina won 25-16, Edinburgh
1999: Argentina won 31-22, Edinburgh
1994: Argentina won 19-17, Buenos Aires
1994: Argentina won 16-15, Buenos Aires
1990: Scotland won 49-3, Edinburgh
The most recent result was an important one - the quarterfinal of the World Cup. The Scots did well but will this be their first win over the Pumas since 1990?
They played before 1990 before 1990 but the Scots did not award caps for them. In 1969 the Pumas won 20-3, which suggests that they were worthy opposition.
This will be the first time the two teams will have met in Rosario, a lovely city on the Paraná, some 300 km over the Pampas from Buenos Aires, the second city of Argentina, to some the Chicago of the South. It was here that General Belgrano gave the Argentinians their blue-and-white flag, commemorated by the grand Monumento Nacional a la Bandera.
The venue for the Test is Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, the home Rosario Central soccer club. Arroyito has accommodation for 41 000 spectators.
Prediction: It could be desperately close but the Pumas look strong enough to dominate the Scots. The Pumas by 10.
Teams:
Argentina: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 José María Núñez Piossek, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Felipe Contepomi (captain), 11 Tomás De Vedia, 10 Federico Todeschini, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Juan Fernández Lobbe, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Ignacio Fernández Lobbe, 3 Santiago González Bonorino,
2 Álvaro Tejeda, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Pablo Gambarini, 17 Juan Gómez, 18 James Stuart, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Santiago Fernández, 22 Hernán Senillosa.
Scotland: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Ben Cairns, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Thom Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair (captain), 8 Allan Jacobsen, 7 Ross Ford, 6 Euan Murray, 5 Matt Mustchin, 4 Scott MacLeod, 3 Alasdair Strokosch, 2 Johnnie Beattie, 1 Allister Hogg.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Simon Webster.
Date: Saturday, June 7
Kick-off: 16.10 (19.10 GMT)
Venue: Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario
Conditions: Clear with a high of 14°C, dropping to 10°C, and an easterly of 10 km/h.
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Touch judges: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
