Argentina name their 30 for RWC

Dr Phil leads the squad, one last hurrah for the old guard of the front row, and confirmation that no Juan Martin Hernandez - Scotland (and England) will breathe a little easier this morning.

ARGENTINA SQUAD
Forwards: Juan Fernandez Lobbe (Toulon), Juan Manuel Leguizamon (Lyon), Leonardo Senatore (Gimnasia Rosario), Alejandro Campos (Agen), Alvaro Galindo (Racing Metro), Patricio Albacete (Toulouse), Manuel Carizza (Biarritz), Julio Farias Cabello (Tucuman RC), Mariano Galarza (unattached), Tomas Vallejos (Harlequins), Marcos Ayerza (Leicester Tigers), Agustin Creevy (Montpellier), Juan Figallo (Montpellier), Maximiliano Bustos (Montpellier), Mario Ledesma (Clermont), Rodrigo Roncero (Stade Francais), Martin Scelzo (Agen).

Backs: Martin Rodriguez (Stade Francais), Horacio Agulla (Leicester Tigers), Juan Jose Imhoff (Duendes), Gonzalo Camacho (Exeter), Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino (Montpellier), Agustin Gosio (Newman), Gonzalo Tiesi (Stade Francais), Santiago Fernandez (Montpellier), Marcelo Bosch (Biarritz), Felipe Contepomi (Stade Francais, captain), Nicolas Sanchez (Bordeaux-Begles), Alfredo Lalanne (London Irish), Nicolas Vergallo (Toulouse).

Was just about to write this up. A shame that Hernandez won't be there but hopefully that means they might try to play a little more rugby than 4 years ago.

They've gone for the 17-13 split which is a sign of how they see this group being.

MBTGOG wrote:Was just about to write this up. A shame that Hernandez won't be there but hopefully that means they might try to play a little more rugby than 4 years ago.

They've gone for the 17-13 split which is a sign of how they see this group being.

Agreed, Munsty - I suspect that Scotland will also go for that split, a reocgnition of the trench warfare that we can expect!

No Hernandez. The World Cup will be all the poorer. Looks like this will be an arm wrestle of a pool so.

Thats a mean looking bunch of hombres all right .

The key to playing a team like Argentina is to score early and force them to to try and play attacking rugby.

If they get in front they are a very hard team to beat as they'll just sit back and slow your ball down and hit you on the counter attack.

The new law variations might not favour them but they're still one of the best sides in the world at the breakdown and that is likely to be a key area in this WC.

red_stag wrote:No Hernandez. The World Cup will be all the poorer. Looks like this will be an arm wrestle of a pool so.

Are those two separate statements or linked?

That is a seriously tough squad!

As a Quins fan it's good to see Valejos, Camacho and Tiesi all in there. I wish them luck (though not against us).

Agree that teams need to go in and score early against them, force them to run and open the game up and that pack wont be able to keep up. The last thing you want is an arm wrestle. Well unless your maschocistic.

Tough squad and that will make a tough team, not without weakness though. Suprised Lobbe was not given the Captains armband though.

MBTGOG wrote:

red_stag wrote:No Hernandez. The World Cup will be all the poorer. Looks like this will be an arm wrestle of a pool so.

Are those two separate statements or linked?

2 statements

1 - World Cup would be better with him.

2 - Separate point : its an armwrestle of a pool.

I think if they have prepared well, they will make the pool very interesting indeed.

Hernandez is a big loss as he is a world class player, well he is when he's not injured/recovering from injury as he always seems to be lately. Argentina have a very good pack of forwards and they'll be a real danger at the set piece and in the tight, expect the rolling maul to be brought out at every available opportunity.

No Lozada! What are they thinking

Good squad. Big heavy pack. We'll still beat them though.

Can someone please tell me why Hernandez is given 'world class' status.

I really can't see it and I've never ever seen anything of him that get's a lot of rugby fans creaming it.

I wouldn't have been worried at all if he had been included. There are far more dangerous players in that squad than him.

And to state that the WC will be poorer without him....completely mental thing to say.

I agree with FES though....we have nothing to fear from the Argentinians and I'd say that the Scotland v England match will be the pool decider.

Tattie when Hernandez was at his peak he genuinely had the skill to compete with the top 10s in the world. Several rather nasty injuries have held him back in recent years but his ability around 2007 was undeniable. A massive boot, silky passing game with enough speed and power to break through the defence on his own as well as a solid defence.

If he was born in England/Scotland/Wales/Ireland he would have had 2003 Wilko style coverage his ability would have made him that high profile.

The greatest trick Mariano Galarza pulled was convincing the world he was an international lock…

I really can't see Argentina putting up too much of a challenge in this pool. They've fallen away and don't offer much beyond a bit of grunt.

It's England and Scotland qualifying (in that order).

SafeAsMilk wrote:I really can't see Argentina putting up too much of a challenge in this pool. They've fallen away and don't offer much beyond a bit of grunt.

It's England and Scotland qualifying (in that order).

Without having seen them play for a while it's difficult to say really. But from the players they have you've got to put them on a par with Italy at least. And look at the surprises Italy have managed.

What warm up games are they getting? As without a bit of build up i can't see them doing too well, but with a few games to get organised they could surprise some one.

yappysnap wrote:And look at the surprises Italy have managed.

I think people overestimate Italy too. Apart from beating a disinterested French side they've had a few results against Wales and Scotland and pushed some better sides close.

Having said that it would be good if Italy beat Ireland in their group

You feel if Contepomi gets injured- they will really struggle. Surprised that Montpellier wing wasn't included.

It is a tough looking Argie squad. But those forwards, tough as they are, have a lot of mileage on them. Wonder how they can hold up? I would not want to catch them early in the RWC.

Hey, tattie scones where have you been, man? 606v2 has been running for yonks and this is then first time I have seen you.
Anyway, and at the risk of looking very stupid in 5 weeks time, I don't really see too much to fear in that Argies squad. A lot of gnarled tough forwards but i think even our backs have a little more firepower that they do.
I had been very worried about the Argies before but I now think that the top two in the group will be England and Scotland in that order.

A lot of gnarled tough forwards but i think even our backs have a little more firepower that they do.

Some quite dynamic forwards as well. Ayerza is only 26 and will cover the pitch like a backrower. They will give anybody a tough time up front.

The Argie back three could pose a lot of threat the full back from Stage Rodriguez is a class act and has a fair range with drop goals, Agulla and Camacho should offer plenty of running options on the flanks and both tend to bounce out of tackles. The problem in that backline is that no centre jumps out as a massive threat and as you say minus Contepomi there isn't much live wire creation going on.

One thing to note for the Argentinians is that they will be in a training camp together for 2 months. Normally they get a few days before a test, so they could well be a bit better than recent results may suggest.

In the centres, if Bosch can steer clear of injuries, he a fine player who gives them another creative option outside of Contepomi. If not, they have Fernandez who was a the starting centre in the Top 14 final this year. If both those cause trouble, Rodriguez can move forward.

At outside centre, Tiesi has never truly lived up to his early promise but does still run some excellent lines and if not asked to do much more than his basic job, will be a good piece in the puzzle.

Tiesi had a very good game against England last year and is solid in defence, just don't expect him to unlock defenses in attack, he's a physical guy but doesn't have the best feet.

Agree with Sam that their back three has a lot of potential, just watch Comacho burn the Munster players in the ACC last season for what he can do.

Valejos as well is a very physical young lock.

screamingaddabs wrote:One thing to note for the Argentinians is that they will be in a training camp together for 2 months. Normally they get a few days before a test, so they could well be a bit better than recent results may suggest.

Yeah I was going to make that point before. I think they are a much stronger side than Italy and I wouldn't be underestimating them at all. They were awful at Lansdowne in the Autumn, totally disinterested but I think they'll be a different animal in the WC.

If they can get anywhere close to their 2007 form then I believe they'll get out of this group.

Injured...nice to hear from you.

A minor annoyance called work has unfortunately hindered my participation for the last few months!!

I never ever I'd thought I'd say this but I would actually stick Morrison at IC for the Argentina match.

I think his defence organisation is better than Lamont and against Ireland, he did manage to distribute out wide on occasions. If he could work on his offload game, then our back three could do some damage.

With him and Barclay snuffling out any threat from the 10-12 partnership and our forwards bossing the breakdown, I think the Argentinians will struggle to gain any momentum or points.

It will be interesting, and further on from that, the result from the NZ v France match, which Scotland will know prior to their final game, will determine the 'tactics' against England.

Can't wait!

yappysnap wrote:Tiesi had a very good game against England last year and is solid in defence, just don't expect him to unlock defenses in attack, he's a physical guy but doesn't have the best feet.

Agree with Sam that their back three has a lot of potential, just watch Comacho burn the Munster players in the ACC last season for what he can do.

Valejos as well is a very physical young lock.

That was my point on Tiesi. With the players they will have at 10-12, he will only be used as a strike runner with them as the orchestrators of the attack.

I agree.