France - Argentina preview

Both France and Argentina will go into Saturday's clash in Lille full of confidence after their impressive showings last weekend.

Les Bleus put in a memorable performance against Australia last Saturday in front of their Stade de France crowd and came out of the match 33-6 victors. The result piled the pressure on under-fire coach Robbie Deans while it was probably France's best performance under coach Philippe Saint-Andre. France scored three tries on the night with Louis Picamoles, Wesley Fofana and a penalty try helping to bring up their 33-point total while Frederic Michalak pulled the strings majestically from fly-half.

The result propelled them into fourth in the IRB rankings and if both England and France win then Australia could drop out of the top four. Argentina's impressive 26-12 triumph over Wales moved them into seventh but a big win on Saturday could see the Pumas move up to fifth.

Santiago Phelan's Los Pumas powered past Six Nations Grand Slam holders Wales last weekend with Juan Imhoff and Gonzalo Camacho going over. Despite finishing the Rugby Chmapionship without a win to their name, they emerged from the competition with their reputation intact and they appear to still be riding the crest of the wave going into the November Tests.

France - Player to Watch:
Vincent Clerc has only scored one try in the last seven Tests for France and is well overdue a score or two. On his day there are few better finishers than the Toulouse man so the Pumas need to keep a close eye on him.

France - Team News:
France boss Saint-Andre has made one change to the side with second-row Yoann Maestri, who missed last weekend's rout of Australia due to a back injury, coming back into the side in place of Jocelino Suta.

Argentina - Player to Watch:
Juan Imhoff was sensational against Wales last weekend. He will be coming up against a couple of his Montpellier team-mates on Saturday and he will want to silence the Lille crowd.

Argentina - Team News:
Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino slots into the team at fullback as Juan Martin Hernandez injured himself on Saturday. And Bath flyer Horacio Agulla, who was benched for Saturday's match, has done enough to force his way back into the XV and replaces Exeter winger Gonzalo Camacho. The other change sees Marcelo Bosch starting at inside centre with Felipe Contepomi, who was forced off in the early stages of Saturday's match, out injured.

Key Battle:
The battle for back-row supremacy should be epic. France No.8 Louis Picamoles is setting the northern hemisphere rugby scene alight with his barnstorming runs while Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe is playing some sensational rugby in Argentina's back-row.

Trivia:
Saturday sees the first Test match played at Grand Stade Lille Métropole. The 50,000 capacity stadium, which opened its doors officially for the first time in August 2012, is the home of LOSC Lille football club.

Stats:
Twenty-two of the 30 players starting in Saturday's clash between France and Argentina ply their trade with French Top 14 clubs.

Quote Unquote:

"They gave the Welsh a rugby lesson in the second half. They scored two textbook tries" - France boss Philippe Saint-Andre on the threat of Argentina

"We had a special agreement with the French clubs not to select more than two players from a club for the first match. A lot of our players play in France and England, and we have a good working relationship with these countries." - Pumas coach Santiago Phelan explains the reasons behind a few of his selections

thanks for posting this preview ArgieFan, I was not sure if I was going to do one myself (just one thing : Juan Imhoff plays for Racing, that said a few Pumas play for Montpellier including Amorosino).
I reckon both teams are very close at the moment : going with France and Argentina current form, this game should be even better than the last weekend ones, so I hope at least.

some more trivia : this is the first time a rugby game will be played in France under a closed roof as well (hope the 6N organisers take a note to avoid another ice fiasco at the stade de france).

Argentina +9 looks like a decent bet to me.Not sure I can call a winner but I think it'll be close.Both teams were very impressive in their first outings and hopefully it'll be a good game,if you put a gun to my head I'd say home advantage would be enough for France to sneak the win.

I'd love it if Argentina could win this one too, thanks for the preview.

Good luck fella.

Fra 28 Arg 29

Lille seems a strange place to play rugby in France. I know it's been played in places like Marseille which are hardly rugby strongholds but is there any motive behind this. Maybe the club games can't accommodate test rugby in the rugby strongholds or maybe they're trying to spread the game to new areas.

Should be a cracking match. Two impressive packs and both teams have some genuine pace and guile as well as power. I liked the look of Amorosino when he made a beautiful break against the ABs at home. He pulls his socks down so maybe he models his game on Chris Latham. Not a bad player to model yourself on if that's the case.

Going to be a great match. The collision between the packs will be worth the price of admission alone.

This is an interesting game, it may show how bad Wales were last weekend or how good Argentina are.

Ican't see the French sneaking this one, IMHO this game will go one of two ways...

Either the Argies manage to slow the french ball down, and the pack face up to gain superiority and they sneak it by 1-3 points.

Or the French pack gain parity and the backline are allowed time and space, France by 12 +

I'm betting the French to lay down a serious marker for the 6N and improve on last week's game.

Something tells me they're currently in "Paying Attention" mode. Currently, the Samoan match won't gain them any points, but they could lose some obviously.

St Andre's target of two 16 point margin wins is the best he can go for to get into the top four on 84.99.

Ye I wouldn't be surprised of a big french performance!!!

Is it on tv

It's disappointing that ESPN think Serie A, American College Football and a documentary on football club legends is better viewing than this game. Don't like streams at the best of times and saving them whilst out can be unreliable.

Agree with everyone saying this is going to be a very interesting match - both teams significantly exceeded my expectations on the opening weekend - question is to what extent were they made to look good by off-colour opposition? I fancy the French might be a little better that the Argies, especially at home, but not sure.

Pot Hale wrote:

St Andre's target of two 16 point margin wins is the best he can go for to get into the top four on 84.99.

If Saint Andre has actually said that it seems an ambitious target which I don't think they'll make - then again, they did beat Aus by 27! Either way, such ambition can only spur progress, which is a bit scary for France's 6N opponents.

I think Argentina will lose a tightly contested game due to the superior French goal kicking. Scrums would be worth watching alone, real shame It's not covered.

I think this is a bridge a little too far for Argentina. France coach St Andre being the difference here. He's quickly moulded this side into what looks like a very slick unit. Both sides are on the up, I just think in the NH France will have the edge.

As strong as Argentina has looked this year, France were sublime last week, For once I expect then to continue that form.

Will be a good game though.