Daniel Hourcade
Argentina coach Daniel Hourcade gave the 1st indication of what his Rugby World Cup line-up will look like, when he named his squad for The Rugby Championship.
He wasted no time in drafting in his overseas-based players who were not part of the just-completed 2-match series against the French Barbarians.
Horacio Agulla (Bath), Marcos Ayerza (Leicester Tigers), Marcelo Bosch (Saracens) and Gonzalo Camacho (Leicester Tigers) joined the squad.
The numbers will be reduced from the current 36 to 28 when they head to Sydney on Saturday 11 July, where they will prepare for their opening Rugby Championship encounter – with the New Zealand All Blacks in Christchurch on 17 July.
Hourcade said it has been a long process to select the squad.
“We have been evaluating players for some time – those players in Argentina that played in the Pacific Nations Cup, the South American championship and the friendly matches we played,” the coach said.
“We evaluated players in all the games and in training and competition for places were very strong and there are many players who were unfortunate to have been left out.
“It is never pleasant not to make the cut.”
He added that they monitored the European-based players all the time.
“These and other players have been in the pipeline since last year,” Hourcade said.
“We based our selection on our game plan and the profile of the players we need. We believe these are the best players,” he added.
Argentina squad: Horacio Agulla, Matías Alemanno, Marcos Ayerza, Marcelo Bosch, Gonzalo Camacho, Santiago Cordero, Agustín Creevy, Tomás Cubelli, Jerónimo de la Fuente, Matías Díaz, Felipe Ezcurra, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, Juan Figallo, Lucas González Amorosino, Santiago González Iglesias, Juan Martín Hernández, Ramiro Herrera, Santiago Iglesias Valdez, Juan Imhoff, Facundo Isa, Martín Landajo, Tomás Lavanini, Juan Manuel Leguizamón, Tomás Lezana, Benjamín Macome, Pablo Matera, Julián Montoya, Matías Moroni, Lucas Noguera, Javier Ortega Desio, Guido Petti Pagadizabal, Nicolás Sánchez, Leonardo Senatore, Juan Pablo Socino, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Joaquín Tuculet.
Argentina got revenge on the French Barbarians when they beat them 21 / 9 in their 2nd encounter at the La Plata club in Buenos Aires.
The BaaBaas won the 1st encounter 28 / 22 in Rosario last week.
However, the Pumas produced a far more controlled performance in La Plata and ended the series 1 – 1.
From the outset the Pumas controlled territory.
While the BaaBaas looked to keep it tight and close to their bulky forwards, the Argentineans produced a more expansive game – as the game was played at a frenetic pace.
The 2 teams took turns to dominate the scrums, while the lineouts and contact areas were vigorously contested.
The French outfit also tested the Pumas’ defensive lines.
With the teams taking turns to dominate possession and territory in the 1st half, the Pumas managed to lead 11 / 6 at the halftime break.
An early score in the 2nd half gave the Pumas the advantage they needed and forced the BaaBaas to play catch-up rugby.
The victory ended the Pumas’ preparation for The Rugby Championship.
The Pumas will travel to Sydney on Saturday, where they will continued their preparation for their opening Rugby Championship encounter – with the New Zealand All Blacks in Christchurch on 17 July.
Scorers:
Argentina:
- Tries: Pablo Matera (1), Javier Ortega Desio (1)
- Conversions: Juan Pablo Socino (1)
- Penalties: Juan Pablo Socino (3)
French Barbarians:
- Penalties: Benjamin Urdapilleta (3)
Teams:
Argentina: 15 Román Miralles, 14 Matías Moroni, 13 Jerónimo De la Fuente, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Tomás Carrió, 10 Santiago González Iglesias, 9 Martín Landajo (Captain), 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizabal, 3 Matías Díaz, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Lucas Noguera Paz
Replacements: 16 Santiago Iglesias Valdez, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Benjamín Macome, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Nicolás Sánchez, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.
French Barbarians: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Benjamin Lapeyre, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Silvere Tian, 10 Benjamín Urdapilleta, 9 Jerome Fillol (Captain), 8 Virgile Bruni, 7 Pierre Rabadan, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Arnaud Mela, 4 Thibault Lassalle, 3 Jean Baptiste Poux, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Antoine Tichit
Replacements: 16 JeanCharles Orioli, 17 Lucas Pointud, 18 Walter Desmaison, 19 Jocelino Suta, 20 Julien Tastet, 21 Heini Adams, 22 Julien Rey, 23 Gilles Bosch.
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Joaquín Montes (Uruguay)
TMO: Pablo Deluca (Argentina)
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