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Argentina name experienced pack to take on England
Argentina head coach Michael Cheika has named a starting pack which averages 60 caps to take on England on Saturday in Marseille, with a centurion on the bench in the form of Agustin Creevy.
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The 89-cap Julian Montoya captains Los Pumas, and he is joined by four other players in the pack with 50 caps or more, with flanker Pablo Matera boasting the most with 95. England head coach Steve Borthwick has named an equally experienced pack, with both Dan Cole and Courtney Lawes having over 100 caps.
The backline is slightly less experienced, with only scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou and Emiliano Boffelli having more than 50 caps, with both having 53 apiece.
Both sides will be acutely aware that the winners of that match will have one foot in the door of the quarter-finals, and in a very good position to top the pool.
Cheika said after naming his squad: (Translated on Google) “I am happy with how we are prepared for this first match. Choosing the team was difficult, because the 33 players who are available are in very good condition, they have done a good job. We know that beyond the game, preparation is the most important thing, and we arrived well.”
Montoya added: “We are calm, with logical anxiety in these circumstances, but knowing that we made good preparation. We have been preparing for this first game for a long time, and that allows us to stay focused on the present.”
Argentina XV
1. GALLO, Thomas (17 caps)
2. MONTOYA, Julian (captain; 89 caps)
3. GÓMEZ KODELA, Francisco (31 caps; no RWC tests)
4. ALEMANNO, Matías (87 caps; 10 tests in RWC)
5. LAVANINI, Tomás (82 caps; 9 tests at RWC)
6. MATERA, Pablo (95 caps; 10 tests at RWC)
7. KREMER, Marcos (57 caps; 4 RWC tests)
8. GONZÁLEZ, Juan Martín (24 caps; no RWC tests)
9. BERTRANOU, Gonzalo (53 caps; 1 RWC test)
10. CARRERAS, Santiago (35 caps; 4 tests at RWC)
11. CARRERAS, Mateo (11 caps; no RWC tests)
12. CHOCOBARES, Santiago (14 caps; no RWC tests)
13. CINTI, Lucio (16 caps; no RWC tests)
14. BOFFELLI, Emiliano (53 caps; 3 RWC tests)
15. MALLÍA, Juan Cruz (26 caps; 1 test in RWC)
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Replacements
16. CREEVY, Agustín (101 caps; 15 tests at RWC)
17. SCLAVI, Joel (12 caps; no RWC tests)
18. BELLO, Eduardo (14 caps; no RWC tests)
19. PETTI, Guido (75 caps; 10 tests at RWC)
20. RUBIOLO, Pedro (5 caps; no RWC tests)
21. BRUNI, Rodrigo (21 caps; 1 RWC test)
22. BAZÁN VÉLEZ, Lautaro (7 caps; no RWC tests)
23. MORONI, Matías (74 caps; 8 tests at RWC)
Comments on RugbyPass
I guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
43 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
2 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
43 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
43 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
2 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
6 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
6 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to comments