Cheika looking for 'triple playmaker' model with Los Pumas as injury crisis stings
Having been extremely well served over the past few Rugby World Cups at halfback and flyhalf, Argentina will be praying that fitness to key players don’t derail their campaign.
When Michael Cheika announced his 48-man squad late last week he selected four scrumhalves, most of whom are far from match fit.
Tomás Cubelli, with 88 caps to his name, played only five games in the 2022-23 season, of which only two were from the start. As beautiful as the city is, Biarritz Olympique is a shadow of the side it once was in the heydays of Serge Blanco.
Finishing eleventh in the second division is not the ideal preparation for a World Cup.
Gonzalo Bertranou, whose next test will be his fiftieth, last played in January. First choice for most of last year, he is expected to be fit in time for The Rugby Championship after an operation at the start of the year.
Walking with a limp a couple of weeks ago, Gonzalo García (first capped in 2021) after recovering from a shoulder injury broke knee ligaments last December. He hasn’t played this year.
Finally, Olympic bronze medalist Lautaro Bazán Vélez, who made the transition from sevens to fifteens straight after Tokyo 2020, played four minutes against Scotland in the last of his three caps, all in 2022.
He has been playing club rugby in Italy outside of the United Rugby Championship, and is the only scrumhalf to have completed the recently finished European season.
“In certain positions, we might obviously need players from outside the 48-man squad due to injury,” Cheika said in a Spanish that is getting better with time, to ESPN’s Scrum.
“We have options outside of this list, but only if we need them because of injury, not because of performance.”
With a possible injury crisis at hooker, nine and ten, a number of players have been given specific fitness regimes.
“Bertranou is fit and has been working very hard since being cleared of his injury. With regards to Cubelli, he has a different training schedule, as he is older.”
García is expected to be fit, but currently is behind the other three players and Bazán Vélez, who “has a winning mentality, is still transitioning from sevens to fifteens,” in the words of his coach.
Three players are in the fly-half box. The biggest name is 34 year-old Nicolás Sánchez, who could play in his fourth Rugby World Cup.
Top points-scorer in 2015, tormentor in Los Pumas’ first ever win against the All Blacks in 2020, and one of the world’s best paid players when he moved to Stade Français, his star is no longer as bright as it once was.
Five caps shy of 100, he had only played one game for the Parisian club in the 22-23 season when released to Brive. He played 16 games at the club, scoring 120 points yet his team was relegated to the ProD2.
Expected to start at 10 in most games is Santiago Carreras. A utility back, he has recently owned the role for Argentina, with Sánchez injured or playing below his best. For Gloucester, he played at 10, 15 and as wing.
Third in line is Tomás Albornoz, who had a good season for Treviso.
“I need three playmakers in the team,” he said. And if to make his message clear, he said in English: “If you want to be a good playmaker, you have to be able to carry the ball.”
In Cheika’s first year in the role, the foundations for how he wants his team to play the game were set. “This year, it is about putting our opponents under pressure by attacking them. I want my team to attack with the ball.”
“For that,” says the former Randwick number eight, “we need to ensure we dominate defensively, at the breakdown and the scrum.”
The pack will be huge and with options in every position. Captained by the efficient and prolific Julián Montoya, thirteen players will be aiming for their second, third and even fourth, in the case of former captain Agustín Creevy, Rugby World Cup.
Included in the squad are the two Argentines that played in Super Rugby Pacific: prop Santiago Medrano, a regular in Western Force’s front-row, and Martín Bogado, who played four consecutive games at wing for the Highlanders before being struck by injury.
He is one of only three uncapped players, the other two being the sevens stars Rodrigo Isgró and Luciano González.
“We think they can make the transition the quickest from sevens to fifteen in time for Rugby World Cup.”
“We won’t pressure them into being ready in two weeks; we have until August 6th when we name the World Cup squad.”
“We are aiming for them to be successful.”
What will success look like for Argentina.
In the words of someone that has coached teams to European Cup and Super Rugby glory and to a Rugby World Cup semi-final, “we must prepare in the best possible way so that we prepared to win the World Cup.”
Argentina’s Rugby Championship squad:
Props: Eduardo Bello (10 caps), Ignacio Calles (2 caps), Thomas Gallo (13 caps), Francisco Gómez Kodela (28 caps), Santiago Medrano (32 caps), Joel Sclavi (9 caps) Lucio Sordoni (3 caps), Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (76 caps), Mayco Vivas (17 caps)
Hookers: Facundo Bosch (13 caps), Agustín Creevy (97 caps), Julián Montoya (capitán – 85 caps), Santiago Socino (8 caps), Ignacio Ruiz (4 caps)
Locks: Matías Alemanno (84 caps), Lucas Paulos (10 caps), Guido Petti (73 caps), Tomás Lavannini (78 caps)
Loose forwards: Marcos Kremer (56 caps), Pedro Rubiolo (1 cap), Juan Martín González (20 caps), Santiago Grondona (10 caps), Facundo Isa (44 caps), Pablo Matera (91 caps), Joaquín Oviedo (1 cap), Rodrigo Bruni (18 caps)
Scrumhalves: Lautaro Bazán Vélez (3 caps), Gonzalo Bertranou (49 caps), Tomás Cubelli (88 caps), Gonzalo García (3 caps)
Flyhalves: Tomás Albornoz (3 caps), Santiago Carreras (31 caps), Nicolás Sánchez (95 caps)
Backs: Jerónimo de la Fuente (74 caps), Santiago Chocobares (11 caps), Lucio Cinti (12 caps), Luciano González (uncapped), Matías Moroni (69 caps), Matías Orlando (57 caps), Martín Bogado (uncapped), Sebastián Cancelliere (13 caps), Mateo Carreras (7 caps), Santiago Cordero (49 caps), Bautista Delguy (25 caps), Juan José Imhoff (41 caps), Rodrigo Isgró (uncapped), Emiliano Boffelli (50 caps) y Juan Cruz Mallía (24 caps)
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s 12-15 games Luke. Ringrose has barely played in 2024 and Henshaw and Keenan have also been out for spells in the same time period. There are always injuries and for younger players to play with the likes of Barrett will be great for them. It’s just looking for negatives where there are none.
5 Go to commentsAndy Goode pushing his own agenda with very dubious considerations on refereeing performances. Luke Pearce speaking a bit of French doesn’t make him a good and adequate referee for the Champions Cup final; his latest refereeing performance in particular was not so great.
4 Go to commentsJordie knows that he has to earn the right to put on the jersey, whatever that jersey might be.
5 Go to commentsThe best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
2 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
4 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
116 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
2 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
4 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
4 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
116 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to comments