2023-09-22 07:59:58
Severely beaten by England, the Argentines play a decisive match against Samoa on Friday for their qualification for the final phase of the Rugby World Cup. They expect a very difficult fight against a formidable team determined to create the feat.
Published on: 09/22/2023 – 07:59
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The forwards coach of the Argentine team likes frankness. “The defeat against England hurt us and touched our pride,” declared Andres Bordoy after the severe disappointment that the Pumas experienced on September 9 during their entry into this Rugby World Cup (10- 27). A defeat conceded against an English team that was quickly reduced to 14.
This former pillar, who spent time in France with the clubs of Brive, La Rochelle and Pau, added that self-criticism was always positive, highlighting the many sectors in which the Argentinians failed against the English. Pumas who nevertheless thought they could dominate a moribund XV de la Rose, especially after their feat achieved in November 2022 at Twickenham where they beat England (30-29).
The scenario was completely different in Marseille and the Argentines need to redeem themselves for their second match of this competition, this time against Samoa, Friday September 22. A duel which will once again take place in a city of football more than rugby, as noted by the special correspondent for the daily La Nacion which describes the frescoes in homage to the legendary Oswaldo Piazza, an Argentinian defender who wore the colors of AS Saint-Étienne between 1972 and 1979.
Tourist outings have not kept the Pumas much busy in recent days as the pressure is great for this team which has great ambitions in this competition. She finds herself in Group D which could allow her to quite easily qualify for the quarter-finals. But to do this she absolutely must rule out her opponent of the day, Samoa, who are in the world rankings in 11th place, just behind Argentina.
The Pumas rely on experience
The confrontation at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Étienne promises to be very physical given the island players selected for this World Cup. Facing Chile on September 16, the Samoans were able to take advantage of their physical advantage to put their opponent through trouble and easily win (43-10) at the end of a good second half. But they know that their South American opponent of the day will be much more formidable this time.
The two teams have already met three times in World Cups, always in the group stage, with a record of two victories for Samoa (in 1991 and 1995) and one for Argentina in 1999. Very old meetings which do not do not really allow us to imagine the scenario of the meeting on Saint-Etienne soil and to predict its outcome.
The Pumas made three changes from the team that lost to England. Two are due to injuries, second row Guido Petti replacing Tomas Lavanini and prop Eduardo Bello taking the place of Francisco Gomez Kodela who will still be on the bench. The third change is more due to the need to rely on experienced players in the back lines with the start of Matias Moroni in place of the young Lucio Cinti. Nicolas Sanchez and Tomas Cubelli, both 34 years old, will be among the “finishers” called upon to return during the match, as will the oldest Agustin Creevy, 38 years old, the first Argentine player to have crossed the 100 caps milestone.
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With the entry of Agustín Creevy against South Africa, he became the first Argentine player to reach 100 games with the Los Pumas shirt.
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— Los Pumas (@lospumas) August 5, 2023
Argentina therefore expects to put up a tough fight and it is counting on its senior players to pocket a victory which will allow it to relaunch in this World Cup. She has wonderful memories of the 2007 edition, already organized in France, which allowed her to achieve an unprecedented third place in the world. And she dreams of qualifying for the final phase and crossing paths with the French XV to try to play a trick on them, like during the Football World Cup final in 2022.
Read alsoFind the results and rankings of the Rugby World Cup
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