Argentina set to ring the changes against Georgia

Photo: UAR Gonzalo Tiesi to captain Los Pumas for the first time

Argentina´s third and final test of June is set to see a number of changes to the starting lineup. Of the players who started against England on Saturday five have already been replaced in the overall squad while a larger than that is set to start the test. Although only Gonzalo Tiesi has been confirmed and will captain the side, Santiago Phelan´s training sessions so far indicate that the team to face the lelos is to feature nine changes. It is a risk on the part of Phelan given that the non-availability of twenty-one players saw third and fourth choice players take the field against England and the result was two losses and a drop in the IRB World Rankings to ninth in the world. 

The changes are spread far and wide with the only consistencies being in the midfield with Tiesi set to be joined again by Gabriel Ascárate. The centres though will find themselves surrounded by vastly different players with the back-three set to include Matías Orlando who will start ahead of the injured Manuel Montero on the left wing. Orlando has been mainly a centre previously, having played in the Vodacom Cup, but was used in the first test on the right wing. He appeared to be more suited to the position than Belisario Agulla who replaced him for the second test and leaked tries. Agulla is set to start again, however, as is Martín Bustos Moyano at fullback. The halves combination is to see two new players with Tomás Cubelli and Benjamin Madero set to replace Nicolás Vergallo and Felipe Contepomi. 

In the forwards there are likely to be even more changes with six different players appearing set to start against the Eastern Europeans. Rodrigo Báez trained in a backrow featuring Benjamin Macome and Tomás De la Vega meaning that an all-Los Pampas XV backrow will be starting the match. The secondrow is more experienced with Esteban Lozada and Mariano Galarza set to start in a new secondrow combination. Both players have Rugby World Cup experience and one of them is likely to make the squad for the Rugby Championship. They will play behind an entirely changed frontrow the versatile Bruno Postiglioni set to be given the nod at loosehead prop, the Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe look-alike Mauricio Guidone to play hooker at Biarritz´s Francisco Gómez Kodela to replace Maximilano Bustos at tighthead prop.

For some it is a chance to press for a place in the squad for the Rugby Championship but for most it is a rare opportunity of playing in a test match against a regular Rugby World Cup qualifier. None of the fifteen players who appear set to start got game time for Los Pumas in the 2012 Rugby Championship. 

Should this eventuate then the starting lineup will be as follows:

Probable Pumas starting lineup

1 Bruno Postiglioni, 2 Mauricio Guidone, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela

4 Esteban Lozada, 5 Mariano Galarza

6 Rodrigo Báez, 8 Benjamin Macome, 7 Tomás De la Vega

9 Tomás Cubelli, 10 Benjamín Madero

12 Gabriel Ascárate, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi (captain)

11 Matías Orlando, Martín Bustos Moyano, 14 Belisario Agulla

23 Argentine players confirmed for Georgia

Photo: Rodrigo Vergara - Nicolás Vergallo carries v Georgia in 2011

Next Saturday´s history making first ever match between Argentina and Georgia outside of a Rugby World Cup is more than just a match to complete the June schedule. With Argentina set to face Europe 1 in England 2015 it is all but certain that there will be a match between Argentina and Georgia for the third  straight Rugby World Cup. The players who will take the field in Rugby World Cup 2015 will be a much stronger side overall but there is, nonetheless, a strong chance of a number of players in the squad to play in England 2015.

Coming off two far from impressive performances against England anything other than a convincing win will be utterly unacceptable. This is a match that Argentina have to win ad win well. But it is not going to be an easy afternoon in San Juan. Earlier today Los Pumas Headcoach Santiago Phelan confirmed a twenty-three man squad for the match. It was a squad featuring five changes from the side that faced England in Buenos Aires on Saturday. Gone are Felipe Contepomi, Julio Farías Cabello, Pablo Henn, Manuel Montero and Nicolás Vergallo. They have been replaced by Tomás Carrío, Tomás Vallejos Cinalli, Martín Landajo, Bruno Postiglioni and Benjamín Urdapilleta.

The inclusion of Tomás Vallejos Cinalli means Argentina will have two players who faced Georgia in Palmerston North two years ago - Vallejos Cinalli and fellow secondrower Mariano Galarza. Vallejos Cinalli was on the bench as the reserve secondorwer and he made his test debut in the 71st minute replacing Galarza. Curiously the other secondrower in Argentina´s squad for the upcoming match in San Juan is Esteban Lozada who faced Georgia in Rugby World Cup 2007.

Without Contepomi there will be a new captain and there is no certainty as to who could captai the side. Of the players likely to start the most notable name is Goznalo Tiesi who has played in two Rugby World Cup´s and has a resumé including playing professional rugby in England and France and winning test matches over a host of Tier One nations. It would appear logical to give Tiesi the honor of leading Argentina with the other option seemingly being that of Mariano Galarza who lead Los Pampas XV in the 2013 Vodacom Cup. Given Tiesi´s experience, form and his fluent English he should, however, be the leader.

Possible Pumas team v Georgia

1 Guillermo Roan, 2 Martín García Veiga, Maximilano Bustos

4 Tomás Vallejos Cinalli, 5 Mariano Galarza

6 Tomás De La Vega, 8 Tomás Leonardí, 7 Rodrigo Báez

9 Tomás Cubelli, 10 Benjamín Urdapilleta

12 Gabriel Ascárate, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi (captain)

11 Tomás Carrío, 15 Martín Bustos Moyano, 14 Matias Orlando

Argentina Squad

Prop

Maximiliano Bustos (Montpellier, France)

Francisco Gómez Kodela (Biarritz, France)

Guillermo Roan (Cavalieri Prato, Italy)

Bruno Postiglioni (La Plata, Argentina)

Hooker

 Martín García Veiga (C&RC, Argentina)

Mauricio Guidone (La Plata, Argentina)

Secondrow

Mariano Galarza (Universitario de La Plata, Argentina)

Esteban Lozada (Agen, Argentina)

Tomás Vallejos Cinalli (West Red Sparks, Japan)

Backrow

Rodrigo Báez (Liceo RC, Argentina)

Tomás De la Vega (CUBA, Argentina)

Tomás Leonardi (Southern Kings, South Africa)

Benjamín Macome (Tucumán R.C, Argentina)

Scrumhalf

Tomás Cubelli (Belgrano Athletic, Argentina)

Martín Landajo (CASI, Argentina)

Flyhalf

Benjamín Madero (SIC, Argentina)

Benjamin Urdapilleta (Oyonnax, France)

Centre

Gabriel Ascárate (Carcassonne, France)

Gonzalo Tiesi (London Welsh, England)

Matías Orlando (Huirapuca, Argentina)

Back-Three

Belisario Agulla (Agen, France)

4 Martín Bustos Moyano (Bayonne, France)

Tomás Carrió (Duendes, Argentina)

James Pritchard becomes Canada´s all time greatest scorer in loss against Ireland

Photo: Rugby Canada

Having come off three straight home wins against the USA, Fiji and Tonga Canadians had good reason to feel confident of completing an upset win over Ireland in Toronto on Saturday. The match was Ireland´s second of a two match tour after the Western Europeans had been far from impressive against the USA in Houston, Texas last Saturday. Ireland´s 15-12 win saw the men in green escape from Texas with a win but it  came without scoring a try. The combination of Canada´s good performance with Ireland´s less than impressive outing provided the setting for an intriguing match. 

The match was played at the BMO Field in Toronto, the unofficial new home of the Canadian men´s rugby team. Canada hosted the USA at the venue in 2011 and did so against Italy in 2012. This year it has two matches at the ground - yestrerday´s match against Ireland and Canada´s home Rugby World Cup Qualifier against the USA in August. The decision of the country´s governing body to use a larger than normal venue comes down to success. Rugby is proving increasingly popular enabling Rugby Canada to play in front of larger crowds than previously. The official attendance for Canada v Ireland was the largest ever recorded as 20,396 spectators watched a brave Canada go down 40-14. 

The match attendance was not the only record set. The long standing scoring record held by Gareth Rees was overtaken as the soon to turn 34 James Pritchard kicked nine points to go three points clear of Rees. Pritchard is not likely to play in Rugby World Cup 2015 due to his age and due to the emerging young talent Canada has to play wing and fullback. Playing with Pritchard in the back-three was Taylor Paris who is to play in France second season for Agen in the Pro d2. Aged just 20 Paris is an outstanding prospect for Canada with the national team also having the likes of Matt Evans, Jeff Hassler, Phil MacKenzie and DTH van der Merwe all are professional outside backs in Europe. They are likely to all be starting for Canada at England 2015 with possibly Phil Mack, Conor Trainor and Connor Braid or Connor McCann joining them to complete the backline.

Pritchard played at three Rugby World Cup´s, for a total of nine matches. His test debut came in 2003. He has played professional rugby in England and France for well over a decade. Should he step down for Rugby World Cup 2015 there is still a lot to accomplish with two crucial games taking place in August against the USA to determine who qualifies for Rugby World Cup 2015 as Americas 1 and who has to face-off against Uruguay for the right to be Americas 2.  

Argentina set to pay the price for losing against England

Créditos: Rodrigo Vergara – UAR

The IRB World Rankings are far from being perfect but they, nonetheless, are used to determine the seedings for Rugby World Cup´s and therefore are extremely important. Argentina´s inability to field its top players for all its sanctioned international matches mean it suffers the consequences of losing more matches than it araguably should and as such it does not have an accurate IRB World Ranking. In playing England without twenty-one players the Pumas team was evidently not a test side and a number of players representing Argentina were as low as the fourth choice player. This mattered not as IRB Rankings were being played for and with Argentina losing it could drop further from its currently debatable position of ninth in the world. 

Argentina was not alone in fielding a vastly under strength side this weekend. The battle of the European v Asian Champions in Tokyo saw Wales fielding a side that was missing an entire XV of players to Lions duty.  Japan took the bull by the horns to complete its first ever win over a side belonging to the former Five Nations or Tri Nations. Ireland was without many players too in its North American tour and very nearly lost against the USA last Saturday. England, with more depth, due to it having a twelve team professional competition in the form of the Aviva Premiership did not suffer the same impact as Wales or Ireland. Scotland was missing far fewer players but, nonetheless, missed key players and it impacted on its performances against Samoa and South Africa. Indeed, Scotland, could have won both but instead lost both and as such losses IRB Rankings points. Samoa and South Africa, in contrast, were at full strength.

Argentina was a better team in the second test than was the case seven days earlier in Salta. The final score of 51-26 was an improvement but was still clearly not sufficient. The proud Argentine scrum was destroyed as Argentina´s third choice players in all frontrow positions were badly outplayed and conceeded two penalty tries. The secondrow also lacked the stability of Patricio Albacete and Manuel Carizza which meant the scrum was further weakend. Julio Farías Cabello had moved into the secondrow in place of Esteban Lozada but the desired impact did not eventuate. Farías Cabello was, nonetheless, a good worker around the park as was his partner Mariano Galarza. The former Leinster secondrower was arguably the best Pumas forward. He was on hand regularly in support as a ball carrier and carried well. 

Galarza put his name up for a place in the Rugby Championship and he is likely to be on the bench while ´try scorer Tomás Leonardí may well join him. Leonardí had a mixed performance but one that illustrated that despite him starting his career in Buenos Aires as a number eight that this is not his natural position. Rather, Leonardí is much better suited to the sie of the scrum as an openside flanker. His attributes are more suited to the position and with Leonardo Senatore being a specialist and both Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamón having played at 8 for Argentina in Rugby World Cup matches it makes it all the more clear. Together Farías Cabello, Fernández Lobbe, Leonardí, Leguizamón and Senatore are certain to be the backrowers for the Rugby Championship with Tomás De La Vega likely to be cover. 

Tiesi had a high workrate v England

The frontrowers will be the same as those currently being rested - Marcos Ayerza and Nahuel Lobo as the tighthead props, Juan Figallo and Juan Pablo Orlandi at tighthead and Agustín Creevy and Eusebio Guiñazú aas the hookers. Aside from scrumhalf there will be many changes in the backs with centres Felipe Contepomi and Gonzalo Tiesi the only ones likely to join the three scrumhalves Tomás Cubelli, Martín Landajo and Nicolás Vergallo in the squad. Contepomi played quite well against England in Buenos Aires. The team operated much better with him at flyhalf than it had with Benjamin Urdapilleta but Contepomi´s place in the Rugby Championship will be as a centre not a flyhalf given the options available. Nicolás Sánchez will start the tests with Juan Martín Hernández at fullback and he in addition to Santiago Fernández and Marcelo Bosch covering flyhalf. Fernández and Bosch are also centres as is Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga. 

One of the biggest changes from Salta to Buenos Aires was the performance of fullback Martín Bustos Moyano who kicked six goals from six attempts to look like a genuine international player. His play at fullback was sound without being anything overly impressive. He will, however, not play in the Rugby Championship. He will be back in France but with Bayonne rather than Montpellier. Fullback will be covered by Hernández, Lucas González Amorosino and Joaquín Tuculet while neither Belisario Agulla nor Manuel Montero will play on the wings. Belisario Agulla´s opposite Marland Yarde scored twice with Agulla out of position while, in general, his defense lacked the required execution. Argentina will likely go to Juan Imhoff and Gonzalo Camacho for the Rugby Championship with Horacio Agulla also certain to be in the squad. Horacio Agulla though, ought to be given time at outside centre. He is Argentina´s best option as a ball carrier in the midfield and has played in the position for Bath. With Imhoff and Camacho being joined by González Amorosino as wingers it appears all the more logical.

A number of players from today´s match are in doubt for Argentina´s third and final home test this month. Pablo Henn had been used as a replacement at loosehead prop but did not last long as he had to be taken off after having suffered a torn calf in his right leg. He is therefore not going to face Georgia. Henn had replaced Guillermo Roan who is also not going to face the Eastern Europeans after he left with a neck injury. The extent of his injury is not yet known but it will certainly see him miss out on playing again this month. Bruno Postiglioni could therefore be drafted in to start at loosehead prop against Georgia. 

Possibly Argentina´s best player, Gonzalo Tiesi went down hard after having collided with an Englishman and coming off second best in a headclash. He is to be evaluated and results should determine the possibility of him playing on Saturday. Argentine supporters can cross their fingers over Tiesi but they cannot over winger Manuel Montero who could well be out for the season with a serious knee injury. He was forced from the field in tears after landing awkwardly. Also in doubt are scrumhalf Nicolás Vergallo and backrower Rodrigo Báez but both should recover for Georgia.

Argentina show promise in loss - IRB Junior World Championship

Photo: IRB

A great opportunity has come and gone as the Argentine under 20 side lost its third and final pool match in the IRB Junior World Championship in France yesterday. The South Americans lacked cohesion in the first half which enabled Wales to build a healthy lead and one which would prove decisive. Wales held a 16-0 half time lead which was based on accurate goalkicking from flyhalf Sam Davies and a well worked try scored by fullback Hallam Amos. The try came from a well-worked move but it was also made possible by virtue of a lapse in the Argenitne defensive line and a careless attempted covering tackle from Santiago Cordero. The Pumitas fullback went high and was fended off. Had he entered the tackle with the correct body position then the try would have been prevented. 

The second half saw a different Argentine team take the field and one that got the better of Wales. It came too late though as Wales held a 16-0 lead at the interval. Promising openside flanker Pablo Matera got Argentina into the game with a pick-and-go try early in the secondhalf. Having scored under the posts Rosario flyhalf Patricio Fernández was able to slot a simple conversion. Fernández then made it a three point match as he kicked two penalties to make it 16-13. Davies, though, put Wales clear with two penalties of his own to seemingly seal the match. Argentina looked out after losing a player to the bin and needed something special. 

It came in the form of Cordero who scored a try reminiscent of Jonah Lomu as he scored a try from well inside his own half. Cordero had run thirty metres before he was lined up by Davies. He had a player in support who was not in the clear. He was unmarked but would likely have been caught. Cordero thus made the decision to attract the defenders and look to off-load. He needed not pass, however, as he ran over Davies to score his second try of the tournament. Fenández landed the sideline conversion after it rebounded off the up-rights to go through the posts. 

With three minutes remaining Argentina needed to score again and had to do so will without the yellow carded secondrower Guido Petti Pagadizabal. Wales though were playing in Argentina´s half and with a second Pumitas player yellow carded the result was secured. Replacement back  Juan Pablo Aguirre was yellow carded in the final minute for a dangerous tackle  which gave Davies the chance to end the match and secure a five point win. He succeeded as Wales booked a place in the Semi Finals by eliminating Argentina 25-20.

Argentina cannot win the title but it can still finish fifth. Los Pumitas will face Australia on June 18 and the winner will face either Ireland or France who will contest the other match in the battle to finish fifth. Argentina  defeated both Australia and France in the 2012 edition of the IRB Juniro World Championship. Both Matera and Cordero featured and impressed in the tournament and were singled out as potential future Pumas. Cordero made the Pumas November tour of Europe but did not feature. He did, however, make the Pampas XV squad and played earlier this year. With Argentina facing Georgia next weekend in San Juan Santiago Phelan just might be tempted to call Cordero home and have him make his test debut against the East Europeans.

Argentina v Wales - IRB Junior World Championship

Argentina v Samoa

Los Pumitas have their eyes on a second consecutive Semi Final appearance in the IRB Junior World Championship. Standing in the South American´s way is Wales, who the Argentina under 20 side will face today at the Stade Henri Desgrange in La Roche-sut-Yon. The two sides are undefeated after two rounds with Argentina having defeating Scotland 44-13 and Samoa 28-16. Wales claimed a strong first round 42-3 win over Samoa before having a much harder time against Scotland in round two. The 26-21 win means both Argentina and Wales are on nine competition points and the prize for the winner is a place in the final four. Depending on other results there is the possbiity of both advancing but it would require bonus points and second places sides in other pools to lose badly. 

The star for Argentina so far in the tournament has been flyhalf Santiago Fernández who has continued on with his fine form in the three match series against the Baby Boks in April. Fernández organized a well-oiled backline that got the better of its South African rivals in the second test and also backed up to win the third and with it the series. He had the backs funtioning very well and the danger of Santiago Cordero from the back gave Argentina an x-factor and sent wanrings to the world that there is reason to feel a repeat of Rugby World Cup 2007 could be in the making with these players likely to be in their prime come Rugby World cup 2019.

Both Argentina and Wales have made a series of changes to their starting lineups for the decisive encounter. The nature of the IRB Junior World Championship is such that teams cannot field their best players in every match. The short-turn arounds complicate matters exteremely. In the case of both Argentina and Wales the match schedule accounts for both teams having a much tougher time in their round two matches than in the first round. Their round three teams therefore see a return to normality with some highly promising players on both sides. There are a number who could very well take the field at Rugby World Cup 2015. From an Argentine perspective the players showing the most promise could be Fernández, Santiago Cordero and Pablo Matera. The three will need to be on their game against Wales. 

Argentina: 1- Lucas Noguera Paz, 2- Santiago Iglesias, 3- Matías Díaz, 4- Guido Petti Pagadizabal, 5- Tomás Lavanini, 6- Tomás Lezana, 7- Pablo Matera, 8- Gerónimo Mazzoni, 9- Felipe Ezcurra (C), 10- Patricio Fernández, 11- Germán Schultz, 12- Joaquín Paz, 13- Santiago Álvarez, 14- Rodrigo Etchart, Santiago Cordero.

Reserves: 16- Facundo Gigena, 17- Julián Montoya, 18- Tomás Ramírez, 19- Vittorio Rosti, 20- Facundo Isa, 21- Juan Bernardini, 22- Emiliano Boffelli, 23- Juan Pablo Aguirre. 

Wales: 1- Gareth Thomas, 2- Ethan Lewis, 3- Nicky Thomas, 4- Carwyn Jones, 5- Rhodri Hughes, 6- Sion Bennett, 7- Ellis Jenkins (C), 8- Ieuan Jones, 9- Rhodri Williams, 10- Sam Davies, 11- Ashley Evans, 12- Jack Dixon,13- Steffan Hughes, 14- Owen Jenkins, 15- Hallam Amos.

Suplentes: 16- Elliot Dee, 17- Thomas Davies, 18- Daniel Suter, 19- Jack Jones, 20- James Benjamin, 21- Joshua Davies, 22- Jordan Williams, 23- Harri Evans.

Argentina v Samoa

North American Rugby at an all time High

Photo: Rugby Canada. Ireland v Canada in Limerick, 2008

Just four days after the biggest ever crowd was present for a rugby match in the USA Canada is set to also break the records. Canada Over 20,000 people are expected to attend Canada v Ireland at the BMO Field in Toronto to set a new attendance record which underlines the growing status of both North American national mens teams´. Canada´s form in recent years has seen its reputation return to where it had been around the time of Rugby World Cup 1999. It is again being compared to the Pacific Islands. The USA, too, has shown great improvement and is subsequently earning itself a reputation as being equal to Canada rather than a clear second in North America.

The crowd of 20,181 at the BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston was the largest crowd on record for a rugby match in the United States of America. The highly successful occassion combined with the USA´s ability to host the Las Vegas leg of the IRB World Sevens Circuit so well has further encouraged rugby authorities in the country. So much so that USA Rugby has confirmed that it will bid to host the 2018 Rugby Sevens World Cup.

The upcoming Rugby World Cup Qualification series between the USA and Canada is certain to be highly competitive.  England 2015, however, is in the back of the minds of Canada now as the team is instead fully focused on claiming would be a tremendous scalp. The match against Ireland this coming Saturday sees Canada not only coming off three test victories so far in 2013 but the strong attendance is certain to aid the home side greatly. 

Despite the proposals for a professional rugby to begin in Northern America not eventuating so far the Irish tour illustrates that there is a strong market ready to be exploited by rugby. The venues used in both Houston and Toronto are larger than both Exeter and Gloucester which will host three and four matches each at Rugby World Cup 2015. Both Rugby Canada and USA Rugby can therefore be said to be doing fantastic jobs in promoting rugby in their countries with ability to draw crowds being something vital to encourage sustainable development. 

With the BMO Field hosting the match this Saturday the Toronto venue is continuing to establish itself as the potential home of Canadian international rugby. It marks the third straight year that it has been allocated Canada´s biggest home match of the year. It played host to Canada v Italy in 2012 and Canada v the USA in 2011. Canada competed very well with Italy for much of the match before the Tier One union moved clear in the late stages to seal the result. With Ireland narrowly escaping defeat in Houston and the Canadaian team have performed well against Fiji and Tonga recently there certainly are reasons to suggest that Ireland will need to bring its A game or else it could suffer a defeat.  

Canada v Italy 2012

Canada v USA 2011

Changes Looming for Los Pumas

Gonzalo Tiesi set to start again at outside centre

Santiago Phelan is set to make a number of changes to Argentina´s starting lineup for the second test against England this coming Saturday. The nature and extent of Argentina´s heavy defeat means that changes are natural but the question is how many exactly. According to today´s training sessions there will be up to seven. Many of Argentina´s players failed to deliver as the team was severly outplayed at the set piece with neither the scrum nor lineup functioning well.  The backs had little go forward ball but when they did they failed to break the line as the Pumas game plan was well guarded by England. 

One player who came on and had a genuine impact is Guillermo Roan who replaced Pablo Henn at loosehead prop. The Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe lookalike was better around the park and with him on the Pumas scrum was clearly better. Martín García Veiga failed to find his targets in the lineout. Whether he threw short, deep or somewhere in between England was able to pinch the throw. It was so poor that seven throws were lost. Such a statistic is unthinkable and indeed was punished with England scoring three tries from Argentina´s lineout errors. García Veiga nevertheless looks set to retain his starting place as does Maximilano Bustos. Also set to retain his place is Mariano Galarza but his secondrow partner in practice today was Benjamín Macome who is not so famous for his lineout work. Should Macome start it will be due to his scrummaging more than anything else. There should be one change in the backrow with Julio Farías Cabello and 8 Tomás Leonardí set to be joined by Rodrigo Báez. Should he start then Báez would play in the seven shirt. 

Salta prematch

There were also a host of alterations in the backs with Nicolás Vergallo training at scrumhalf in place of Martín Landajo. Vergallo looks set to join a familiar friend in the form of 35 year old Felipe Contepomi but  it is yet clear as Contepomi is recovering from the flu. Should Contepomi move to flyhalf then the inside centre position is set to be taken by Gabriel Ascárate. Back from a good season in the Pro d2 Ascárate very nearly made the squad for Rugby World Cup 2011 and reamins in the frame for 2015. As such his selection will be one of the most important of all for Argentina. The outside centre position will be retained by Gonzalo Tiesi who defensively was one of the best performers in Salta. The back-three was outplayed with Manuel Montero showing a weakness under the high ball. But it was not enough to see him dropped instead he is set to retain the 11 shirt while Matías Orlando is to be replacement by Belisario Agulla. The off-target goalkicking fulback Martín Bustos Moyano appears certain to be given another start. 

Probable Pumas team for Buenos Aires

1 Guillermo Roan, 2 Martín García Veiga, Maximilano Bustos

4 Mariano Galarza, 5 Benjamín Macome

6 Julio Farías Cabello, 8 Tomás Leonardí, 7 Rodrigo Báez

9 Nicolás Vergallo, 10 Felipe Contepomi

12 Gabriel Ascárate, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi

11 Manuel Montero, 15 Martín Bustos Moyano, 14 Belisario Agulla

Ireland 15-12 USA - Eagles could cause teams serious problems in 2015

Photo: USA Rugby Samu Manoa back in USA colors at long last

The British and Irish Lions tour of Australia has deprived England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales of players for their respective June tours. All four played teams played test matches on Saturday with mixed results. England impressed against an Argentine side missing twenty-one players. England was far too strong for a Pumas team so weakened and with England missing eleven players to Lions duty the team eased to a 32-3 victory. Samoa was at full strength for its match against a Scottish side missing four players to the Lions and it certainy factored into Samoa claiming its first ever win over the Scot´s. Wales was missing more players but was up against a lower raked side in the form of Japan. The Japanese nevertheless very nearly won, and arguably should have. 

Ireland´s match, similarly, was against a Tier Two rugby nation but with the team made up of professional players based in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland was without ten players - Rory Best, Tommy Bowe, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Rob Kearney, Connor Murray, Sean O´Brien, Brian O´Driscoll, Paul O´Connell and Jonny Sexton. But of these players a number are at the end of their careers. O´Driscoll will not play in Rugby World Cup 2015 while there are possibilities that others could also miss out due to the emergence of quality young players. Despite Sexton´s injury Ronan O´Gara was dropped during the Six Nations which saw Paddy Jackson and Ian Madigan acting as Ireland´s flyhalves in Europe´s premier competition. 

Jackson and Madigan both featured against the USA in Ireland´s first of two tests on its June 2013 North American tour.  Madigan started while Jackson was on the bench. The bench was strong with Tom Court, Paul Marshall and Dan Tuohy all included. Many regulars also started with Mike Ross, Dave Kilcoyne and Richardt Strauss starting in the frontrow, Devin Toner and Mike McCarthy in the secondrow, Iain Henderson, Chris Henry and Peter O´Mahony in the backrow while Simon Zebo and Fergus McFadden were the starting winger. All of these players played for Ireland in the 2013 Six Nations.

Suggesting that Ireland was depleted was therefore an oversight. Rather the team was a mix of proven forwards  with mostly young backs. There were debut´s for the starting fullback and inside centre Robbie Henshaw and Stuart Olding while the USA fielded the one time capped Seamus Kelly in the centres. He debuted against Canada last month and did so in place of the injured Paul Emerick. Aside from Emerick the USA Eagles were at full strength and it showed just how good the team can be. 

The contest was very even and was tryless. Neither side was able to score a try with the match instead being won by Madigan who kicked five penalties compared to four landed by Chris Wyles. This marks phenomenal progress from the USA Eagles as the team has historically lost such matches and done so by conceeding a high try count. Not this time though as cheered on by a record 20,181 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas the North Americans matched Ireland and should have won the match. The usual poor USA scrum was improved and the ball carrying abilities and tackling which has previously relied so much on Todd Clever alone was dominant with Samu Manoa and Scott LaValla performing very well. They were also a part of a strong lineup that caused Ireland significant problems. Together with Lou Stanfill and Brian Doyle the USA back five fowards really look to been a Tier One not a Tier Two side. 

Most encouraging for the USA, perhaps is that neither Taylor Mokate nor John Quill started. Both players are young stars to have emerged in recent times and should go on to play at Rugby World Cup 2015. Quill was on the bench as was Peter Dahl, another forward of long term interest. With Manoa and LaValla also both being able to play in the secondrow the USA has possibly its strongest ever depth in the back-five forwards.

Next month´s matches against Canada are certain to be extremely competitive but before then the USA has upcoming games against Tonga, Fiji and Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup. The USA will host Tonga next Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles. It is the same venue which was previously used for the IRB World Sevens Series before it most on to San Diego and subsequently to Las Vegas. After facing Tonga the USA will travel to Japan for two tests and is likely to do so with a weakened side to allow players recovery time after the long European season. It will also ensure the USA can give its all in the Rugby World Cup Qualification matches against Canada. Ireland will face Canada in Toronto next Saturday.

Canada close in on Pacific Nations Cup title after win over Tonga

James Pritchard kicked 18 points for Canada

It has been a busy week for Canadian rugby. The nature of the Pacific Nations Cup has seen the North Americans play against both Fiji and Tonga while off the field two players have signed professional contracts to play their rugby for the Ospreys in Wales next season. Backrower Tyler Ardron and winger Jeff Hassler both agreed to terms to join the Welsh region. Both players are a part of the Canadian squad playing in the Pacific Nations Cup but neither started against Tonga. 

Canada´s 36-27 win over Tonga on Saturday afternoon was not easy. The conditions were far from ideal but this did not stop both sides scoring some well worked tries. The boot of veteran fullback James Pritchard  was crucial though as Canada´s nine point win came despite the Pacific Islanders outscoring the North Americans by four tries to three. 

Canada will take a break from the Pacific Nations Cup next weekend to take on Ireland in Toronto. The match was scheduled before Canada and the USA were added to the IRB run Pacific Nations Cup.Rugby Canada has been heavily pushing the fixture and is expecting a record crowd at BMO Stadium for the match next weekend. Canada´s final opponent, Japan, is also taking a break from the Pacific Nations Cup as it hostes Wales in a two match test series. The first match played earlier on the day in Saturday saw the Europeans win what was a very evenly fought contest. 

With Canada having defeated Tonga at Rugby World Cup 2015 the result underlines the North American´s superiority and Tonga is set to take a hit in the IRB World Rankings. The result also suggests that Canada could be better off by losing next months North American finals section of qualification for Rugby World Cup 2015. The reward for the winner is a place in Pool D which includes France, Ireland, Italy ad likely Romania as Europe 2. The runner-up, on the other hand, will have the chance of qualifying for Pool B which has a much easier set of matches. Pool B consists of Samoa, Scotland, South Africa and Asia 1 wchih will certainly be Japan. 

Canada: 15. James Pritchard; 14. Matt Evans, 13. Ciaran Hearn, 12. Nick Blevins, 11. Sean Duke; 10. Nathan Hirayama, 9. Sean White; 1. Hubert Buydens, 2. Ray Barkwill, 3. Jason Marshall, 4. Brett Beukeboom, 5. Tyler Hotson, 6. Jebb Sinclair, 7. John Moonlight,8.  Aaron Carpenter (captain).

Replacements: 16. Ryan Hamilton, 17. Doug Wooldridge, 18. Tom Dolezel, 19. Nanyak Dala, 20. Tyler Ardron, 21. Phil Mack, 22. Liam Underwood, 23. Pat Parfrey.

Tonga: 15. Viliami Hakolo; 14. Fetu’u Vainikolo, 13. Siale Piutau, 12. Sione Piukala, 11. Will Helu; 10. Kurt Morath, 9. Taniela Moa; 1. Edmund ‘Aholeei, ‘Ilaisa Ma’asi, 3. Taione Vea, 4. ‘Emosi Kauhenga, 5. Tukulua Lokotui, 6. Hale T Pole, 7. Nili Latu (captain), 8. Viliami Fihaki.

Replacements: 16. Elvis Taione, 17. Kamaliele Sakala, 18. Sila Puafisi, 19. Josh Afu, 20. Paula Kaho, 21. Thomas Palu, 22. Viliame ‘Iongi, 23. David Halaifonua

45% of the countries at Rugby World Cup 2015 will play in Wales.

Food for thought ahead of a big weekend of international rugby is the controversial nature of Rugby World Cup 2015´s match allocation. The Doom Scenario severely complicated the process. England suddenly could not host the third seeded team from its pool in the tournament opener and the possbility of having the Millennium Stadium used for marque pool matches had to be re-thought. The WRU reacted to the draw by requesting not only to have Wales play Rugby World Cup matches in Cardiff but do so against both Australia and England.

An England 2015 match involving England was never going to be allocated to Cardiff and with Australia having to already face England at Twickenham it would be very hard for the tournament organizers to have justified having Australia also face Wales in Cardiff. Had that eventuated then it would be viewed as the tournament organizers looking to stack the deck against Australia to give England and Wales a greater chance of both getting out of the pool of death. For this reason the Millennium Stadium was not allocated the match between Australia and Wales. Conversely, England´s two matches against the same sides were allocated to Twickenham on the grounds it is England´s World Cup. Australia was nonetheless concerned with the possibility of being asked to play against Wales in Cardiff. So much so that the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) called upon tournament organizers to prevent Wales from playing a single match in Cardiff during the tournament.  An ARU spokesman said "we would consider it highly inappropriate for Wales to be playing any of those matches at home. England is the host of the event, not Wales. We are mindful that the final decision rests with the Rugby World Cup board."

Although Australia´s wish was granted it was not absolute and in fact was far from it. Out of the twenty teams competiting at Rugby World Cup 2015 nine of them have been allocated at least one pool match in Wales. Americas 1, Australia, Europe 1, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Oceania 1, the Play-Off Winner and Wales all have matches at the Millennium Stadium. Put differently although the tournament is branded as England 2015 45% of the competiting nations will play pool matches outside of England. The number could very well increase too given that the winners and runners-up of Pool C and Pool D will play their Quarter Finals matches in Wales. With Argentina likely to qualify and the next in line being Tonga it is all but certain that at least 50% of the teams competiting at Rugby World Cup 2015 wll play outside of England. Should Italy succeed in reaching the Quarter Finals at the expence of either France or Ireland then the figure would be 55% - hardly an ideal way of enhancing the image of the Rugby World Cup or of the global game. Argentina, in contrast, can host Rugby World Cup 2023 on its own.

Argentina 44-13 Scotland - IRB Junior World Championship

Photo: Villarpress

The strong performance from Los Pumitas in the recent series win over the Baby Boks put forward Argentina as a title contender for the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France. Argentina´s 2-1 series victory sent out a warning to the big players in global rugby that Argentina´s Semi Final finishing campaign in the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship was not a flash in the pan. In the 2012 edition of the tournament Argentina won its pool and did so against highly respected opposition which included Australia, France and Scotland. A number of players have gone on to be included in the future plans of Argentine rugby with fullback Santiago Cordero even making the tour squad for Europe last November.

Cordero was back at the junior level against Scotland yesterday. He started the match at fullback and formed a back-three with other potential Pumas, notably Rodrigo Etchart who scored Argentina´s second try of the match with a brilliant solo effort as he showed Sevens skills to carve his way through the Scottish defensive line. It was the third try of the match after Argentina had scored an early penalty try and Scotland had hit back with a try to Jamie Farndale in the right hand corner. Scotland recovered well to score its second try before flyhalf Patricio Fernández put Argentina in firm control with three penalties. Cordero then got a half break and linked with Fernández who combined with scrumhalf and captain Felipe Ezcurra for a long range score. Superb interlinking led to Fernández socring in the left corner as Argentina again completed a well-worked backs try which started from inside the Pumitas own half.

The final score of 44-13 included four tries which saw the South Americans collect a bonus point. Argentina will face Samoa on Sunday in the second match of the campaign for both nations. Samoa´s first round match was not the country´s most memorable with Wales hammering the Pacific Islanders 42-3.

Argentina: 1 Lucas Noguera Paz, 2 Santiago Iglesias, 3 Matías Díaz, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizabal, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 6 Tomás Lezana, 7 Pablo Matera, 8 Facundo Isa, 9 Felipe Ezcurra (c), 10 Patricio Fernández, 11 Germán Schulz, 12 Juan Pablo Aguirre, 13 Joaquín Paz, 14 Rodrigo Etchart, 15 Santiago Cordero.

Scotland: 1 Jamie Bhatti, 2 Russell Anderson, 3 Darcy Rae, 4 Adam Sinclair, 5 Jonny Gray (C), 6 Tommy Spinks, 7 Will Bordill, 8 Adam Ashe, 9 Scott Steele, 10 Tommy Allan, 11 Rory Hughes, 12 Mark Bennett, 13 Chris Auld, 14 Jamie Farndale, 15 Ruairidh Young.

Canada beat Fiji to earn favorites tag in Pacific Nations Cup

Canada 20-18 Fiji in Ottawa

In seeking for a better international setup Canada and the United States of America entered the Pacific Nations Cup this year. Joining Fiji, Japan and Tonga the participation of the North Americans is a win-win situation for all nations. The level of the five test nations is very similar with all being official Tier Two nations and them being the best hope for genuine upsets at IRB Rugby World Cup´s. The other nation who could be categorized as such is Samoa who is not playing in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Instead Samoa is playing in South Africa and will face Scotland this coming Saturday. A loss will see Samoa drop in the rankings while there is a strong possibility that it will fall outside of the top ten. 

Scoring three tries to two Canada´s 20-18 victory makes it two from two after Canada´s first round victory over the USA. Fiji, in contrast, have one win and one loss after having completed a home win over Japan this past weekend. Japan´s loss places the Rugby World Cup 2019 host nation in last place after it also lost against Tonga in round one. Japan will, nonetheless, have home advantage against both Canada and the USA and should be expected to win both matches. In order to do so Japan will need to control play much better after both Fiji and Tonga were able to build sizeable leads and run out winners over the Asians. 

Canada[s home win over Fiji means the North Americans have gained further rankings points while Fiji have lost some. But the official IRB Rankings will not be updated until Monday, by which time Canada will have played another match.  Canada  certainly have it tough with a game against Tonga this coming Saturday in Kingston, Ontario. The three day turn around is less than what is toleration by the IRB in Rugby World Cup tournaments. Canada, nonetheless, selected its team to face Fiji with this in mind as key players including Hubert Buydens and Jebb Sinclair were on the bench while The USA will also play on Saturday, against Ireland in a match that is not part of the tournament. 

Canada 

1 Andrew Tiedemann
2 Ryan Hamilton
3 Jason Marshall
4 Jon Phelan
5 Tyler Hotson
6 Tyler Ardron

7 Nanyak Dala
8 Aaron Carpenter

9 Phil Mack
10 Liam Underwood

11 Taylor Paris
12 Harry Jones

13 Ciaran Hearn
14 Matt Evans

15 Connor Braid

Bench: 16 Ray Barkwillm, 17 Hubert Buydens, 18 Tom Dolezel, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 John Moonlight, 21 Sean White, 22 Nathan Hirayama, 23 Nick Blevins

Fiji 

1 Jerry Yanuyanutawa

2 Tuapati Talemaitoga

3 Setefano Somoca

4 Apisalome Ratuniyarawa

5 Wame Lewaravu

6 Apisai Naikatini

7 Malakai Ravulo

8 Akapusi Qera

9 Nemia Kenatale

10 Setareki Koroilagilagi

11 Aisea Natoga

12 Leone Tabuarua

13 Nemani Nadolo

14 Adriu Delai

15 Simeli Koniferedi

Bench: 16 Viliame Veikoso, 17 Manasa Saulo, 18 Campese Ma’afu, 19 Iliesa Ratuva, 20 Sam Matavesi, 21 Aporosa Kenatale, 22 Jiuta Lutumailagi, 23 Iliesa Salusalu

Argentina team confirmed - Martín Bustos Moyano named as goalkicker

Benjamin Urdapilleta to
start at flyhalf

Santiago Phelan confirmed his starting lineup for Argentina v England this Saturday. The starting XV is identical to the side that trained together on Monday and was posted yesterday here on Argentina 2023. Felipe Contepomi has been confirmed as the captain  but he will not be the goalkicker. Instead Martín Bustos Moyano will at long last be given the chance he has deserved for so long. He will start at fullback. Six of the starting players featured in the 2013 Vodacom Cup. The others played in professional leagues either in Europe or in Super Rugby. 

Felipe Contepomi will captain the side from inside centre. At 35 years of age he is set to earn his 80th cap. A lot will be expected of Contepomi in the midfield, particularly as a support player for Benjamin Urapilleta who has been named at flyhalf. His tremendous season for Oyonnax in the Pro d2 has seen him earn a start against England and he will play in the Top 14 next season for the same club. Outside of Contepomi is the vastly experienced Gonzalo Tiesi earning his 34th cap. While there are no uncapped players it is a first chance for a number of players against Tier One opposition. Those of note to have been included are Matías Orlando who started ahead of Belisario Agulla and Martín Bustos Moyano whose only previous test was against Chile in 2008.

Argentina

1 Pablo Henn, 2 Martín García Veiga, 3 Maximiliano Bustos

(Brive, France) (Los Pampas XV), (Montpellier, France)

4 Mariano Galarza, 5 Esteban Lozada

(Los Pampas XV), (Agen, France)

6 Julio Farías Cabello, 8 Tomás Leonardi, 7 Benjamín Macome

(London Welsh, England), (Kings, South Africa), (Los Pampas XV)

9 Martín Landajo, 10 Benjamín Urdapilleta

(Los Pampas XV), Oyonnax, France)

12 Felipe Contepomi, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi

(Stade Français, France), (London Welsh, England)

11 Manuel Montero, Martín Bustos Moyano, 14 Matías Orlando

(Los Pampas XV), Bayonne, France), (Los Pampas XV)

Reserves: 16 Mauricio Guidone, 17 Guillermo Roán, 18 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 19 Tomás Vallejos, 20 Tomás De la Vega, 21 Nicolás Vergallo, 22 Gabriel Ascárate, 23 Belisario Agulla

Pumas taking shape - Argentina v England

Martín Bustos Moyano made a name for himself at Montpellier. 

Today´s training in Buenos Aires looks to have confirmed who will and who will not be representing Argentina this coming Saturday in Salta. The training session included players involved in Sunday´s exhibition match in Uruguay. The match itself was far from being the failure that many had indicated it would be. Instead it turned out to be the biggest success of the weekend as Samoa was humiliated in losing 74-14 against South African side the Lions, Rugby World Cup 2019 hosts Japan was out played by Fiji and the rain in Lautoka while the Barbarians were torn apart by the British and Irish Lions in Hong Kong. With Argentina having defeated a combined South American side 78-15 in 2011 the 2013 edition was not expected to be very competitive. Sunday´s side had Argentine players but it was missing all of Argentina´s European based players and countless others. With the exception of scrumhalf Tomás Cubelli those invited for the match were third choice Pumas or international players from Chile, Uruguay or Brazil. 

Cubelli was used as Argentina´s third choice scrumhalf until the November tour of Europe. On tour he was second choice behind Martín Landajo. His Los Pampas XV colleague and close firend, Tomás De La Vega, was unlucky not to have been used more in 2012 but this could change in 2013. Both players along with flyhalf Benjamín Madero, winger Belisario Agulla and fullback Tomás Carrió were back from Montevideo with the rest of the Argentine squad. 

The training session today appears to have underlined the starting lineup for the first test against England. Brive veteran Pablo Henn trained at loosehead prop in a frontrow which also featured Montpellier´s Maximilano Bustos. The two Top 14 props look set to be joined by Pampas XV hooker Martín García Veiga in the starting frontrow. None of the three are likely to make the squad for the Rugby Championship which makes their selection all the more notable as Argentina looks ahead towards establishing a a side for 2015. The secondrow that trained today is more familiar with Pampas XV captain Mariano Galarza, joining Rugby World Cup 2007´s Esteban Lozada. Both are in contention for a place in the Rugby Championship but the chances of both being included are not strong. Both will be up against Julio Farías Cabello who trained in the backrow as the blindside flanker in a combination with the much younger pairing of Benjamín Macome and Super Rugby´s Tomás Leonardí.

The backs aappear more predicatable as the halves combination in training was 2012´s first choice Pumas number 9 Martín Landajo and the on form Benjamín Urdapilleta who had a lot to do with Oyonnax winning the Pro d2 and securing its place in the 2013-2014 Top 14. Set to start outside Urdapilleta is 35 year old time time Rugby World Cup veteran Felipe Contepomi. He sis certain to start and is also likely to be the goalkicker despite others in the team. Contepomi looks set to reform the centres combination that started against England in Rugby World Cup 2011 as Gonzalo Tiesi will wear the Pumas 13 shirt. The back-three has one surprize with the inclusion of Los Pampas XV´s outside centre Matías Orlando having trained on the wing. Fullback will be taken by the new Bayonne signing Martín Bustos Moyano who arguably should be the goalkicker but lacks the experience at test level of Contepomi. One of Argentina´s biggest prospects, Manuel Montero appears set to start on the wing. 

The team will be confirmed by Santiago Phelan on Tuesday.

South American XV v England

Rodrigo Capó Ortega writes history as Uruguay has a French Champion

Getty Images: Rodrigo Capó Ortega (right) is a French Champion

The shock of Castres winning the Top 14 Final could well take some time to go away. It was the battle of David v Goliath with Daivd coming out on top as Toulon´s team of star-studded veterans was outplayed by a small town side from South-Western France on Saturday evening in Paris. Toulon fielded capped international players of note from Argentina, Australia, France, New Zealand and South Africa. All fifteen starting players were capped and there were World Cup winners from Rugby World cup 2003 and 2007. Castres, in contrast, had a far more humble side with the teams French internationals being far from established internationals. Marc Andreu and Brice Dulin started int he back-three, South Africa produced Antoine Claassen played backrow and newcomer Remi Tales played flyhalf. Veteran Ibrahim Diarra was also in the starting lineup as were other international players - Fiji´s Seremaia Bai and Uruguay´s Rodrigo Capó Ortega.

If there is anybody who has been through high profile up´s and down´s in elite professional rugby it is Uruguayan secondrower Rodrigo Capó Ortega. Aged 32 the man from Montevideo started in the Top 14 final and played the first three quarters before being replaced by Samoa´s Joe Tekori. The Toulouse bound Samoan is one of Castres´ longest serving players. he arrived at the club in 2007 from New Zealand. He has been at the club for longer than all of the Frenchmen starting the match for Castres. he was not the longest serving Castres players involved in the final though. Instead he was second to Capó Ortega who arrived at the club in 2002, one year after Romain Teulet who was on the bench as the replacement fullback. 

Ten years ago the career of Capó Ortega could have been seen as a gateway for others to follow. It did not work out this way as despite Uruguay having a successful World Cup in 2003 with a good win over Georgia  the side was unable to develop further and has been through a decade othat have seen the team failed to qualify for the past two Rugby World Cup´s and Capó Ortega has remained the only Uruguayan player at the elite level as a professional. issues between his Montevideo club, Carrasco Polo, and the URU led to players from the club missing out on test duty and Capó Ortega stepped down as captain and has not played for his country since 2009. With the union having obtained an official stadium now complete with training facilities there is room for optimism that Uruguay could qualify for England 2015. Capó Ortega will be needed back and, indeed, he may well face North American 2 in November. 

All the hard work has paid off for Capó Ortega at club level. He has endured good and bad moments with serious injuries and the danger of relegation playing their part. The Uruguayan, though, has remained loyal to Castres and will see out his career at the club. With the Uruguayan national flag wrapped around his waist Capó Ortega carried the Bouclier de Brennus down the stairs from the stands to the field for the post match photos and victory celebration. He joined Romain Teulet in transporting the huge shield which was a sign of respect for two of the most important contributors to the club. For both players it was mission accomplished and a genuine fairy tale and certainly a career high. In winning Capó Ortega becaem Uruguay´s third French champion. Previous winners were secondrower Juan Bado and prop Pablo Lemoine who were in Champions with Stade Français in 2004.

Youngsters in Uruguay as well as the country´s leading players now all have a player to become the national  rugby hero. It is also a good result for the Rugby World Cup in the long term. Having a player from Uruguay become a French Champion underlines the need for Rugby World Cup´s to be played in more places. Capó Ortega played rugby in Buenos Aires, where he spent some of his childhood. Rugby World Cup 2023 in Argentina would be for all of the Americas and Uruguay would benefit significantly.   

Despite the result the match was highly positive for Pumas captain Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe. The Buenos Aires backrower performed very well with a high workrate around the park. He had a high tackle count, carried well and won turnovers. 

First Half

Second Half