Hourcade expects vastly different Wales

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LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 07: Daniel Hourcade, Head Coach of Argentina looks on during the Argentina Captain's Run ahead of The Rugby Championship match against Australia at Twickenham Stadium on October 7, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade is expecting a tough game in Cardiff as Wales look to respond from last weekend’s lacklustre defeat.

Wales were resoundingly beaten by Australia, while Argentina put over 50 points past Japan in Tokyo.

Acting head coach Rob Howley and his players have come under heavy criticism as a result but a refreshed XV, including the return upfront of Alun Wyn Jones and Sam Warburton, is expected to lead to an improved performance.

Hourcade knows that Wales will be hurting and that as a result the Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists can cause Argentina major problems.

“We are really motivated, but we know we will face a hard team that has a lot of pressure on it after a bad game last week,” he said.

“They will want to win. They are hurt and are a really good team. They will want to change what happened last week.

“It would be a huge mistake to think we are going to face the same team that played against Australia. They will have worked hard this week to play better, and it is going to be a tough game.

“We are worried about a hurt, great team on Saturday. You cannot be really confident. We would prefer to play Wales in a better moment.”