Argentina lock Tomas Vallejos believes their side's powerful scrummaging will prove decisive against a weakened Wales front row on Saturday.
Wales will be without tighthead prop and scrum anchorman Adam Jones, sidelined because of a knee injury, when they face the powerful Pumas at the Millennium Stadium.
The loss of the 2009 British and Irish Lion is a major blow to Wales and caretaker coach Rob Howley must now decide whether to call up Jones's uncapped deputy Aaron Jarvis or switch loosehead prop Paul James to the other side of the scrum.
All this disruption is the last thing the Dragons need against an Argentina side who were competitive during their maiden Rugby Championship campaign.
The 27-year-old Vallejos, who has a foot in both the Argentina and Wales camps having recently joined Welsh regional side the Scarlets, made no attempt to disguise the Pumas' game-plan on Monday.
"We have a massive belief in our scrum, it is one of the foundations of the team," said the former Harlequins forward, called into the squad as a replacement for the injured Patricio Albacete.
"If Jones plays or not it will not change our approach.
"We will still believe in our scrum and it will play a massive part in the game for us and we know Jones has been a massive player at the top level."
Among the Scarlets team-mates set to become opponents for Vallejos on Saturday is giant wing George North.
"George is a big player, the thing that surprised me is he is a massive guy and he is physical, but he also has skills and it makes him a very special player," Vallejos said.
"I will be telling some of our guys in the back-line we need to keep a close eye on him."
Meanwhile Vallejos has an additional motivation for wanting to win this weekend - bragging rights in the Scarlets' dressing room.
"It would be fantastic to win the game especially with me playing here, it would be funny for me to be able to do some jokes in the changing room and I am really looking forward to it."
Comments
PREEST says...
Now that I think about it, I have to agree that Wales are being over hyped these days. The didn't win any of their 3 games against a weakened, weakened Aussie side. Aussie have had the upper hand in all their recent encounters, even without their play makers.
I do think the Argies will win this won. They are battle hardened, they have been up against the best 3 sides in the world and very nearly caused a few upsets. The will have dominance in the scrum, this is clear, they need to convert their opportunities and the backs need to capitalize on the front foot ball that they should be getting.
Posted 07:05 07th November 2012
ABlack says...
Argentina will win by 3 or more. Wales are overated by UK media , their coaches and I suspect themselves and they are in their first game together since June 12. Argies are match hardened against much better teams than Wales
Posted 00:39 07th November 2012
Paco says...
After having asked for more competitions for ages now that the argentine rugby has been granted a lot of support form the IRB, SANZAR and other rugby unions, Argentina is now facing the problem that they don't have enough players at 1st class level, so they are calling again a lot of amateurs to play against the top international teams. This fact may be a blessing for those amateur players who have the opportunity to gain experience at international level, while it might turn into a headache for the argentine rugby union (UAR) due to complaints from their rivals for not bringing their best squads. Just to mention what happened this year, while the top argentine players where preparing for the Rugby Championship, there was a rented team (Pampas XV) playing in the south african 2nd league's Vodacom Cup (which they won in 2011, while losing in QF in 2012), there was another group -mostly amateurs- playing the south american Championship (which they won by thrashing Brazil 111-0). Then there was the june matches against Italy and France (twice), but Argentina played with a C-Team (lots of amateurs and some experienced players) winning against Italy and the first match against France, while losing by a huge difference the second one (59-10). After that the Pumas' top team made their debut in the RC with some convincing games against the SH's big three (SA, NZ, AU), while at the same time another team (the "Jaguares", 100% amateurs) played the America´s Rugby Championship (which they won, winning all their matches against Uruguay, USA and Canada). A few weeks ago, there was another team playing the Seven's tournament (winning a Silver Plate, after losing against NZ and winning against Australia and France) and now there's the november european tour against Wales, France and Ireland, but playing with a mix of experienced (1st and 2nd tear) and amateur players. Big challenge!
Posted 17:54 06th November 2012
Paco says...
After having asked for more competitions for ages now that the argentine rugby has been granted a lot of support form the IRB, SANZAR and other rugby unions, Argentina is now facing the problem that they don't have enough players at 1st class level, so they are calling again a lot of amateurs to play against the top international teams. This fact may be a blessing for those amateur players who have the opportunity to gain experience at international level, while it might turn into a headache for the argentine rugby union (UAR) due to complaints from their rivals for not bringing their best squads. Just to mention what happened this year, while the top argentine players where preparing for the Rugby Championship, there was a rented team (Pampas XV) playing in the south african 2nd league's Vodacom Cup (which they won in 2011, while losing in QF in 2012), there was another group -mostly amateurs- playing the south american Championship (which they won by thrashing Brazil 111-0). Then there was the june matches against Italy and France (twice), but Argentina played with a C-Team (lots of amateurs and some experienced players) winning against Italy and the first match against France, while losing by a huge difference the second one (59-10). After that the Pumas' top team made their debut in the RC with some convincing games against the SH's big three (SA, NZ, AU), while at the same time another team (the "Jaguares", 100% amateurs) played the America´s Rugby Championship (which they won, winning all their matches against Uruguay, USA and Canada). A few weeks ago, there was another team playing the Seven's tournament (winning a Silver Plate, after losing against NZ and winning against Australia and France) and now there's the november european tour against Wales, France and Ireland, but playing with a mix of experienced (1st and 2nd tear) and amateur players. Big challenge!
Posted 17:35 06th November 2012
Paco says...
I'd prefer the Pumas to play open, dynamic rugby, as they did against France in RWC 2007 or for some periods during their first appearance at the RC, while building up on their tough defense. Most players don't seem to be as confident or fresh as most of the 2007 team was. They have the skills, but do not know yet how to get the most out of them. Anyway, it will be a very tough game against Wales (and also against France and Ireland). They don't have Shane Williams anymore, but they have a lot of other excellent players. And because lots of 1st class argentine players play in Europe, there are some conflicts with their respective clubs who don't want to release more than two argies per game. Therefore the Pumas will have many 2nd tier and even amateur players on its side. It will not be the same team that played in the RC against AU, SA and NZ.
Posted 17:31 06th November 2012
sebabustos says...
I don't think the Pumas scrum is as solid as it used to be - and I don't think it matters too much, either! A good scrum will not get you more than 2 balls in a game, so there are more profitable areas to focus on. OK, penalties do count: if you have a solid scrum, the other teams is likely to get penalised, but this seems to be a Russian roulette nowadays.
Posted 11:08 06th November 2012
jonesy2 says...
vamos los pumas. not sure if they will beat wales but they should win all their other matches, that will constitute a successful mission
Posted 10:55 06th November 2012
melkdave says...
To be honest ,the Argentina scrum ,hasnt looked the potent weapon it once was so far this year imo.They struggled against NZ ,manged to hold their own against SA.But didnt dominate in either match against Australia,who arnt renowned for their scrum .Wales have lost A.Jones and that could be a big factor in the scrum ,this weekend .But i feel Argentina will still have to improve on their RC showing,if they are to dominate the scrum aainst Wales.
Posted 10:37 06th November 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
I'm sure they targetted Australia's scrum too. Mind you it's probably a smoke screen.
If these Pre-test interviews were pints of beer they'd make watery American beer look like a strong Irish stout. You'll be lucky to get anything juicy from anyone, save maybe Warran Gatland and he'll be saving his ire for the Aussies I reckon.
Posted 10:24 06th November 2012