Argentina v Samoa preview: Los Pumas to edge out Islanders in Saint-Etienne thriller

David Skippers
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Pablo Matera of Argentina and Theo McFarland of Samoa.

There should be plenty of thrilling action on display when Argentina and Samoa face off in their highly anticipated Rugby World Cup clash in Saint-Etienne on Friday.

With England on course to finish at the top of Pool D – after clinching back-to-victories against Los Pumas and Japan – the battle is on for second position in the group and these sides can ill afford to slip up in this fixture if they want to advance to the quarter-finals.

Argentina have not been in action since that defeat to the Red Rose which was 13 days ago and their performance in that match left a lot to be desired, despite playing with a numerical advantage for most of that encounter in Marseille.

That was due to England back-row Tom Curry being yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on Argentina full-back Juan Cruz Mallia after just three minutes when the full-back leapt into the air to catch a high ball. Curry’s yellow card was upgraded to red by the Foul Play Review Bunker but Argentina still suffered a 27-10 defeat.

Los Pumas’ discipline let them down badly in that fixture and their performance saw them conceding a plethora of penalties which was punished by England fly-half George Ford, who scored all his team’s points on the day.

Meanwhile, Samoa have also played one match so far but they made an excellent start to their campaign as they cruised to a 43-10 bonus-point triumph over Chile in Bordeaux last week.

Under the guidance of head coach Suleila Mapusua, Samoa have become a competitive unit and have been boosted by the introduction of seasoned campaigners like former Wallabies playmaker Christian Leali’ifano and ex-All Blacks back-row Steven Luatua after World Rugby relaxed its eligibility laws.

With players like Leali’ifano and Luatua in their ranks, Samoa is sure to continue to impress and they should push Los Pumas close for the full 80 minutes of this fixture.

Last time they met

These teams met at the end of 2005 in Buenos Aires and Samoa sealed a deserved 28-12 victory as they outscored their hosts by three tries to two, with fly-half Roger Warren leading the way with a 13-point contribution courtesy of two conversions, two penalties and a drop goal. Samoa’s other points came via tries from Census Johnston (prop), Semo Sititi (back-row) and Sailosi Tagicakibau (wing). For Argentina, Juan Fernandez Lobbe (number eight) and Horacio Agulla (wing) crossed the whitewash while Juan Fernandez Miranda (fly-half) added a conversion.

What they said

Argentina head coach Michael Cheika knows that another defeat will be disastrous for his team’s chances of advancing to the knockout rounds and highlighted the importance of winning this fixture.

“The team has learnt important lessons [from England]: to have more focus, more clarity, more peace of mind about what we have to do,” he said. “It is a very important game.”

Los Pumas captain Julian Montoya echoed his coach’s sentiments and said his team are preparing for a tough challenge from their opponents.

“We expect a very physical match from them,” said the hooker. “We are in a World Cup and the mentality we have is to look at what we have to win.”

Meanwhile, Samoa head coach Mapusua is looking forward to the challenge of facing a side like Argentina and said his team would try to emulate Fiji’s achievement of beating Australia last weekend.

“It’s awesome to see them perform well and beat Australia at a World Cup and we’re proud of them and of course we’ll take inspiration and confidence from that one,” he said.

“But I’d be more inclined to take confidence from the work and preparation that this group of men have done over the last few months.”

Players to watch

If Argentina want to get their Rugby World Cup campaign on track, a lot will depend on the performance of their captain and hooker Julian Montoya. An excellent leader, the 29-year-old’s decision making under pressure will be crucial while he should also be at the forefront of his team’s forward onslaught with his throw-ins at the lineouts and scrummaging set to be crucial in the bigger scheme of things.

Another player who will be important to Argentina’s cause is experienced back-row and former skipper Pablo Matera. When on song, he is one of the game’s best loose forwards and his all-action style of play is sure to give his side a lift. Matera is renowned for his ball carrying, defensive skills and his outstanding work at the breakdowns, and if he excels in those departments it should help his team over the line.

Amongst Los Pumas’ backs, they will – once again rely heavily on the excellent goal-kicking of right wing Emiliano Boffelli. The 28-year-old has one of the best strike rates off the kicking tee as he seldom misses a shot at goal and if Samoa concede penalties within goal-kicking range, Boffelli is sure to punish them. Boffelli is also excellent on attack and he should test Samoa’s defence once he has ball in hand.

There is plenty of excitement in Samoa’s ranks about the selection of former Hurricanes, Blues and New Zealand Sevens flyer Ben Lam, who is set to make his Test debut for in this fixture. The 32-year-old, who currently plies his trade at Montpellier in France, is a powerful runner blessed with plenty of pace and if he finds himself in space it should be a tough day at the office for Argentina’s defence.

Another player who is sure to provide an attacking threat from the back is former Australia U20 representative Duncan Paia’aua, who is set to line up at full-back for the second successive match at this year’s Rugby World Cup. The 28-year-old usually plays at inside centre in the Top 14 for Toulon but he has done well Samoa in the number 15 jersey in recent matches and was rewarded with a try against Chile. He is solid under the high ball and also impresses with his kicking out of hand from the back.

One player who caught the eye for the Pacific Islanders in that win over Chile is Saracens utility forward Theo McFarland, who walked off with the official man-of-the-match award after that encounter. McFarland played at lock in that match but will start on the blindside flank against Argentina. He is no stranger to that position as he has shone there for Sarries, with his lineout work, defence and ball carrying all of a very high standard.

Prediction

These are two evenly matches teams and with so much at stake in this match they will give their all to secure victory. It should be an entertaining match as both sides employ expansive game-plans but we expect it to go down to the wire and Argentina will win by three points.

Previous results

2005: Samoa won 28-12 in Buenos Aires
1999: Argentina won 32-16 in Llanelli (RWC)
1995: Samoa won 32-26 in East London (RWC)
1991: Samoa won 35-12 in Pontypridd (RWC)

The teams

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Lucio Cinti

Samoa: 15 Duncan Paia’aua, 14 Nigel Ah-Wong, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Tumua Manu, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Christian Leali’ifano, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Fritz Lee, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Chris Vui (c), 4 Brian Alainu’u’ese, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 James Lay
Replacements: 16 Sama Malolo, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Sa Jordan Taufua, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 D’Angelo Leuila, 23 Danny Toala

Date: Friday, September 22
Venue: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)

READ MORE: Rugby World Cup team tracker: All the line-ups for another blockbuster week of action

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