Stortoni sticks it to Hadden
Argentina full-back Bernardo Stortoni has turned up the pressure on Scotland ahead of the game by suggesting coach Frank Hadden could be sacked if they lose again.
Argentina full-back Bernardo Stortoni has turned up the pressure on Scotland ahead of the game by suggesting coach Frank Hadden could be sacked if they lose again.
Last weekend the Pumas enjoyed a 21-15 victory over Scotland in Rosario with a team featuring ten members of last year's World Cup squad.
And the 31-year-old, who plays his club rugby in Scotland for Glasgow Warriors, believes a second defeat for Hadden's side on Sunday could seal the manager's fate.
“I talked with some Scottish team-mates and they were very dissatisfied with the first match,” said Stortoni.
“It is going to be an even harder game now in Buenos Aires. They told me that they weren't aggressive enough and they also complained about the narrow field that made it very hard to play expansive rugby.
“If they lose again, after their poor Six Nations, I am sure that they will try to sack the boss.
“Their people expect much more from them. Because of that I am convinced that they are going to put pressure on us and they are going to leave everything on the field.”
Argentina coach Santiago Phelan has added more World Cup experience to his side by naming two more veterans, Horacio Agulla and Luca Borges, in place of Jose Nunez Piossek and Tomas De Vedia.
That leaves Stortoni, Nicolas Vergallo and Alvaro Tejeda as the only players in the team that did not play when Argentina finished third at the tournament last September in France.
Phelan, 34, is reluctant to overhaul the squad as he tries to build on the legacy of his predecessor Marcelo Loffreda, but he will have to make one change in the near future as this will be the last match for Northampton Saints second-rower Ignacio Fernandez, who is planning to retire from international rugby.
Agulla believes the key to beating Scotland will be to control the rhythm of the game.
“Scotland are a very tough rival,” he said.
“We have already seen that in the World Cup and last Saturday they showed that in the field. I think that the key will be in pressing them from the beginning to control the pace of the match.”
Captain Felipe Contepomi added that Argentina needed to improve their own performance from last weekend in order to make it even harder for Scotland.
“In Rosario we gave them the initiative at the beginning of the two halves and we also made too many mistakes,” said Contepomi.
“We know that controlling these problems and having more patience in the attack will be very important to win.”