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Juan Imhoff’s upcoming involvement with Los Pumas 7s sees a fresh approach. It marks the inclusion of a professional athlete contracted to a foreign club and that club is to have a Top 14 fixture on the same day in which Imhoff is playing at the London Sevens for Argentina.
While his inclusion is extremely noteworthy it did not come as a surprise as Head Coach Santiago Goméz Cora had previously made it known that Imhoff would be his ultimate card to play.
With 230 tries Goméz Cora is the all-time record try scorer on the HSBC Sevens Series. Needless to say he knows the game like no other in Argentina. What he sees in Imhoff for the Olympics will be unveiled in London this weekend.
Imhoff’s name came up together with three other World Cup Pumas – Santiago Cordero, Matías Moroni, and Javier Ortega Desio. The trio together with Imhoff are four of his 12 players destined to play at Rio 2016.
Assuming all are fit and selected eight places would therefore remain. Gomez Cora’s selection policy has seen roster rotation throughout the season giving Los Pumas 7’s a large pool of players to choose from.
In last weekend’s Paris 7s Argentina finished fourth but ought to have been finalists. The butchering of a try from German Schulz saw Samoa win 14-12 and the Pacific Islanders then miraculously toppled Fiji in the final.
The Paris 7s marked the return of Javier Rojas from French Pro D2 club Albi. Having been a replacement against New Zealand in the quarter-final win he started the semi-final against Samoa. The remaining starters were Santiago Álvarez, Fernando Luna, Juan Pablo Estellés, Moroni, Franco Sabato, and captain Gastón Revol.
The policy of having Sevens specialists starting with more experienced players being injected from the bench is not altogether different to when Goméz Cora was playing.
Worth remembering is Argentina’s performance at the 2009 Rugby Sevens World Cup in Dubai. Starting against Wales in the World Cup Final were: Francisco Merello, Dino Cáceres, Lucas González Amorosino, Pablo Gómez Cora, Lucio López Fleming, Martín Rodríguez, and Martín Bustos Moyano. Balance saw Gonzalo Camacho and Agustín Figuerola joining Santiago Goméz Cora on the bench.
Such an approach awaits Los Pumas 7s in London and Rio de Janeiro. While there are seven spots on the starting lineup it is not a case of putting the top seven players out there. Positions vary and understanding this is paramount.
The Argentina Dream Team for Rio 2016 will be appropriately managed to have it fully functional and not merely throwing together a star-studded team. Ezcurra and Rojas are playmaking options to be used accordingly, meaning not starting together. Managing them through matches rather than having both start together is Goméz Cora’s likely strategy.
Additional Jaguares including Jerónimo de la Fuente, Manuel Montero, Ramiro Moyano, and Joaquín Tuculet will not be picked on their star power, not unless they merit places.
Rio Dream Team
1 Fernando Luna, 2 Axel Müller, 3 Javier Ortega Desio, 4 Gastón Revol, 5 Bautista Ezcurra, 6 Rodrigo Etchart, 7 Santiago Cordero
Replacements: 8 Juan Imhoff, 9 Juan Pablo Estellés, 10, Nicolás Bruzzone, 11 Javier Rojas, 12 Matías Moroni
