Match Preview – Argentina XV vs Uruguay

The port city of Bahía Blanca will host international rugby for the first time on Saturday, with Uruguay arriving to take on the Argentina XV in the second round of the Americas Rugby Championship. Located some 600km to the south of Buenos Aires, the Estadio El Fortín of Club Villa Mitre will be a welcome sight to the Argentines after suffering the horrendous conditions of Westhills Stadium in Langford. There will be no snow, no rain, and only a warm ocean breeze with perfect weather forecast for the evening kickoff.

Uruguay have never beaten Argentina in a test match, but they did famously defeat the Argentina XV by 30-26 in August of 2015. An upset was narrowly avoided with the 24-21 score in last year’s ARC meeting, while the Sudamérica Cup meeting ended 18-8 in favor of the Argentines. All three of those games were held in Uruguay. While the travel distance is not exactly the same, or even close really, as a North American adventure, playing on home soil does tip the scale slightly in favor of Argentina.

Ignoring the result from Langford, head coach Felipe Contepomi has selected a very strong team to face Los Teros, arguably stronger than the one that faced Canada. Francisco Ferronato has been the form loosehead in Argentina for the past year, while Santiago Medrano is considered by many to be the most promising tighthead in the country. Ignacio Larrague will be the biggest man on the pitch and offers size and strength in the set piece, while San Luis hooker Marcelo Brandi is given his first start in national colors having proved himself in the URBA Top 14.

Perhaps with a view to countering what should be a strong scrum, Uruguay coach Esteban Meneses has opted for the vastly experienced duo of Martín Espiga at hooker and Diego Magno in the second row. He sacrifices some bulk and lineout height, but Facundo Gattas struggled with throwing accuracy against the USA and Magno, while considerably smaller than Diego Ayala, is still a competent scrummager and brings a high work rate around the pitch. The scrum battle between Ferronato and Juan Echeverría, both very short and stocky props, will be of interest.

To compensate for Ayala’s absence in the lineout Meneses has added the highly promising Gonzalo Soto on the flank. He missed out on the trip to Canada but was Uruguay’s standout performer in the match against Romania last November. At 1.92m (6’4″) he is not quite a towering presence but his athleticism allows him to get up in the air very quickly to disrupt opposition throw-ins.

The battle of the loose forwards around the pitch will prove interesting. With Pumitas graduate Mariano Romanini joining captain Lautaro Bavaro and test veteran Tomás de la Vega, the trio is again very mobile with all three capable of challenging at the breakdown or linking with the backs. Uruguay have a more traditional trio with newcomer Rodolfo Garese the quickest forward on the pitch and showing against the Eagles that he is a nuisance in the tackle area. Soto and captain Alejandro Nieto both prefer the no8 position and are strong carriers.

In the backs the advantage must go to Argentina. The addition of Nicolás Freitas on the wing is a boost to Los Teros but he is more effective in the midfield. Meanwhile a pair of lethal finishers in Julián Domínguez and Segundo Tuculet have been added out wide by Argentina, with Santiago Álvarez restored to his preferred spot at outside centre. Along with future Pumas star Bautista Delguy at fullback, this is the most dangerous attacking backline in the ARC, and by some distance.

The weather will not play a factor, meaning the goal kicking of Domingo Miotti and Germán Albanell, both accurate strikers, is unlikely to play a major factor. Unless, that is, Uruguay are able to slow down Argentina’s attack and shackle their outside backs by pressing in the midfield. Garese’s task will be to glue himself on the ball in the tackle while Juan de Freitas and Juan Manuel Cat must use line speed to close out attacking space. If they cannot, it could be a long day for Uruguay with Argentina’s bench offering no shortage of talent to boost the side in the final quarter.

ARGENTINA XV
1 Francisco Ferronato, 2 Marcelo Brandi, 3 Santiago Medrano, 4 Pedro Ortega, 5 Ignacio Larrague, 6 Mariano Romanini, 7 Lautaro Bavaro (capt.), 8 Tomás de la Vega, 9 Sebastián Cancelliere, 10 Domingo Miotti, 11 Julián Domínguez, 12 Juan Cappiello, 13 Santiago Álvarez, 14 Segundo Tuculet, 15 Bautista Delguy

Replacements: 16 Axel Zapata, 17 Eduardo Bello, 18 Alejo Brem, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Montagner, 21 Lautaro Bazán, 22 Tomás Granella, 23 Fernando Luna

URUGUAY
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 Martín Espiga, 3 Juan Echeverría, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Diego Magno, 6 Rodolfo Garese, 7 Gonzalo Soto, 8 Alejando Nieto (capt.), 9 Santiago Arata, 10 Germán Albanell, 11 Francisco Berchesi, 12 Juan de Freitas, 13 Juan Manuel Cat, 14 Nicolás Freitas, 15 Rodrigo Silva

Replacements: 16 Facundo Gattas, 17 Matías Benítez, 18 Felipe Inciarte, 19 Diego Ayala, 20 Manuel Diana, 21 Guillermo Lijtenstein, 22 Lucas Durán, 23 Ignacio García

Date: Saturday, February 11
Venue: Estadio El Fortín, Bahía Blanca
Kickoff: 19:00 local (14:00 Pacific, 17:00 Eastern)
Referee: Kurt Weaver (USAR)
Assistants: Damián Schneider (UAR) & Santiago Altobelli (UAR)
Broadcasts: ESPN 2