Bosch Asks for more ‘Europeans’ in Pumas

Marcelo Bosch has asked for more ‘Europeans’ in Pumas. The Saracens outside center made his opinions known during Sky Sports UK coverage of South Africa vs Argentina on Saturday.

Argentina lost with Juan Figallo being the only ‘European’. Figallo was brought in to boost the Tight Head options and was thrust straight into the starting side.

Figallo (Saracens) was one of two Tight Head props sought by Mario Ledesma. The other is Ramiro Herrera (Stade Français) who is likely to be joining the roster for their away matches against New Zealand and Australia.

Before touring Oceania, Los Pumas have a match this coming Saturday. Their round two fixture sees Argentina at home against South Africa in Mendoza. Changes from the opening round include the inclusion of hooker Facundo Bosch (Agen).

Figallo and Facundo Bosch will both be involved in the match with Figallo then expected to return to London to prepare for the start of the English Premiership. It is a similar case to that of South Africa who have fullback Willie Le Roux (Wasps)  for the opening matches rather than the entire Rugby Championship.

The slow opening of the door to ‘Europeans’ has not been specifically clarified by the UAR. Marcelo Bosch pointed this out in saying:

“It seems that the rule is that the door is open but I don’t really know if the coach can call anyone he wants back. There is a grey area we need clarification.”

The ruling, as defined by UAR President Marcelo Rodríguez, is that it is for the coach to request players and the union will consider them on a case-by-case basis.

It is not as simple as picking up a phone and contacting a player. World Rugby’s Regulation 9.23 (notification of the right to release players) notes that clubs must be request 14 days prior to a match. Immediately replacing Sebastián Cancelliere with a ‘European’ is thereby not plausible and Santiago Álvarez Fourcade and Santiago Carreras were instead selected.

Balancing the 14 day release period with match dates and roster strength is complex. Marcelo Bosch’s grey area clearly encompasses this too. It is further complicated when considering the selection policies of Argentina’s rivals.

“Other countries have made changes to bring back players from Europe and while I could understand the rule that was made after the 2015 World Cup by Argentina to keep young players at home, you could have reached some kind of compromise for those players already in Europe.”

Indeed the UAR began signing talent in 2015 for Los Jaguares. In many cases professional contracts were in place well beyond RWC 2015.

Of Argentina’s genuine top players per position there are strong arguments to be made that virtually half of them are not Jaguares – namely Loose Head, Tight Head, No 8, Fly Half, Outside Center and Wing.

Yet it goes beyond this as rugby is not about just the starting 15, and nor about the match-day 23. It is a highly physical sport which demands depth with three players per position being a reasonable selection net.

By relying on Jaguares the talent pool has diminished, reducing it to breaking point. This has seen the use of players out of position against elite opposition. To take just two instances Javier Ortega Desio started at second-row against France, and Santiago González Iglesias started at fly half against Australia.

It goes without saying that the Jaguares players all are very good but, crucially not necessarily excellent. For instance Moroni performed well against South Africa and was, realistically, near his peak. The same holds true for Ramiro Moyano.

A prerequisite for defeating the Springboks is to have an elite roster. Marcelo Bosch deems his country to have ‘Europeans’ who would boost the team:

“There are very good players who could add value to the team and increase competition for places increase the options for the coach. For me, if you open the door it would add freshness and energy to the Pumas and the Jaguares players would know they are now competing for places against European based players. That competition will lift the performance of the team.”

Tight Head and Hooker are officially problematic as evidenced by Ledesma’s naming of Figallo, Herrera, and Facundo Bosch. Francisco Gomez Kodela (Lyon), and Santiago Socino (Newcastle) are additional names for the positions while Lucas Noguera Paz (Bath) was the starting Loose Head in 2016-2017.

An injury to a second-rower may see Mariano Galarza (Gloucester), and Manuel Carizza (Lyon) considered while Facundo Isa (Toulon) would start at no 8 if fit and on the roster.

Nicolás Sánchez has no cover at fly half. His move to France (Stade Français) in December will demand flexibility in selection. Without question Sánchez, Benjamín Urdapilleta (Castres) and Patricio Fernández (Clermont) are the top three Argentine fly halves.

In Super Rugby Jerónimo de la Fuente and Matías Orlando were the starting centers. With neither fit Bautista Ezcurra and Moroni started in Durban. It would be hard to argue for them over Juan Pablo Socino (Edinburgh) and Marcelo Bosch (Saracens).

Juan Imhoff (Racing 92), Santiago Cordero (Exeter Chiefs), and Joaquín Tuculet (injured) shone bright as Argentina’s RWC 2015 back-three. Moyano, Bautista Delguy, and Emiliano Boffelli are all quality replacements but they are not under threat from ‘Europeans’. If Marcelo Bosch’s request were to happen then Imhoff and Moyano would compete for the 11 shirt.