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Mario Ledesma and Los Pumas need a warm-up match vs Uruguay. This is obviously an opinion; it is one based on three differing factors: (a) game-time; (b) a cost-effective location; and (c) appropriate facilities.
The suggestion is for Argentina to play away to Uruguay in Montevideo prior to flying to Oceania for the 2020 Rugby Championship. The tournament will be played in a single country from November 07 to December 12. Official details are forthcoming, with the competition expected to be played in New Zealand.
Ledesma has already named a long-list of 60 players. The player roster for the Rugby Championship will be reduced, with approximately 30 players initially traveling to Oceania. Upon announcement the long-list contained 14 players based in Europe; the number has since grown to 21.
The proposed fixture would be a capped test match at the Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo. Uruguay would thus have home advantage against Argentina. Unlike matches in the Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) it would be Uruguay vs Los Pumas not the Argentina XV.
Ledesma and his staff would be able to field a side featuring domestic players, namely Jaguares and Ceibos. In other words, it would be a match without Argentina’s European-based names. The staff would be free to select the strongest team, a line-up of fringe players or a mixture. Put differently, it would be an opportunity to resemble Argentina’s RWC 2019 matches against Tonga and the USA.
In the latter of these two instances Ledesma made nine change from his starting line-up against England. This saw Matías Alemanno, Rodrigo Bruni, Bautista Delguy, Felipe Ezcurra, Juan Cruz Mallía and Santiago Medrano all having their one start of the tournament.
Alemanno is part of the Argentine player exodus. player movement sees all four of Ledesma’s RWC 2019 second-row options now contracted abroad. In fact, there are now no capped second-rowers in Argentina. Ignacio Calas, Rodrigo Fernández Criado and Lucas Paulos were named in the training squad, while 20-year-old Lucas Bur may soon join them. A test match vs Uruguay would enable two of these players to start and one more to receive game-time as a replacement.
Late last year Uruguay were pressing to secure a match against Italy in 2020. COVID-19 has terminated that possibility, though why not face Argentina? Moreover, why not do so on home soil? Over half of Uruguay’s RWC players turned out for Peñarol in the SLAR. Some have moved on, adding to the Uruguayans in Europe and Major League Rugby. Past ARC experience paints an optimistic picture of player release for international duty.
The suggested Uruguay vs Argentina test match in October 2020 looms as a win-win. It would not involve a long haul flight as was the case for Argentina’s RWC 2019 warm-up match vs Randwick. There is time to make it happen. How about it: Los Teros vs Los Pumas in Montevideo in October?
