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Argentina have had a blow to their Rugby World Cup preparations. Scrum-half Eliseo Morales is to undergo surgery which will rule him out of the Rugby Championship, RWC warm-up matches and the Rugby World Cup itself.
Morales suffered a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee. The injury occurred while playing for Los Pampas against Los Dogos in the derby Semi Final of Super Rugby Americas (SRA).
Los Dogos won the Semi Final to book a spot in the final against Peñarol. The Uruguayans were crowned champions with Los Dogos putting up a solid fight until the end. Los Dogos’ Captain Franco Molina missed the final. He also suffered a season-ending injury which required surgery. Morales and Molina are both now out of Rugby World Cup 2023.
Morales and Molina were on Michael Cheika’s Pumas roster in November. Morales was an unused replaced for Argentina against England in London. He made his test debut one week later against Wales in Cardiff.
A 40-man roster trained together in Paris in March. The camp gave firm indications as to Argentina’s intentions for the World Cup. Due to a clashing of dates SRA players were not considered. Argentina’s scrum-halves were Lautaro Bazán Vélez (Rovigo (IT), Gonzalo Bertranou (Dragons, UK) and Tomás Cubelli (Biarritz, FR). These three are now the front-runners for the World Cup.
The loss of Morales will, nonetheless, open an opportunity for another player. Ignacio Inchauspe put up his hand in SRA. He is uncapped. Also in the frame is Gonzalo García. The Zebre scrum-half had his season ended early and underwent surgery. He is now training with other Pumas in Argentina. Finally, former Puma Felipe Ezcurra may be considered. He started in the Top 14 Access Match in which his team, Grenoble, fell to Perpignan.
