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The 2020 South American 4 Nations kicks-off on Saturday. This year’s edition of the tournament is unlike previous years. The South American 6 Nations A was canceled as was the Americas Rugby Championship. Moreover, just this week it was confirmed that all tams will play as their next of XV. The Argentina XV are thus joined by the Brazil XV, Chile XV and Uruguay XV.
The Argentina XV is a mixture of players from Sevens, the Juniors and Seniors. There are a number of reasons for this. The most notable one is that players need game time. They have not simply ben thrown together. Instead, the players have been training together in Montevideo for an extended period.
Head Coach: Former Pumas second-rower Ignacio Fernández Lobbe remains un charge of the Argentina XV. He was a well-respected player. For Argentina he appeared at RWCs 1999, 2003, and 2007. He also had an impressive playing career in England and France, winning the English Premiership with the Sale Sharks. His experience commands respect. The players will all be giving it their all to have Nacho tell Mario Ledesma positive things about them.
CAPTAIN: Fernández Lobbe has made a change in the command; Tomás Cubilla will skipper the team. He will do so ahead of former captain Lautaro Bavaro. Cubilla played under Fernández Lobbe with Los Ceibos in the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR). Prior to that he did so for the Jaguares XV in the Currie Cup First Division. He has also previously played for the Argentina XV under Fernández Lobbe. In short, the coach knows the outside back very well.
STAR PLAYER: Mario Ledesma dropped 2019 players from his 2020 roster. This saw established names finding themselves out of favor. Javier Ortega Desio was Argentina’s starting N8 at RWC 2019 and also appeared at RWC 2015. The staff believe that he underperformed in 2019, a factor which has given others a chance in the Rugby Championship. He now needs a solid performance for the Argentina XV to fight his way back into contention to add to his 57 test caps. On a side note, Javier Díaz is the only other capped player on the roster. He has three caps from 2018.
ONE TO WATCH: ARN predicts that the tournament’s top try scorer will be Mateo Carreras. Followers of the Junior World Championship will have seen him before. He was drafted into Los Jaguares for this year’s Super Rugby season. Injury meant he was unable to take part.
OUTLOOK: The Argentina XV enter as firm favorites. The team is stacked with academy graduates from the PladAR system. Some have Super Rugby experience, while others will likely become notable names in the coming years. Argentina’s player production is such that the Argentina XV is a proven platform for players to go on to become test stars. The visitors from west of the Uruguay River as expected to win all three of their matches this month at the Estadio Charrúa.
For further information click here to access the 2020 South American 4 Nations page.
2020 SOUTH AMERICAN 4 NATIONS FIXTURES: ARGENTINA XV
October 17: Chile XV vs Argentina XV
October 21: Brazil XV vs Argentina XV
October 25: Uruguay XV vs Argentina XV
