[2013 TRC] Argentina vs. South Africa in Mendoza (24/08/2013)

[Big Ewis]

no doubt Argentina's weaker and SA stronger in this year's edition...but that still doesn't mean Argentina can't pull away with a win. I just personally don't see it.
But we may all be overwhelmed by what happened in Johannesburg, I mean nobody sees a team that took 70 points win the very next week against that team, even at home...
Saw the first half of the Johann. game and then highlights of the 2nd half, and yeah it was all forwards for SA basically put. Argentina needs to engage their backs but obviously it all starts up front to establish the opportunities. They just have to up their game overall basically - defense, back play, forwards intensity, scrum...

 

[Dougydeluxe]

I think people are giving Argentina a hard time. They did do some stuff well that has previously not been in there game. The backs look far more confident with ball in hand.

I believe that they key injuries (Lobbe being the big one) and also that fact that most of them have been resting after 8+ months of rugby and are just getting back into it. While they are facing guys who are all in the peak of Rugby right now.

Think it will be with in 10 points.

 

[psychic duck]

Apparently Argentina didn't just suffer on the scoreboard last weekend but they got battered with injury as well.

Lobbe and Albacete won't play. Hernandez unlikely. Ayerza, Carizza and Guinazu all subject to fitness tests. It is possible that Argentina go into this match with over half the pack injured.

In normal circumstances Argentina should be attacking the Boks and hoping for an upset. In the circumstances and after last weekend, on this occasion the hopes need to be scaled back. Merely a respectable loss is the realistic aim.

 

[TRF_heineken]

Well to apply more misery to Argentina, Heyneke Meyer said today that he wants his guys to be Merciless!

 

[rgman]

Good news! may be that rush Phelan´s resignation

 

[Aspry]

I think people are giving Argentina a hard time. They did do some stuff well that has previously not been in there game. The backs look far more confident with ball in hand.

I believe that they key injuries (Lobbe being the big one) and also that fact that most of them have been resting after 8+ months of rugby and are just getting back into it. While they are facing guys who are all in the peak of Rugby right now.

Think it will be with in 10 points.

Yeah, but mate, the thing is we can make at least one hundred excuses like that. "We didn't have our best players", "We don't have a profesional league", "Rugby is not a popular sport over here", "Vuvuzelas distracted our players", "The pitch was in bad conditions" etc. None of this things can justify our horrible performance the last match. We were simply not in the same level of the competition and we should face that instead of finding silly excuses.

 

[Aspry]

Why Mendoza is a tricky place or the worst location? I live 170 km from there, and I can tell you it's a wonderful place, near the Andes Mountains. Much better than Rosario and La Plata I can tell.

In my opinion, Córdoba should be one of the three locations for playing RC at home. It's the second city of Argentina in terms of population and it has the second stadium of the country in terms of capacity (57.000 spectators) wich was also recently remodeled.

I honestly can't see why they don't play in here and they do in Rosario, were the Stadium has only a capacity of 41.000 spectators. It should be La Plata-Córdoba-Mendoza.

I am not saying this because I am from Córdoba (I am not really from Córdoba, just living in here at the moment). I just think it's a better place to hold this competition, that's all.

 

[Jaguares]

Good news! may be that rush Phelan´s resignation

Phelan said he will resign if he loses this Saturday? Mmmm...

 

[Big Ewis]

Yeah, but mate, the thing is we can make at least one hundred excuses like that. "We didn't have our best players", "We don't have a profesional league", "Rugby is not a popular sport over here", "Vuvuzelas distracted our players", "The pitch was in bad conditions" etc. None of this things can justify our horrible performance the last match. We were simply not in the same level of the competition and we should face that instead of finding silly excuses.

I like your mindset, but still injuries/health are key to a team's success. If you just don't have the players that make your team great, you just simply don't have the players that make your team great. The Pumas are not the Pumas without some of those key members, simple as that: Lobbe, Albacete and now I read Hernandez to be out too...among others...It's another team, a much lesser team. And Arg. doesn't have all the depth in the world, because everybody else is playing football and basketball
And those other "excuses" (up til your third) are viable arguments too, but away from the plot here.

 

[Aspry]

I like your mindset, but still injuries/health are key to a team's success. If you just don't have the players that make your team great, you just simply don't have the players that make your team great. The Pumas are not the Pumas without some of those key members, simple as that: Lobbe, Albacete and now I read Hernandez to be out too...among others...It's another team, a much lesser team. And Arg. doesn't have all the depth in the world, because everybody else is playing football and basketball
And those other "excuses" (up til your third) are viable arguments too, but away from the plot here.

Then we should start saying goodbye to RC and competitive Rugby, since those players will be retired in a few years. I understand the point you're trying to establish in here, but again, not having our key players doesn't justify losing a game by 60 points of difference.

As for the excuses I wrote earlier, it meant to be sarcastic in some way, like "The grass was too green". We always are going to find excuses to make since losing that game and all the games in this championship is expected for us, nobody is really expecting us to win the tournament.. So losing is "acceptable".

 

[Colombia]

If Italy lost half their pack they would get hammered in the 6N too. The question here is why Argentina's players are injured this year. Have they overtrained in the "high performance camp", were they rested enough after a long season in Top 14?

 

[InsaneAsylum]

This is what Morne Steyn will see when taking shots at goal

 

[Jaguares]

If Italy lost half their pack they would get hammered in the 6N too. The question here is why Argentina's players are injured this year. Have they overtrained in the "high performance camp", were they rested enough after a long season in Top 14?

Because this is Rugby! All games are wars. Now ABs have problems, the best 1/5 are injured: Carter, Cruden and Barrett. Last year Aussies had the same problem with: Horwill, Pocock, Genia, Cooper and others.

And now it's up to Argentina, this isn't football. This is rugby, here it hits hard. This is the toughest sport around the world:

NO PADS, NO HELMETS... JUST BALLS!!!!

Cheers

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

All teams suffer from injuries. Always have and always will be an issue. Usually, the team with the least issues injury-wise have the biggest chance to win. South Africa is missing Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Arno Botha, Pierre Spies, Francois Hougaard, Johan Goosen, Jaco Taute and François Steyn this year, with JP Pietersen unavailable due to his move to Japan this fall.

The challenge is to win, despite injuries. The All Blacks are missing Cruden, Carter and Barrett, but they still have the best backline in the world and 2 of the best loose forwards in McCaw and Read.

 

[Jaguares]

All teams suffer from injuries. Always have and always will be an issue. Usually, the team with the least issues injury-wise have the biggest chance to win. South Africa is missing Frans Malherbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Arno Botha, Pierre Spies, Francois Hougaard, Johan Goosen, Jaco Taute and François Steyn this year, with JP Pietersen unavailable due to his move to Japan this fall.

The challenge is to win, despite injuries. The All Blacks are missing Cruden, Carter and Barrett, but they still have the best backline in the world and 2 of the best loose forwards in McCaw and Read.

Yeahhhhhh... NO PAIN, NO GLORY!

Long life king Rugby!!!!!!!!!

Cheers

 

[TRF_heineken]

SPRINGBOK TEAM (number in brackets indicates Springbok caps):

15 Willie le Roux (GWK Griquas, 4); 14 Bjorn Basson (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 10); 13 JJ Engelbrecht (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 5); 12 Jean de Villiers (captain, DHL Western Province, 88); 11 Bryan Habana (Toulon, 87); 10 Morné Steyn (Stade Francais, 46); 9 Ruan Pienaar (Ulster, 67); 8 Duane Vermeulen (DHL Western Province, 8); 7 Willem Alberts (The Sharks, 22); 6 Francois Louw (Bath, 20); 5 Juandré Kruger (Racing Metro, 12); 4 Eben Etzebeth (DHL Western Province, 15); 3 Jannie du Plessis (The Sharks, 46); 2 Adriaan Strauss (Toyota FS Cheetahs, 25); 1 Tendai Mtawarira (The Sharks, 45).

Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis (The Sharks, 49); 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp (Toulouse, 41); 18 Coenie Oosthuizen (Toyota FS Cheetahs, 5); 19 Flip van der Merwe (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 27); 20 Siya Kolisi (DHL Western Province, 3); 21 Jano Vermaak (Toulouse, 1); 22 Pat Lambie (The Sharks, 24); 23 Jan Serfontein (Vodacom Blue Bulls, 4).

So just one change with Jano in Fourie's place.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandré Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

 

[ABs2011]

Sorry - tripple post

I;m not particulalry interested in this game other than for the sake of the ABs I hope Argentina can limit the SAs to less than 4 tries. I watched a bit of the first game but in a whitewash like that it's really hard to get a guage on how good the SAs are. They certainly look like a big challenge for the ABs though so looking forward to two epic contests later in the tournament.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

For Argentina to win this game they would need to cause the biggest turnaround in rugby history, unless I'm mistaken. There is only so much they can change to try to improve their side and there is only so much that can realistically go wrong for SA. Especially as SA will go into the game really confident. The only real hope is that SA become complacant, RGs do everything very well and get the upper hand. From there somehow contain SA. Still can't really see that as their defence had more holes than a golf course last game.

 

[rgman]

we are waiting for a miracle here, but if things go badly for Argentina, trust me, in the second half the crowd will scream loud and high in Mendoza