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Leguizamon ready for Pumas repeat

Leguizamon ready for Pumas repeat

Argentina are right on track for a repeat of last year’s win over Wales according to new captain Juan Manuel Leguizamon.

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The Pumas are under the charge of a new coach after Santiago Phelan was replaced by Daniel Hourcade last month and they have arrived in Europe on the back of a winless Rugby Championship campaign and a heavy home defeat by Australia last time out.

Critics have suggested there may be a sense of disunity within the camp but those rumours were dismissed by Leguizamon after he was named his country’s new skipper ahead of Saturday’s clash with England at Twickenham.

Instead, the former London Irish back row reckons the 2007 World Cup semi-finalists are ready to show the northern hemisphere just how dangerous they can be once more. “The team is very tight and our objectives are clear. People are talking about that, but we don’t care,” was Leguizamon’s response to the negative press reports.

“Sometimes you have new coaches and you have to adapt to the situation. We are all professional players and we must adapt as quickly as possible to the new system. There aren’t many changes (in the squad), so that makes things easier for the team.

“Being captain of my country is something very big and I’m very proud, but now we are focused on the job we have to do. We have three very difficult games and we must put in a maximum amount of work each week to tackle them as best we can.

“Undoubtedly, this appointment is an honour for me as a player and I will seek to continue contributing my bit to help this team to continue to grow, as I have always done.”

Argentina head to Cardiff a week on Saturday for the second game of the Dove Men Series, a week after they take on England and Wales host South Africa and a year after they triumphed 26-12 at the Millennium Stadium.

They will return without injured duo Juan Martin Hernandez and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, with the latter’s absence leading to Leguizamon’s promotion to captain, but they still have plenty of quality within their ranks.

Toulouse lock Patricio Albacete and Racing Metro duo Juan Imhoff and Juan Martin Hernandez are among the big name Argentines currently plying their trade in the Top14, while there are a host of others based in the Aviva Premiership.

Leicester’s Marco Ayerza and Pablo Matera are joined by new Saracens centre Marcelo Bosch, Worcester duo Mariano Galarza and Leonardo Senatore and Bath’s Horacio Agulla, Eusebio Guinazu and Juan Pablo Orlandi, with the latter threesome all team-mates of Wales prop Paul James.

Glasgow’s Gabriel Ascarate is the sole representative from the RaboDirect PRO12 but there are a further five French-based backs in the squad in addition to the big four, as well as Super XV signings Manuel Carizza of the Stormers (lock) and Matias Díaz from the Highalnders (tight-head prop).

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