ITALY

Preview: Argentina v Italy

Friday 27th June 2008

One or the other: Juan Martín Hernàndez is in but Felipe Contepomi is out

Italy will be looking for just their second ever victory on Argentinian soil when they take on the Pumas in a one-off Test match in Cordoba on Saturday.

If they are to do that they will need to put last week's defeat against South Africa out of their system as quickly as possible, not to mention the jet-lag incurred from a taxing two-week tour schedule. But with Nick Mallett running the show now there is a feeling Italy are on the up for real, although Argentina will present them with a stern challenge.

There were those who criticised the manner in which Italy went about their business against South Africa, but then they had little choice. Mallett made a decision to defend, and in doing so limit the damage done to a group of young players' confidence - not to mention the scoreboard. It was a clever tactic for various reasons.

Mainly his squad, boosted by the arrival of the Top 14 troops, go into this game with a certain degree of confidence. Had they shipped sixty-odd points against South Africa by playing all-out rugby this would not have been the case.

Mallett was realistic, he knew it would take a freak miracle for his side to win against the world champions and therefore highlighted the game against Argentina as the one to win.

On top of that, Italy were playing to their strengths and the conditions in Cape Town - defence in the rain. There was no hiding away from the fact Mallett had picked a team with few players capable of turning the game, where as this week that is not the case.

Rather he has a world-class number eight in Sergio Parisse to captain the side, and the Bergamasco brothers back in unison to add an extra edge to the attack. Mirco returns having seen Stade Français knocked out of the Top 14 play-offs, whilst his older brother, Mauro, is making his first Test appearance since returning from a thirteen-week gouging ban.

Not only do these players bring an extra edge to the Italian game but they galvanise those around them, they lead by example, and others follow suit. Italy have never been blessed with a wealth of world class players, but they sure as hell do well with what they have.

Sometimes doing your best is not quite good enough though. Argentina, also boosted by returning Top 14 players, know that this game is theirs for the taking. That is not to say it will be a cake-walk, but with the right application of skill and intensity this should be a formality.

Not many sides in the world have the luxury of dropping a player as gifted as Felipe Contepomi, only to bring in Juan Martín Hernández instead. That is exactly what Santiago Phelan has done, and in doing so proved to Contepomi that the petulance he showed in the second Test against Scotland will not be tolerated - regardless of how good you are.

Contepomi aside Phelan has also reverted back to strength elsewhere in the side, having run the thumb over several homegrown players against Scotland. He has either seen enough to make a judgement or knows that what he has seen is not good enough to do for Italy.

There is no denying the defeat against Scotland came as a shock, at least to all those with Argentinian blood, which may reflect in the side picked this time around. Phelan is in the early throes of his reign and will want to put down a winning marker and thus prove the Scottish defeat was no more than a blip.

All things being equal his side will return to winning ways on Saturday, that is providing they do not take victory for granted - otherwise Italy will sense the chance for a rare away victory.

One to Watch:

For Argentina: When you have Juan Martín Hernàndez in your side it is unusual for the spotlight to fall elsewhere. But with the in-form Bernardo Stortoni at full-back the focus will firmly be on him. He came into Argentina's Test season on the back of some scintillating form for Glasgow, so confidence is not a problem. His size makes him a potent attacking threat, enhanced by his clever running angles and surprising turn of pace. Equally solid in defence, Stortoni is fast proving himself to be invaluable in Argentina's team.

For Italy: A triple selection here as Sergio Parisse, Mirco Bergamasco and Mauro Bergamasco all return to boost Italy's challenge. Without the Stade Français trio Italy can look very ordinary, so much so that their game-plan changes from a defence-orientated one to one intent on beating teams. That much was evident at Newlands last week as Italy set out on a damage limitation exercise, not so this time around. All three players are confident with ball in hand and will give Italy options to cross the gain-line, as well as competing for opposition ball at the breakdown. Three players they may be but their influence and impact will be easily noticeable and may be enough to give Italy a shot at victory.

Head-to-Head: At fly-half we have a tale of two contrasting players, Luke McLean and Juan Martín Hernàndez. McLean is, one Test aside, a unknown quantity and on the grounds of that one Test, against South Africa, he has a lot to do before he is in a position to challenge for a regular spot in the Azzurri ranks - especially given the nature in which he was protected against South Africa. Then we have the magical Hernàndez, and we all know just how good he can be on his day - his career is littered with a host of mind-blowing displays of brilliance. It may be that Hernàndez's free-flowing style encourages young McLean to come out of his shell, otherwise it will send him the other way - in which case it could be a long game for the Australian fly-half and his team-mates.

Previous Results:

2007: Argentina won 24-6 at Mendoza
2006: Argentina won 23-16 at Stadio Flaminio
2005: Argentina won 39-22 at Stadio Marassi
2005: Italy won 30-29 at Estadio Olimpico
2005: Argentina 35-21 at Ernesto Maltearena
2002: Argentina won 36-6 at Stadio Flaminio
2001: Argentina won 38-17 at Ferrocaril Oeste
1998: Italy won 23-19 at Beltrametti
1997: Draw 18-18 at Antoine Beguere
1995: Argentina won 26-6 at Cancha Del Atletico
1995: Italy won 31-25 at ABSA Stadium (RWC)
1989: Argentina won 21-16 at Velez Sarsfield

Prediction: Italy are up against it, of that there is no doubt. Just one previous victory in Argentina and a lack of experience at half-back. With their returning French club players to complement a strong core to the squad, Argentina will fancy making it a miserable tour for the Azzurri. Argentina by thirteen points

The Teams:

Argentina: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Álvaro Galindo, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Gómez, 2 Álvaro Tejeda, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Pablo Gambarini, 17 Pedro Ledesma, 18 James Stuart, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Federico Martín Aramburu, 22 Hernán Senillosa.

Italy: 15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Ignacio Rouyet.
Replacements: 16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Alex Moreno, 18 Tommaso Reato, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Enrico Patrizio, 22 Riccardo Pavan/Jaco Erasmus.

Date: Saturday, June 28
Venue: Estadio Olimpico, Cordoba
Kick-off: 15:00 (18:00 GMT, 19:00 BST)
Weather: Sunny with highs of 19°C and a slight northerly wind
Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Paul Marks (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor: Tappe Henning (IRB)