Argentina may have reached the World Cup semi-finals by playing in a manner that recalls France of old – bruising up front and swashbuckling behind – but they are relishing confronting Australia up front at Twickenham on Sunday, with the Wallabies’ scrum being masterminded by the Pumas’ hooker in the four previous World Cups, Mario Ledesma.
Argentina have scored 26 tries in their five matches so far this tournament, including four against Ireland in the quarter-final, a far remove from the days when passing was low down on the list of required attributes for their outside-halves.
“We have more equilibrium now,” said the Leicester prop Marcos Ayerza. “We are still Argentina in terms of the scrum, confrontation and committed, aggressive defence but we are also expansive in a southern hemisphere style. We trust ourselves to be competitive against the best and we are not scared to play with width no matter who we are facing.
“Mario has brought a change of mindset to Australia’s scrum. Instead of being a platform to get the ball in play for them, they now look for psychological domination, which they got over England. They have attacked most teams and I like that because it means the scrum will be a proper contest, two teams wanting to test themselves there. As a front row, that is the opponent you want to face, someone who will contest the scrum rather than looking to neutralise you and get away with things.”
Argentina are hoping their captain and hooker, Agustín Creevy, will recover from a leg injury he sustained against Ireland. They announce their team on Friday evening with all the other players who started against Ireland expected to be fit.
“Agustín is key to us because he is our captain and plays at hooker, but we have a number of leaders in the squad,” said the scrum coach, Emiliano Bergamaschi. “The scrum is going to be an important part of the game against Australia because of the influence Mario has had with them. I have noticed a change in body positions and the way they now scrummage as a whole pack.
“We have changed our style of play, but the scrum remains important to us. We feel every scrum, we want to play every scrum, contesting it and putting the opposition under pressure. They are more dangerous there because of what Mario has done and they are certainly better prepared there mentally now.”
It will be Argentina’s second appearance in a semi-final after their breakthrough tournament in 2007, equalling Wales’s tally and taking them one ahead of Scotland and two of Ireland. “We are not getting carried away,” said Ayerza, who was in the Pumas’ squad eight years ago. “We know we are still improving as a side and that we still have some way to go.
“But we know what we are capable of when we are on our best form and when our mindset is right. This is a World Cup semi-final and if anyone is not ready or hungry to play, they are in the wrong sport. We have huge respect for Australia, as we did for Ireland, but being part of the Rugby Championship, we are used to playing them and we know we are going to have to play our best rugby of the World Cup to reach the final.
“We are trying to build the week as we did before Ireland, keeping our nerves at bay and remaining calm and composed as we build up to the most important game in our careers. We must make sure that we do not drain ourselves emotionally or stress ourselves. We are looking to set standards for Argentinian rugby, taking small steps that will take us to being one of the strongest nations in the world.”
