Estadio del Bicentenario, San Juan
Local time kick off 16:40 Sat 09 Jun 2018
NZ Kick Off – 07:40, Sun 10 Jun 2018
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Mathieu Raynal (France)
Television match official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
ARG (on 78.22 points) at home -vs- WAL (on 84.45 points)
| Possible Outcome | Rating Point Exchange |
New ARG Rating |
New WAL Rating |
Will ARG overtake WAL? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| If ARG win by 1-15 points | 1.323 | 79.54 | 83.13 | No |
| If ARG win by more than 15 | 1.985 | 80.20 | 82.47 | No |
| If result is a draw | 0.323 | 78.54 | 84.13 | No |
| If WAL win by 1-15 points | 0.677 | 77.54 | 85.13 | No |
| If WAL win by more than 15 | 1.015 | 77.20 | 85.47 | No |
Argentina will be eager to build some much-needed momentum as they return to the international scene for a two-Test series against Wales.
It has been a dismal few years for the Pumas as they have won just three of their last 20 outings, leaving morale rock bottom. Throw in a difficult few seasons for the Jaguares in Super Rugby and they have sorely needed an upturn in form, especially with a World Cup looming.
That appears to have happened on the club front as the Jaguares have found their mojo of late, winning their last six games to leave them very much in the race for the play-offs. Their national outfit will now hope that winning feeling translates to the Test side this month.
With the Welsh missing a handful of players due to injury or rest, the Pumas must surely fancy their chances. And as it’s June this group of tourists are at the end of their campaigns while Argentina are in the thick of theirs. That should give the Pumas a further advantage.
Wales know they face a difficult task to come away with a series victory on Argentine soil and while there is a dash of senior players on this trip, it’s a side lacking in experience which means their supporters are rightly not going into these June games full of confidence.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland is clearly looking at the bigger picture here, with several of his players having been on the British and Irish Lions tour last year. Make no mistake though, a rested and firing Welsh side will be a serious threat in the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
“Last weekend was an important result in difficult conditions up in Washington and we know we have got two big tests ahead of us against Argentina,” Gatland said earlier this week when referring to their 22-20 win over South Africa that no doubt gave them a shot in the arm.
“They (Argentina) are a side that come together full of confidence and it’s important we take our opportunities. There’s a lot of exciting youth in this (Wales) squad and Saturday is a chance for them to continue building experience on the Test scene and to put a marker down.”
It’s a tough ask though as this familiar looking Argentina side plays together week in week out for the Jaguares who, as mentioned, are in excellent shape at the moment. The Pumas rightly go in as favourites with the bookmakers for what should be a thrilling match in San Juan.
Previous results:
2016: Wales won 24-20 in Cardiff
2013: Wales won 40-6 in Cardiff
2012: Argentina won 26-12 in Cardiff
2011: Wales won 28-13 in Cardiff
2009: Wales won 33-16 in Cardiff
2007: Wales won 27-20 in Cardiff
2006: Argentina won 45-27 in Buenos Aires
2006: Argentina 27-25 won in Puerto Madryn
The teams:
Argentina: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de le Fuente, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Santiago Garcia Botta
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Javier Diaz, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Sebastian Cancelliere
Wales: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 James Davies, 6 Seb Davies, 5 Cory Hill (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Josh Turnbull, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Owen Watkin
Date: Saturday, June 9
Venue: Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan
Kick-off: 16:40 local (20:40 BST, 19:40 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Mathieu Raynal (France)
Television match official: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
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