It may
sound strange at first, but there’s a distinct French
flavour to this weekend’s England versus Argentina clash at
Old Trafford.
Both
camps named their starting XVs on Wednesday and with Top 14
players – present and future – littering the respective
line-ups.
England
manager Martin Johnson has
handed a full debut to Toulon-bound
Tom May, while Stade Francais’ James Haskell also
returns to the starting XV. Brive’s Andy Goode begins the
match at fly-half, with May starting at inside centre only
because future Brive player Jamie Noon is injured. Yet
another Briviste, Steve Thompson, is on the subs’ bench.
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That
means a fifth of England’s starting XV will be playing Top
14 rugby next season, with recalled hooker Steve Thompson –
yet another Briviste – warming the subs’ bench.
And yet
that is nothing when compared to the Puma’s line-up.
Incredibly, 13 of their starting 15 will be playing their
club rugby in France next season - including the entire pack
- with two of their substitutes also based there. Two more
- hooker Mario Ledesma and flanker Alejandro Campos – would
also have been selected but for being playing duty with
Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14 final.
It is an
astonishing statistic, underlining the French admiration for
Argentine players and the mutual respect between the two
nations’ rugby fraternities. It also means that Argentina
coach Santiago Phelan is able to hold training sessions in
France throughout the domestic season – as he did this year
– to enhance squad morale and togetherness.
Taking
the two squads together that means 21 of the internationals
on show at Twickenham will be plying their trade in France
next season, a sure reflection of the growing importance of
Top 14 and ProD2 on the world stage.
Phelan
is clearly delighted to able to call on players from both
Stade Francais and Stade Toulousain as he had expected at
least one of those teams to be playing in the Top 14 final.
The absence of both has proved a massive boost to his team
selection, and Phelan is clearly delighted to have the likes
of Rodrigo Roncero, Patricio Albacete and, most crucially,
Juan-Martin Hernandez at his disposal.
The
availability of Hernandez is particularly important, with
the 26-year-old fly-half out to enhance a reputation that
brought global acclaim during the 2007 World Cup.
“It’s a
great opportunity for Hernandez to show what he is capable
of because he is a truly great player, but all the players
are looking forward to the game,” said Phelan.
“They
are in very good condition and have trained hard this week.
We’re definitely ready for England,” he added.
Phelan has handed the captain’s armband to
Lobbe in the absence of the injured Felipe Contepomi – also
heading for Toulon this summer - and this week described
his on-field lieutenant as “not only a great player and
captain but he’s also a great person”.
Phelan
added: “He has the respect of all the players and has
captained the side previously when Felipe has been missing,
so he will do an excellent job.”
The
Pumas will have watched England’s fragile defence as they
shipped five tries against the Barbarians, and go into the
match bolstered by their 25-18 success the last time these
two sides met at Twickenham – in November 2006.
England
manager Martin Johnson has called for a massive improvement
from his charges following last weekend’s 33-26 defeat by
the Barbarians, but the Pumas’ obvious togetherness could
prove too much for a side weakened by Lions’ absentees.
Teams
England:
15 Delon Armitage, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Dan
Hipkiss, 12 Tom
May (Toulon), 11 Matt Banahan,
10 Andy Goode
(Brive), 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Steffon
Armitage, 6 James
Haskell (Stade Francais), 5 Louis Deacon, 4 Steve
Borthwick, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Tim Payne
Subs:
16 Julian White,
17
Steve Thompson (Brive), 18 Ben Kay, 19 Jordan Crane,
20 Paul Hodgson, 21 Sam Vesty, 22 Matt Tait.
Argentina:
15 Horacio Agulla (Brive),
14 Federico
Martín Aramburu (Dax), 13 Gonzalo Tiesi,
12 Miguel
Avramovic (Montauban), 11 Gonzalo Camacho,
10 Juan Martín
Hernández Stade Francais),
9 Nicolás
Vergallo (Dax),
8 Juan Martín
Fernández Lobbe (c) (Toulon),
7 Juan Manuel
Leguizamon (Stade Francais),
6 Álvaro Galindo
(Racing-Metro 92),
5 Patricio
Albacete (Stade Toulousain),
4 Manuel Carizza
(Biarritz),
3 Juan Pablo
Orlandi (Racing-Metro 92),
2 Alberto Vernet
Basualdo (Stade Toulousain),
1 Rodrigo Roncero
(Stade Francais)
Subs:
16 Eusebio
Guiñazu (SU Agen), 17 Marcos Ayerza,
18 Esteban Lozada
(Toulon), 19 Alejandro Abadie, 20 Alfredo
Lalanne, 21 Santiago Fernández, 22 Lucas González Amorosino.
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 17.00
