Pumas Name Squad To Face Barbarians

Argentina has called up four new players to its squad for the clash against the Barbarians at Twickenham on November 21.  Los Pumas head coach Daniel Hourcade has selected Felipe Ezcurra, Thomas Lezana, Ramiro Moyano and Emiliano Bofelli, who were not at the Rugby World Cup, where the Argentines finished fourth last week.  Hourcade says:  ‘We have four new players who could not be at the World Cup but were always in our plans.  Now they replace players who are in Europe and cannot be with us this time, so we hope that they can make a difference in this match.’

 

Hourcade, who has been serving as Pumas head coach for two years after taking office in November 2013, will come up against Australia coach Michael Cheika in this match.  Cheika, voted Coach of the Year at the World Rugby gala last Sunday, will take charge of the Barbarians on the occasion of their 125th anniversary.  Hourcade says:  ‘The Barbarians are a great team with the best players in the world and it will be a party.  It is a very important match because it helps us to continue to grow and must be taken with the seriousness it deserves.  For us it will be a great challenge against a very strong team, which will serve to ratify what we did in the World Cup and obviously continue our preparation for the start of the franchise (in Super Rugby).’

 

With a squad comprised almost entirely of players who will participate in next year’s Super franchise, this will be a good measure for the South Americans.  Hourcade says:  ‘It’s a team that aims to do well in Super Rugby.  The vast majority of its members will be in the franchise next year, so it’s a good opportunity to begin to work on the team.’  On Saturday November 14, the squad will leave for London. 

 

The Barbarians match will conclude a great season for Los Pumas, in which they not only managed to finish fourth at the World Cup, but also defeated the Springboks for the first time in history, in the Rugby Championship in Durban.

 

The Argentina squad is as follows: