Pumas set for a sparkling debut

Press, 22 August 1979, Page 36

Pumas set for a sparkling debut

PA Gisborne If the Argentinian rugby team plays as well as it trains, then Poverty Bay might have problems in the first match of the Pumas’ New Zealand tour at Rugby Park, Gisborne, today.

ing run, under their coach, Mr Luis Gradin, lasted for; an hour and 40 minutes in: morning. was the intensive 40-minute, team’s doctor, Patricio Gar-1 Cl A Ya puma prop forward | from 1965-71, Dr Yanez put) his charges through a series I of exercises and presented! them to Mr Gradin ready for It will be extremely bad! luck if the Pumas incur, pulled muscles during their| training runs because of the scientific approach adopted! by Dr Yanez. on lineout work among his, forwards and running the) ball from set moves in the* backs. The new cap, the hooker, I Javier Perez Cobo, spent some time practising throw-1 ing in the ball to the lachetti brothers. Marcos and Alejandro, in the middle of this lineout. Backs and forwards came together for 15 minutes and* the match team trained as a! unit against the “dirt-! trackers.” The fly-half and captain, i Hugo Porta, showed why Po-‘ verty Bay will not want to; give away penalties handy to the posts when he non-' chalantly kicked nine goals |

from 13 attempts from a range of about 35m. Martin Sansot, the full- I back, also displayed he will I be a goal-kicking force for! Poverty Bay to be concerned! about. Sansot’s goal-kicking style j is smoother than his cap- j tain’s; his range is longer! i but nevertheless he is not ■ nearly as accurate. The Poverty Bay coach, :Mr Dick Glover, is under-' standably concerned about; how his team will win line-1 out ball against the lachetti) I brothers and the tall Gabriel) jTravaglini on the back of; | the scrum. I The home side’s hopes in I this department rest largely lon the shoulders of the lock | forward, Te Rawhiti Arthur. ; An interesting duel for] | possession looks likely between the hookers, Cobo and | the Poverty Bay captain. (Grant Allen. i Cobo’s San Isidro club side in Buenos Aires relies heavily on the eight-man I shove to gain possession from scrums and con- . sequently his striking for ! the ball is not as competent as it might otherwise be. The home team has a lot lof experience, but it is diffi- ' cuk to envisage its being I able to match the visitors in the backs. Mr Gradin said that the I manner in which his side : would approach the game (depended on the state of the .ground, the weather, and the I strength of the opposition.

Grounds in Argentina are much like those in South Africa, and consequently the visitors are hoping for dry pitches throughout the tour.

“We have no set pattern of play. We have a lot of individual styles and are a well-balanced team,” Mr Gradin said. “If the weather permits we will play an attacking game through our threequarters,” he said. The Rugby Park pitch [should be firm for the match, in spite of some heavy rain recently. ' Showers are forecast for I today. The teams are: I Argentina: Martin Sansot; I Adolfo Cappelletti, Marcello ■ Loffreda, Rafael Madero, Marcello Campo; Hugo Porta (captain); Alfredo SoaresiGache; Gabriel Travaglini; ' Hector Silva, Marcos laichetti, Alejandro lachetti, Tomas Petersen; Enreque Rodriguez, Javier Perez Cobo, Hugo Nicola. Poverty Bay: Gary Muir; Graham Barbara, Les Barbara,’ Ken McPherson; Wilson Isaac, John Whittle; Phillip Duncan; lan Newlands; Simon Spence, Wayne Muir, Te Rawhiti Arthur, Paul Tocker; Robbie Newlands. Grant Allen (captain); Wilton McFarlane.

The match, which will start at 2.45 p.m., will be refereed by Mr W. L. Adlam, of Wanganui.