Argentina players sing their national. Photo / AP
Wales has gone for two openside flankers in captain Jac Morgan and Tommy Reffell to try and hamstring Argentina in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final on Sunday.
Backs Dan Biggar and Liam Williams were confirmed to start after injuries, among six changes. Biggar, recovered from a pectoral injury, will resume with Gareth Davies in the halves. Williams suffered a knee issue in the 43-19 win against Georgia last Sunday.
Ryan Elias was back in the front row, Adam Beard in the second, and Josh Adams on one wing.
Aaron Wainwright switched to No. 8 in place of Taulupe Faletau, who suffered a tournament-ending broken arm in the Georgia win.
Coach Warren Gatland said Reffell played his way into the quarterfinal lineup with a big game against Georgia.
“It was a really healthy debate,” Gatland said. “Did we go with the traditional six with more size? It was about getting our best players on the field.
“I spoke to Jac and he was comfortable moving to six. I said it was tough on him as I felt he’s been the best seven at this tournament. It’s not something we want to replicate long-term. We may make a different decision if we make the semifinals.”
Gatland said Morgan will have Faletau’s role at the back of the lineout, and will play seven in defense. Morgan was looking forward to operating with Reffell in tandem again.
“We’ve got a great balance,” Morgan said. “Me and Reff came through in the under-20s four years ago. We played a whole tournament together then.”
Biggar was injured in the opening stanza against Australia and replaced by Gareth Anscombe, who kicked Wales to a record 40-6 victory. Anscombe was to resume against Georgia but pulled his groin in the warmup and Sam Costelow started.
Anscombe was running and would be available next week if Wales advance, Gatland said.
Wales rebounded from poor pre-tournament form to win Pool C ahead of Fiji and Australia with four wins out of four.
“The first challenge is to make the knockout stages. That’s the biggest hurdle to get over,” Gatland said. “The quarterfinal then poses pressure as you’re either here until the end of the tournament or you’re going home on Monday. We’re not ready to go home yet.”
He was expecting nothing less than a physical challenge from the Pumas that his side was ready to meet.
“We talk about being on the edge mentally,” Gatland said. “You can’t be there every week. It’s how close you get to that. We’ve been there in a couple of games and off it a bit in others. I’m expecting we’ll be right up there with that physical challenge.”
Meanwhile, Argentina brought in two survivors of its last Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in 2015, scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli and No. 8 Facundo Isa, in the only changes after beating Japan 39-27 last Sunday.
Cubelli replaces Gonzalo Bertranou and Isa takes over from Pablo Matera, who was out of the tournament after a hamstring tear against Japan.
The Pumas will field nine survivors in total from the 2015 quarterfinal win over Ireland.
Cubelli has just 110 minutes of test rugby this year after starts against Spain and Chile, and a cap off the bench against Samoa. He didn’t play for four months until the Pumas’ last warmup against Spain.
“He’s overcome a lot of personal difficulty with injury, he’s stayed solid, and he’s really come back with a strong attitude,” coach Michael Cheika said.
Isa earns his third start of the year and first in a Rugby World Cup knockout match.
Fellow back-rowers Marcos Kremer and Juan Martin Gonzalez are the only two Pumas who have started every match in France.
The Pumas start as the underdog after scraping out of Pool D. They lost their opener to England and have been playing virtual knockout rugby since.
“We know that we’re going to have to do something different, something special around the game on Saturday so that we can be competitive with them, but I’m a huge believer in our team.” Cheika said. “I love the fellas, they’re always together, they’re a very committed team and I know that they’ll really enjoy this occasion.”
Played 21, Wales won 14, Argentina 6, Drawn 1. Most recent - Wales won 20-13, Cardiff 2022
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Wales 23 Argentina 21
Wales: Liam Williams, Louis Rees Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Aaron Wainwright, Tommy Reffell, Jac Morgan (captain), Adam Beard, Will Rowlands, Tomas Francis, Ryan Elias, Gareth Thomas. Reserves: Dewi Lake, Corey Domachowski, Dillon Lewis, Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza, Tomos Williams, Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer.
Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Emiliano Boffelli, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Tomas Cubelli; Facundo Isa, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti, Francisco Gómez Kodela, Julian Montoya (captain), Thomas Gallo. Reserves: Agustín Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Matias Alemanno, Rodrigo Bruni, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Nicolas Sanchez, Matías Moroni.
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