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New Pumas coach warns Poms

London - Argentina will not be afraid to take risks and attack England when the teams clash at Twickenham in the Pumas' opening match of a three-Test European tour on Saturday, new coach Daniel Hourcade said on Tuesday.

"For some time now we've been trying to get better in attack and now we'll keep working to improve our attack and be able to score more points," Hourcade told reporters on Tuesday.

"We're looking to take more risks and that's what we're going to try," added Hourcade who took charge last week following the resignation of Santiago Phelan after Argentina's last-place finish in the elite southern hemisphere Rugby Championship.

Hourcade, well groomed as coach of Argentina's Jaguars and Pampas development sides, said he and his staff had also been working on the Pumas' scrummaging.

"Today we did a lot of practice with the scrum. It's our country's trademark and we're recovering the brand as was seen in the Rugby Championship," he said.

"England are powerful in that set piece so it will be a nice duel."

Hourcade said that England had different names in their squad from the team that won a two-test series 2-0 in Argentina in June, when they toured without their British and Irish Lions.

"But they have the same coach and they'll surely play a similar game," he said. "They're a team with a huge pool of players, all top level, and they'll also be at home and (go into the match) with a winning mentality."

England beat Australia 20-13 last Saturday, while the Pumas have beaten England just once at Twickenham, in 2006.

Hourcade has made five changes from the Argentina team crushed 54-17 by Australia in their closing Rugby Championship match in Rosario last month, three in the backs and two in the forwards.

There is also a positional switch in the Pumas team with Julio Farias Cabello moving from lock to openside flank.

Juan Manuel Leguizamon will lead the side from his regular number eight position with brilliant youngster Pablo Matera moving from openside to blindside flanker to stand in for injured Rugby Championship captain Juan Fernandez Lobbe.

Maximiliano Bustos comes into the front row for injured prop Juan Figallo while a last-minute change in the match squad means Eusebio Guinazu retains his place in the team as hooker because Agustin Creevy withdrew due to injury.

Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino comes into the team at fullback in place of the injured Juan Martin Hernandez and Santiago Fernandez at inside centre for Felipe Contepomi, who marked his international retirement in the Oct. 5 match in Rosario.

Tomas Cubelli has been preferred to Martin Landajo at scrumhalf in a switch between two players who play their club rugby in the amateur Buenos Aires club championship.

Experienced centre Gonzalo Tiesi and uncapped teenage wing Santiago Cordero and young hooker Santiago Iglesias, neither of whom were in the Rugby Championship squad, have been brought on to the bench.

Argentina continue their tour against Wales in Cardiff on November 16 and Italy in Rome a week later.

Teams: 

England

TBA

Argentina

15-Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14-Horacio Agulla, 13-Marcelo Bosch, 12-Santiago Fernandez, 11-Juan Imhoff, 10-Nicolas Sanchez, 9-Tomas Cubelli; 8-Juan Manuel Leguizamon (captain), 7- Julio Farias Cabello, 6-Pablo Matera, 5-Patricio Albacete, 4-Mariano Galarza, 3-Maximiliano Bustos, 2-Eusebio Guinazu, 1-Marcos Ayerza

Replacements: 16-Santiago Iglesias, 17-Nahuel Lobo, 18-Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19-Manuel Carizza, 20-Benjamín Macome, 21-Martin Landajo, 22-Gonzalo Tiesi, 23-Santiago Cordero

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