Figallo laments Argentina scrum woes

Cape Town - Saracens and former Argentine tighthead prop Juan Manuel Figallo has lamented the fact that the Pumas' scrum is not the force it once was. 

Traditionally renowned for possessing a strong scrum, this area of Argentina's game has been exposed in recent times. 

Argentina face the Wallabies on Saturday in their final match of the Rugby Championship, desperately seeking their first win of the campaign. 

And Figallo, who has 24 caps for Argentina, believes it is a sad sight to see los Pumas losing their own scrum ball. 

“We need to change something," Figallo told Pundit Arena. 

"We used to be good but now we’re not even winning our own ball. I don’t think it’s a front row problem as it’s the same front row that played in the World Cup and they played brilliantly.

"I think it’s a collective effort. They need to get back to the principle of eight players working together, not working individually.” 

Figallo is no longer eligible for internationals due to Argentine rugby's selection policy that stipulates players plying their trade outside of Argentina may not play for the national side. 

And it is a policy the 29-year-old believes is negatively affecting the national team's performances as there is a lack of competition for places in the side. 

“I’m not involved with Argentina anymore, if you play in Europe you cannot play for the national team. Of course I would like to see this changed, definitely but it’s not my call," he said. 

“The thing is, if you are in the Jaguares you’re already in the national team. Before, you’d be in different clubs and you’d earn your way to the national team. Now there isn’t that competition between different players competing for spots to try and get into the national team.”

Teams:

Argentina

15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Tomas Lezana, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Marcos Kremer, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy (captain), 1 Lucas Noguera Paz


Substitutes: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Banjamin Macome, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Santiago Cordero 


Australia

15 Israel Folau; 14 Marika Koroibete, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Reece Hodge; 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia; 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Jack Dempsey; 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda; 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio


Substitutes: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Tetera Faulkner, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Lukhan Tui, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Samu Kerevi, 23 Henry Speight