Fighting words after Argentina's border breach

3 years ago 376

Argentina manager Mario Ledesma chose not to condemn the six players and 2 unit members who person been scrubbed from tomorrow's clash with the Wallabies for a COVID-19 borderline breach.

Former Pumas skipper Pablo Matera - the team's champion subordinate - was 1 of the six on with starting prop Santiago Medrano and reserve hooker Santiago Socino.

The different players were Felipe Ezcurra, Joaquin Diaz Bonilla and Sebastian Cancelliere portion manager Lucas Chioccarelli and video expert Rodrigo Martinez besides broke the rules by travelling from Queensland to New South Wales to sojourn a Byron Bay wellness retreat.

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Ledesma made 5 changes to his starting lineup for the Rugby Championship finale connected the Gold Coast with the Pumas inactive searching for a archetypal triumph successful this year's tournament.

But helium didn't privation to speech astir the 8 squad members present stranded successful NSW.

"All adversities forge bonds, they forge quality arsenic well," Ledesma said.

"This squad ne'er makes excuses, ne'er takes shortcuts.

"I americium precise arrogant of however this squad commits itself, the determination it has.

"Sometimes it leads to results, sometimes it doesn't."

Pumas effort sparks melee

There are 2 caller starting props successful Rodrigo Martinez and Enrique Pieretto portion fastener Guido Petti is backmost for Matias Alemanno.

Rodrigo Bruni replaces Matera successful the backrow portion Matias Moroni comes successful for Santiago Cordero connected the close wing.

"I don't deliberation it's clip to suffice what was the feeling oregon not the feeling," erstwhile Wallabies adjunct manager Ledesma said erstwhile asked astir the borderline breach.

Kremer sinbinned for trip

"What I tin archer you is that we enactment our minds into the solution, not the problem.

"We started thinking: 'who's going to regenerate this subordinate oregon that player? How are we going to hole the boys to person the champion crippled that they tin and adjacent the Rugby Championship similar they deserve?'

"Our caput was enactment instantly into the absorption connected rugby and to hole arsenic champion arsenic possible... we volition speech astir that erstwhile the tourney is finished.

"Now, it's clip for rugby. The rules were wide for everybody.

"It was a time off, they made that determination and the concern is what it is."

Neither was Pumas skipper Julian Montoya funny successful dwelling connected the situation.

"We don't person excuses, we don't person shortcuts, we don't judge successful that," Montoya said.

"We are reasoning astir the game. We privation to play our champion imaginable game.

"We are grooming truthful hard successful this Rugby Championship for truthful long, truthful I deliberation we merit to person the crippled that we privation to have."

PUMAS (15-1): Juan Cruz Mallia, Matias Moroni, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Emiliano Boffelli, Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Bertranou, Rodrigo Bruni, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti, Enrique Pieretto, Julian Montoya (c), Rodrigo Martinez

Reserves: Facundo Bosch, Thomas Gallo, Eduardo Bello, Matias Alemanno, Francisco Gorrissen, Gonzalo Garcia, Domingo Miotti, Mateo Carreras

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