The second match in what is shaping up to be an exhilarating Saturday in the Autumn Nations Series will see Italy taking on familiar foes Argentina at Stadio Friuli.
The history between these two famous teams in blue stretches well beyond the pitch, and a victory here is about much more than just world ranking points, it is about pride.
Match preview
© Imago
The Italian rugby community is abuzz with excitement following the Azzurri's significant improvement in this year's Six Nations, which marked a successful start for Gonzalo Quesada in his first assignment since succeeding Kieran Crowley.
Quesada's leadership and tactics led to Italy's best-ever Six Nations results in 2024, with two wins and a draw, indicating their promising progress and potential for even greater success in the future.
Saturday's match in Udine will undoubtedly hold special significance for the Argentine, who is proving to be an inspired signing by the FIR, as this will be his first time coaching against his home country.
The now-Italian boss served as assistant coach of the Pumas under former hooker Mario Ledesma, and during his playing career, he earned 38 caps for Argentina between 1996 and 2003, amassing an impressive 486 points.
Quesada will now look to help his new team to a third consecutive victory following wins over Tonga and Japan in July, and if he is able to do so, it would mark the side's first win against the Pumas since 2008, a period during which they have lost eight in a row.
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Meanwhile, facing Quesada in the opposite dugout this week is none other than his former teammate Felipe Contepomi, and the two are set to resume battle once again as they did fairly frequently for the fly-half spot during their playing days.
Since taking up the mantle with the Pumas, Contepomi has gone back to Argentina's traditional strengths, building the side around a world-class back row, a talented fly-half, and a high-energy game plan that keeps opposing packs on their toes with constant shifts in the point of contact.
That formula has largely worked a treat for the South Americans, who earned fourth place at the Rugby World Cup in France last year and came agonisingly close to finishing second in this season's Rugby Championship.
However, the issue for the Pumas is maintaining consistency in their solid performances, as they stunned New Zealand and South Africa before losing to them by big margins, and then came up a point short against the Wallabies before beating them by a record score in the battle of the Southern Hemisphere heavyweights.
If this team can put together an 80-minute show, they have the capability to challenge anyone, but they will need to do so here without Pablo Matera, who is still suspended for charging into a ruck against the Springboks back in September.
Italy form (all competitions):
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Argentina form (all competitions):
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
Team News
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Quesada has called up Mirco Spagnolo, who is widely considered one of the nation's most promising young talents in recent seasons, and he will be joining Saracens player Marco Riccioni as the starting props.
The second and back rows are entirely comprised of Benetton players, with Niccolo Cannone and Federico Ruzza locking down the engine room, while Sebastian Negri takes the blindside flanker position and captain Michele Lamaro will start on the openside.
The back three for the Azzurri are brimming with speed and energy, featuring Monty Ioane and Louis Lynagh, with Lynagh set to make his fifth appearance for his country.
Contepomi, on the other hand, was forced into a significant reshuffle for this match owing to injury, with only Tomas Albornoz and Rodrigo Isgro featuring from the side that faced the Springboks in September.
Among the notable changes, Juan Cruz Mallia steps in for Santiago Carreras at fullback, Matias Orlando replaces Santiago Chocobares at centre, and Bautista Delguy takes over the wing position from Mateo Carreras.
Gonzalo Garcia drops to the bench for this match to be replaced by Gonzalo Bertranou, and in the second row, Franco Molina comes in for Tomas Lavanini, who is ruled out due to an ankle injury.
Italy starting lineup: 15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Marco Zanon
Argentina starting lineup: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Orlando, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Matias Alemmano, 20 Bautista Pedemonte, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Santiago Cordero
We say: Italy 21-27 Argentina
Both these sides have had a progressive last 12 months and will want to cap off the year on a high note, but given that Argentina are coming into this match off the back of a solid Rugby Championship campaign less than a couple of months ago, we feel they hold a slight advantage and should edge the result.
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