Stadio Olimpico, Torino, Sunday November 16, 1am
(AEDT)
Referee: Chris White (England)
TV: FoxSports 3 (delayed 6.30am)
Italy coach Nick Mallett and his Argentina counterpart Santiago Phelan are clearly expecting a bruising encounter among the forwards when the teams meet at Turin's Olympic stadium on Saturday.
Mallett has beefed up his pack with two changes in hooker Fabio Ongaro and prop Matias Aguero replacing Leonardo Ghiraldini and Salvatore Perugini respectively.
Furthermore on the bench he has selected a second prop in the veteran Andrea Lo Cicero, so that he has a full front-row to call on later in the game.
Ongaro was starting hooker the last time the sides met in June, with Italy prevailing 13-12 in Cordoba, a match that was attritional in the extreme.
It is a match he remembers well, telling La Gazzetta dello Sport; "In June I was first choice hooker for the win in Cordoba. The scrum will be the key."
He also feels that Italy will be helped by him and Aguero playing together on a regular basis for English side Saracens, a move that has raised the performance levels of the pair.
"It's a question of understanding. As it was for me three years ago his first season was difficult. Now we often play together."
Argentina second row Patricio Albacete will be at the forefront of winning the forward battle, as he was in Los Pumas march to the 2007 World Cup semi-finals.
Having just come off a 12-6 loss to France in Marseilles, Albacete told ESPN he expects no let up when they visit Turin.
"Honestly, I think it'll be just as demanding. They played against Australia and only lost in the last 10 minutes. It's going to be very tough.
"We know each other very well. They have great size and I think this match will be as tough as it was against France or even tougher."
One player who is using Argentina's autumn series to cement his place in the starting 15 is scrumhalf Nicolas Vergallo, who until recently was in the unenviable position of being Agustin Pichot's understudy.
However, he told ESPN that he feels that training alongside the former captain has only been to his benefit, as has playing alongside the mercurial Juan Martin Hernandez.
"Everytime I spoke with Pichot he told me I need to stay calm, the way I've always done. It was a great advice from him and I appreciate it.
"Playing alongside Juan Martin Hernandez makes it easier on me. But our rivals mark him a lot more than other players so you need to look at other alternatives."
Italy: Andrea Masi; Kaine Robertson, Matteo Pratichetti, Gonzalo Garcia, Mirco Bergamasco; Andrea Marcato, Pablo Canavosio; Sergio Parisse (capt), Mauro Bergamasco, Josh Sole; Marco Bortolami, Carlo del Fava; Carlos Nieto, Fabio Ongaro, Matias Aguero. Res: Leonardo Ghiraldini, Andre Lo Cicero, Salvatore Perugini, Tommaso Reato, Pietro Travaglia, Luciano Oquera, Luke McLean
Argentina: Bernardo Stortoni; Federico Martin Aramburu, Gonzalo Tiesi, Felipe Contepomi (capt), Rafael Carballo; Juan Martin Hernandez, Nicolas Vergallo; Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, Martin Durand; Patricio Albacete, Esteban Lozada; Juan Pablo Orlandi, Mario Ledesma, Rodrigo Roncero. Res: Alberto Vernet Basualdo, Marcos Ayerza, Alvaro Galindo, Alejandro Campos, Agustin Figuerola, Santiago Fernandez, Horacio Agulla
Past five encounters:
Argentina 24 Italy 6, Mendoza, 2007
Italy 16 Argentina 23, Rome, 2006
Italy 22 Argentina 39, Genoa, 2005
Argentina 29 Italy 30, Cordoba, 2005
Argentina 35 Italy 21, Salta, 2005
AFP
