Wales v Argentina, Millennium Stadium, November 21
Frustrated Wales eye Pumas' scalp
Huw Baines
November 19, 2009
Wales wing Shane Williams directs the defence, Wales v New Zealand, Millennium Stadium, November 5, 2009
Shane Williams has been recalled to bolster Wales © Getty Images
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Wales tackle Argentina at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday in the penultimate clash of their autumn series and the verbals have already started with Warren Gatland stirring up his latest storm over the scrummaging credentials of the Pumas.

Argentina boast a fearsome scrummaging unit and arrive in Cardiff in pursuit of their second win at Wales' fortress. Rodrigo Roncero, Mario Ledesma and Martin Scelzo were not at their best against an injury-ravaged England last weekend but will be eyeing the Welsh trio of Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees and Paul James.

The concern for Wales in the build-up has been over their profligacy in attack, with seven clean breaks producing only a single try against a makeshift Samoa side last weekend. Gatland has recalled Wales' leading try-scorer Shane Williams to a back-three also containing James Hook and Leigh Halfpenny, but the real point of interest comes in the centre.

Scarlets youngster Jonathan Davies wins his first home start in the No.12 jersey following an injury to Tom Shanklin, with Jamie Roberts shifting in to the outside centre berth. Davies has been told to enjoy himself by the coaches but he is under a small amount of pressure to provide a creative foil to Roberts and spice up Wales' otherwise pedestrian centre play.

Stephen Jones and Gareth Cooper are recalled at halfback and Cooper has this chance to impress ahead of the meeting with the Wallabies on November 28. Dwayne Peel is on the bench and breathing down his neck after a lively showing against the Samoans.

A conservative air has overtaken Wales in recent months and the men in red have only produced two tries at the Millennium Stadium this season, both going to Halfpenny. It won't be long before the locals grow restless so Gatland will be hoping that his side can produce a decent platform and take advantage of a few opportunities in front of what should be a healthy crowd.

The other key change for Wales is on the openside, where Martyn Williams is restored in place of Sam Warburton. Warburton put in an excellent shift against Samoa but Wales were overrun at the breakdown, where the wily, experienced Williams will be looking to exert his influence this weekend.

Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe will be out to stop him, the Pumas skipper and No.8 in superb form so far this season. His performance against England, committed, powerful and highly-energised, marked him out as a talisman to lead the Pumas in the style of the incomparable Agustin Pichot.

One of two Pumas changes comes in Pichot's old position as Agustin Figuerola replaces Alfredo Lalanne at scrum-half. Coach Santiago Phelan has taken an opportunity to introduce another young face in to his starting line-up as he slowly builds a player base for the long-promised inclusion in the Tri-Nations from 2012. Figuerola will win his fourth cap, and first start, alongside Santiago Fernandez.

The second change comes in the pack, where Bristol lock Mariano Sambucetti will win his first cap since 2005 alongside the superb Patricio Albacete.

The Pumas lacked an attacking spark against England and will likely go all out to stifle Wales. The home side will have to be careful though as in flashes at Twickenham the likes of Lucas Borges and Horacio Agulla showed strong attacking instincts and some incisive angles.

A win for the Pumas would be a superb return as they continue to re-build following their heroics at the 2007 Rugby World Cup while for Wales a victory would only be half of the battle - the shackles must come off if they are to rebuild confidence and momentum.

Wales: J Hook (Ospreys); L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), J Davies (Scarlets), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Scarlets), G Cooper (Cardiff Blues); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), M Rees (Scarlets), P James (Ospreys); A-W Jones (Ospreys), L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons); A Powell (Cardiff Blues), M Williams (Cardiff Blues), R Jones (Ospreys, capt)

Replacements: H Bennett (Ospreys), D Jones (Ospreys), J Thomas (Ospreys), D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), D Peel (Sale Sharks), A Bishop (Ospreys), T James (Cardiff Blues)

Argentina: H Agulla (Brive); L Borges (Albi), G Tiesi (Harlequins), M Rodriguez (Rosario), M Comuzzi (Pucara); S Fernandez (Hindu), A Figuerola (CASI); R Roncero (Stade Francais), M Ledesma (Clermont Auvergne), M Scelzo (Clermont Auvergne), M Sambucetti (Bristol), P Albacete (Toulouse), T Leonardi (San Isidro), A Abadie (Rovigo), JM Fernandez Lobbe (Toulon, capt)

Replacements: AV Basualdo (Toulouse), M Ayerza (Leicester), M Carizza (Biarritz), A Campos (Montauban), A Lalanne (London Irish), B Urdapilleta (C.U.B.A), H San Martin (Tala)

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Christophe Berdos (France), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television Match Official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)

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