All Blacks prop Owen Franks is bracing himself for a titanic battle up front against an Argentine pack that he believes poses a ‘huge challenge’.
The Pumas outmuscled and outfought the Springboks in the scrum and set-piece in the sides’ Rugby Championship clash in Mendoza a little over a week back.
It was only their fourth win in 35 Rugby Championship games. The All Blacks, in contrast, have won their last 15 tournament fixtures. Franks, who reached 100 caps for the All Blacks in the 40-12 victory over the Wallabies, certainly knows a thing or two about scrummaging and was quick to praise the Argentine pack for their showing against the Boks.
“They take real pride in their set piece,” Franks told Reuters in Nelson.
“You saw against South Africa they kept the ball in their scrum and they had ascendancy.
“The thing about the Pumas is you can never underestimate them. Back in 2012 or the year before, their scrum went to another level and I probably didn’t give them the respect they deserved and I paid for it.
“It’s a big challenge.”
Meanwhile, All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick expects a tougher challenge at the lineout than he is previously used to experiencing against Argentina.
“They’re obviously big men,” Retallick said.
“In the past we’ve backed our speed to get on top of them but seeing them in the first couple of rounds, they’ve become very explosive and they’re chucking their jumpers outrageously high in the air (during line-outs).
“They’ve obviously put a lot of work into that, especially defensively, trying to cut off ball.
“(Line-outs) are like running a race, the fastest person wins.
“If you’re the first off the ground with a good lift then 99 percent of the time you’re going to get to the top before they do. That’s certainly the philosophy we take to it.”