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South American rugby derby will be 'very rough': Pumas coach / Photo: © AFP
South American rugby derby will be 'very rough': Pumas coach
Argentina's first ever meeting with Chile in the Rugby World Cup on Saturday will be a "very tough, rough" match, the Pumas' forwards coach Andres Bordoy has predicted.
Argentina will be the hottest of favourites to secure a bonus point win over their South American rivals in Nantes and keep the pressure on Pool D rivals Samoa and Japan in the race to take the second spot on offer for the quarter-finals.
England look sure to finish top as with just Samoa to play they have 14 points, nine clear of Samoa and Japan.
Samoa and Japan face each other on Thursday in Toulouse.
The Pumas have yet to sparkle, but the 19-10 win over Samoa may be the catalyst they require to move up a gear and the Chileans could be in for a challenging 80 minutes.
"We know it's going to be a very, very tough, rough game," said Bordoy on Monday.
"It's a final. We said it last week: 'There are three finals left.' We played one on Friday, now there is this final and we only think about that.
"It's going to be a beautiful game to play in. Two South American countries, it's going to be historic."
Chile have played well in patches on what is their debut in the sport's quadrennial showpiece but sit bottom of the table and are yet to garner a point, having conceded 156 points in their three matches so far.
However, Bordoy expects them to take particular motivation from it being their final game and their opponents being South Americans
He anticipates an especially fierce tussle in the scrum.
"Chile's growth in recent years has been tremendous," said Bordoy.
"Their forwards have made a very, very good leap in quality.
He said the Superliga Americana de Rugby and its successor Super Rugby Americas "have improved them a lot"
"So much so they have dominated our (two) Argentine teams in the fixed formations," Bordoy added.
He said everyone might be banking on a Pumas win but he has seen enough matches at this tournament to be wary of being over-confident.
"There are so many games that have surprised us," he said, pointing to Wales' barnstorming 40-6 win against Australia on Sunday.
"What happened between Australia and Wales left us with our mouths open.
"We knew it was going to be a tough game, but not by such a margin."
Bordoy also said he had admired the "intensity" displayed by both sides in Ireland's epic 13-8 win against South Africa on Saturday.
"We are surprised like everyone," he said.
D. Wassiljew--BTZ
