Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade wary of Wales backlash
Friday 11 November 2016 16:41, UK
Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade has warned his players to be cautious when they face a Wales team keen to avenge defeat.
Wales have an immediate chance to bounce back from a 32-8 defeat to Australia last weekend when they meet the Wallabies' Rugby Championship rivals at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Argentina conceded 40 points when they last played Wales in Cardiff in 2013, but the Pumas won on Welsh soil 12 months before that and go into this weekend's contest above their opponents in rugby's official world rankings.
But Hourcade has refused to adopt a bombastic approach, instead cautioning his side about the dangers of facing a team keen to bounce back from the loss to the Wallabies.
"We are really motivated, but we know we will face a hard team that has a lot of pressure on it after a bad game last week," he said. "They will want to win.
"They are hurt and are a really good team. They will want to change what happened last week.
"It would be a huge mistake to think we are going to face the same team that played against Australia. They will have worked hard this week to play better, and it is going to be a tough game.
"We are worried about a hurt, great team on Saturday. You cannot be really confident. We would prefer to play Wales in a better moment."
Although Argentina finished last in this year's Rugby Championship, winning just one of their six games, their exciting brand of off-loading, attacking rugby has won many admirers.
Hourcade is keen to stress the importance of combining an adventurous approach with his side's traditional forward power, however, insisting they have work still to do, despite reaching the semi-finals of last year's World Cup.
"We are in the middle of our process," he added.
We are really motivated, but we know we will face a hard team that has a lot of pressure on it after a bad game last week.
"We are capable of playing anywhere on the field, but we are taking some bad decisions. That is down to a lack of experience in a young team.
"But I prefer to have those types of mistakes. We play high-quality games all season, and it is a matter of time before we find the solution.
"We can see development in the players. We suffered in the first season [of Super Rugby] and have had to get used to playing against high-level teams throughout a season. But players are growing individually, and we need to capitalise on that.
"The [2015] World Cup team had a really good mix of youth and experience. That is what we expect to get in 2019 in Japan.
"That is what we are working for, and it is our main objective."
