Jeremy Guscott previews the Rugby Championship – Pumas need to build their credibility with an away win

Argentina were written off when they first came into the Southern Hemisphere Rugby Championship, in the same way that Italy were when they joined the Six Nations. However, their performances against Australia away, and South Africa at home, in their first season showed that they were competitive.
Then during the autumn series in 2012 they beat Wales 26-12 in Cardiff, and you thought that being in the Championship had helped to put them back on the map as a leading Test nation. Victories like that make it hard to understand why a young coach like Santiago Phelan was ditched.
Another problem they face is that a large number of their key players are ageing, and Worceter Warriors hooker Agustín Creevy has a lot on his shoulders as captain. The Pumas also know by now, after two seasons in the Championship, that they need their superstars to be at their very best if they are going to compete against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
The news that Juan-Martin Hernandez, right,  has left Racing Metro to take up a central contract in Argentina, and is being joined by Nicolas Sanchez, Joaquin Tuculet and Lucas Amorosino – who were also based in France – takes them in a new direction. But the real measure of success will be if they can pull off a landmark home win against one of their Southern Hemisphere opponents.
Hernandez really has not been up to the standard of his 2007 World Cup performances since then. That tournament made him a superstar, but after that injury niggles and positional changes meant that he has not been among the best fly-halves or full-backs at international level in recent seasons.
There is no doubt about Hernandez’s underlying talent but I don’t believe that French rugby has been great for him, and he hasn’t shone like, say, Matt Giteau has for Toulon.
While I do not believe it’s the wrong idea for Argentina to bring their top players back, it probably will not work because so many of their players do so well in Europe and are on good contracts.
The game is popular in Argentina and I love the enthusiasm and emotion their crowds bring to the game. I never played there, but I know that the Pumas supporters are very passionate, and in many places in the Southern Hemisphere you do not get the intimidating atmosphere that crowds in places like Tucuman generate.

So, the idea that they make the most of that support by attracting star players back makes sense, because it will boost the game in Argentina. The other thing that will lift the game is getting the ball in the hands of backs like Horacio Agulla and Marcelo Bosch as often as they can.
I rate Bosch highly. He has shown at Saracens that he is a centre who, as well as having good speed and defence, has an additional extra dimension in the way he stays on his feet in the tackle and passes late to put team-mates through gaps. There is also that huge boot which gives Argentina the ability to kick penalties from 50 metres out.
The Pumas have also had great service from Agulla on the wing. When Agulla was at Leicester it seemed that every time he got the ball he made something happen, but since he joined Bath he is not always first choice – and, as a Test winger, that’s where you want to be. However, there is strong competition at Bath with Matt Banahan, Anthony Watson and Semesa Rokodoguni vying for places, and because Agulla’s with the Pumas until the second week in October, it counts against him.
Unfortunately, Gonzalo Camacho has not been named in the training squad having not played a game since last summer. Camacho joined Leicester from Exeter last season but due to a shoulder injury suffered in last year’s Championship playing against New Zealand, so far he hasn’t played a game for the Tigers. It’s a huge shame for the player and the club because he makes things happen.
Up front Argentina are usually strong, but experienced forwards like Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe are getting on, and they need to pass on their expertise to new guys coming through.
A long-standing problem since Gus Pichot retired is that the Pumas half-backs are not consistent enough, and that is a handicap when they are supposed to be directing the side. They need Martin Landajo and fly-half Sanchez to get them moving because it is difficult to make big gains off the back foot.
The Argentine players face unique demands in terms of peaking for the Championship after playing a full European club season. It is a hard slog, and we could be looking at a scenario of them being beaten heavily in every game.
That’s not a disaster for the moment, but they have to start to build a side of similar quality to the one that they had in 2007 if they are going to win at home in the Championship – and, even more important for their credibility, get that first away win over the All Blacks, Springboks or Wallabies.
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on August 3.