Tonga will coming out “howling” in their World Cup clash with Argentina’s Pumas on Sunday, according to centre Siale Piutau.
With a quarter-final place from Pool C still at stake, another full-blooded match is to be expected.
“We have got this wolf-pack mentality that is going to take on the Pumas and that is how we are going into this game, said Piutau who plays for Yamaha Jubilo in Japan.
“It’s going to be an all-out battle, all-out war. We are just dying to get out on the field and get our howling on,” he added.
Tonga coach Mana Otai and his Argentine counterpart Daniel Hourcade have made radically different team choices for the game however.
Tonga will send out their oldest World Cup team ever, with an average age of 31 years and 38 days.
In six changes from the team that beat Nambia 35-21, Tonga captain and most-capped player, Nili Latu, returns in place of Jack Ram who scored two tries in the match. Tonga’s leading points scorer Kurt Morath and top try scorer Fetu’u Vainikoloalso also come back.
– Numbers game –
Argentina make seven changes from the XV that beat Georgia 54-9. Hourcade will field the youngest Puma side since they lost to France in the 1999 quarter-final, at 26 years and 236 days.
“It’s just numbers,” said Latu, shrugging off the age gap.
With defending champions New Zealand virtually certain to top the group, Tonga are holding out hopes of beating the Pumas in a bid to sneak into second place and reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
Tonga are currently second behind the All Blacks with six points. But their most difficult matches are still to come as they face Argentina and then New Zealand.
“If we win, with a bonus point, it could take us somewhere we have never been before. We could make history here. This is going to be our ‘final’ for this World Cup,” said Latu.
Argentina may be favourites to go through to the last eight with the All Blacks but they are taking nothing for granted.
Hourcade has brought back his favourite front row of Marcos Ayerza, Agustin Creevy and Ramiro Herrera.
The trio have started eight of Argentina’s recent matches and lost each one — but all eight were against the likes of Australia, New Zealand or South Africa. The last was the 34-9 defeat by Australia in this year’s southern hemisphere Rugby Championship.
“Tonga will be similar to Georgia,” warned Argentina’s fly-half Martin Landajo.
“They have a physical game which could surprise us in the first half as Georgia did.
“We must not wait 40 minutes to get going as we did in the last meeting. We must impose our game from the first minute and get the ball.”
Argentina wing Juan Imhoff needs one try to break the Puma World Cup record of four which he shares with four other players.