Argentina taking a 'knockout mentality' into decisive Rugby World Cup match against Japan

NANTES, France (AP) — Argentina has been under the gun at the Rugby World Cup ever since that opening-weekend loss to England.

Playing under that pressure should, according to Pumas coach Michael Cheika, stand his team in good stead heading into the decisive Pool D finale against Japan on Sunday.

“In international rugby, you don’t always have games where everything is at stake. We have been doing it since the game against England," Cheika said on Friday.

“There was talk about players who will have their first experience in matches of such importance. This is where you learn, you gain experience. They already got experience with the first important match with England where they did not deliver; I feel very good handling that knockout mentality that we have had since then."

It is essentially a win-or-go-home match in Nantes, with both Argentina and Japan on nine points and vying to finish second behind Pool D winner England.

Cheika's biggest call was who to select at flyhalf out of Santiago Carreras and Nicolas Sanchez, who kicked seven out of seven in his 100th test — to become the Pumas’ all-time leading point-scorer at the World Cup — in the 59-5 win over Chile on Saturday.

However, Carreras will return against the Brave Blossoms as part of 11 changes in total from the Chile game, with only forwards Guido Petti and Marcos Kremer and backs Juan Martin Gonzalez and Lucio Cinti retaining their places.

Kremer and Gonzalez are playing in their fourth straight pool match while prop Francisco Gómez Kodela starts for the first time since the loss to England in Marseille.

Japan's only change from its 28-22 win over Samoa saw Tonga-born Siosaia Fifita replace Fiji-born Jone Naikabula on the left wing. Fifita qualified for Japan on residency and the former Sunwolves wing debuted against the 2021 British and Irish Lions.

“When I first came to Japan, it wasn't really on my mind to be in the national team,” Fifita said on Friday. “But ever since I watched the 2015 Rugby World Cup when Japan played South Africa, I wanted to be in the international level to compete. So I’m really excited for this opportunity.”

The Japanese are looking to reach the quarterfinals for the second straight Rugby World Cup, after doing so on home soil in 2019.

“It is a very disciplined team, like the country,” Cheika said of Japan. "They know what they want to do strategically as a team in each game.

“We know that they were in the quarterfinals in the last World Cup and not us, so we want to change this situation.”

___

Lineups:

Japan: Lomano Lemeki, Kotaro Matsushima, Dylan Riley, Ryoto Nakamura, Siosaia Fifita, Rikiya Matsuda, Naoto Saito; Kazuki Himeno (captain), Pieter Labuschagne, Michael Leitch, Amato Fakatava, Jack Cornelsen, Jiwon Gu, Shota Horie, Keita Inagaki. Reserves: Atsushi Sakate, Craig Millar, Asaeli Ai Valu, Warner Dearns, Amanaki Saumaki, Yutaka Nagare, Ryohei Yamanaka, Jone Naikabula.

Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Emiliano Boffelli, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Bertranou; Juan Martin Gonzalez, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera, Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti Pagadizabal, Francisco Gómez Kodela, Julian Montoya (captain), Thomas Gallo. Reserves: Agustín Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Matias Alemanno, Pedro Rubiolo, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Nicolas Sanchez, Matías Moroni.

___

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby