GABRIEL BATALLA
and LEO CODUTTI
in Buenos Aires

Bernardo Stortoni, the Argentina full-back, has turned up the pressure on Scotland ahead of the game by suggesting that Frank Hadden could be sacked if they lose again.

The Glasgow Warriors player believes a second defeat for Hadden's side today could prove fatal for the coach.

"I talked with some Scottish team-mates and they were very dissatisfied with the first match," Stortoni said. "It is going to be an even harder game now in Buenos Aires. They told me that they weren't aggressive enough and they also complained about the narrow field that made it very hard to play expansive rugby.

"If they lose again, after their poor Six Nations, I am sure that they will try to sack the boss. Their people expect much more from them. Because of that I am convinced that they are going to put pressure on us and they are going to leave everything on the field."

Santiago Phelan, the coach of Argentina, has added more World Cup experience to his side by naming two more veterans, Horacio Agulla and Luca Borges, in place of Jose Nunez Piossek and Tomas De Vedia. That leaves Stortoni, Nicolas Vergallo and Alvaro Tejeda as the only players in the team that did not play when Argentina finished third at the tournament last September in France.

Phelan is reluctant to overhaul the squad as he tries to build on the legacy of his predecessor, Marcelo Loffreda, but he will have to make one change in the near future as this will be the last match for Northampton Saints second-rower Ignacio Fernandez, who is planning to retire from international rugby.

The coach believes Vergallo, the 25-year-old scrum-half from the Rosario Jockey club who made his debut last Saturday, will take over where Agustin Pichot, arguably Argentina's outstanding player of the past generation of Pumas, left off.

He acknowledges that inheriting the No.9 jersey for the Pumas is not something that should be taken lightly. "There is pressure, but not because I will play in his place," Vergallo said. "It is flattering to be told that you are Pichot's successor, but I don't take that on as something that should pressure me. I have a great relationship with Agustin. We shared many tours together. He has been a great mentor."

After a tight win in Rosario on Saturday, Vergallo says there is enormous responsibility to win the series this evening, but that this responsibility is not something he dwells on.

"The key is to play calmly, relax and continue exactly what I am doing at my club which is what took me to the national team."

Vergallo says he received a call from Glasgow Warriors and from a club in France inquiring about his availability but says that there has not been much progress.

He is looking forward to his possibilities of playing professional rugby in Europe. "I know that those that players in Europe come back playing better rugby than when they left. That is certainly something that I am looking forward to.

"Going to Europe means that you play in a professional league and start to earn a good living playing the game you love."