Coach wraps Puma stars in cotton wool

ARGENTINA coach Marcelo Loffreda is taking no chances ahead of his team’s crucial Group A ‘decider’ with Ireland at the weekend, opting to leave his top players on the sideline for tomorrow’s clash with the physical Romanians in Sydney.

The South Americans are still furious at their match schedule in this World Cup, which will see them play all their pool matches inside 16 days, and it's because their clash with the Irish comes hot on the heels of tomorrow's potentially bruising encounter with the Oaks, that Loffreda has wrapped his stars in cotton wool.

Captain and scrum-half Augustin Pichot will be donning his track suit when the Romanian clash kicks off, as will Felipe Contepomi and Gonzalo Quesada, who have been battling for the fly-half spot since the team arrived in Australia.