Argentina wary of countryman Mario Ledesma’s influence on Australia

Argentina take on Australia in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals
The Pumas stunned Ireland in the last eight in Cardiff
Mario Ledesma has transformed the Wallabies scrum

Rory Keane for MailOnline

Published:
22:52 GMT, 20 October 2015

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Updated:
22:52 GMT, 20 October 2015

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When Marcos Ayerza runs out onto the field at Twickenham for Sunday's seismic World Cup semi-final against Australia, his Leicester Tigers team-mates will be getting to grips with Harlequins in an Aviva Premiership encounter at Welford Road.

For the likes of Tom and Ben Youngs, part of England's ill-fated campaign, it's a case of back to reality with club duty now the order of the day.

For Argentina prop Ayerza, however, the dream is still very much still alive. So, what do the likes of the Youngs brothers make of their Leicester comrade who still has a chance of lifting the William Webb Ellis trophy?

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'It has been a sensitive topic,' said Ayerza. 'We have a WhatsApp group at Leicester and no one has been making any jokes. We have not had a chance to speak yet.'

Ironically, an Argentine legend will be plotting the downfall of Ayerza and Co this weekend.

Former Pumas and Clermont hooker Mario Ledesma has transformed the Wallabies scrum since his appointment by Michael Cheika almost a year ago.

Certainly, the veteran Tigers loosehead is expecting a huge challenge from Australia at the coal-face at England HQ.

'They've had a big change of mindset with the introduction of Mario Ledesma,' said Ayerza. 'I think he's tried to change the approach to the scrum so that instead of it being a platform to put the ball in play it has become a platform of psychological domination from which to attack. You can see how well that has gone in this World Cup. They dominated against England and have attacked most teams.'

Former Pumas and Clermont hooker Mario Ledesma has transformed the Wallabies scrum

The Pumas booked their place in the last four of the global showpiece with a 43-20 demolition of Ireland at the Millennium Stadium last Sunday.

It was a stunning display of attacking verve that announced Argentina as genuine World Cup contenders.

The Pumas have always produced powerful forwards and a strong set-piece but the expansion and wide to their game in recent years has been a stunning development.

'Argentina still have a long way to go to keep improving our rugby,' added Ayerza. 'We are playing very good expansive rugby right now but we have many things to improve on and that's the challenge. We need to keep on learning by playing against the best and being in these scenarios.

'So many of our squad and starting 15 are only 21 or 22 years old. All of this will set up the standards for Argentinean rugby to stay at this level of competitiveness. I think this is the start of something. We are still learning and improving and hopefully we will continue to make small steps towards becoming one of the strongest nations in the world.'