Argentina lose injured Matera ahead of Wales quarterfinal at Rugby World Cup

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — A torn right hamstring has ruled out Argentina flanker Pablo Matera from the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal against Wales on Saturday in Marseille.

Matera was hurt on Sunday, early in the 39-27 win against Japan in Nantes that qualified the Pumas for the last eight.

His absence is a serious blow to the Pumas. Matera has long been one of the first names picked. He was key in their run to the 2015 semifinals and captained the team at the 2019 tournament.

“He's ruled out for Saturday's game," assistant coach Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe said on Monday. ”The squad was preparing for this. We would love for him to be available but it is what it is. We believe a lot in our squad."

The injury is expected to sideline Matera for three weeks, so Argentina was weighing up whether or not to summon an injury replacement, Fernández Lobbe said.

In the meantime, the back-row options within the squad include Rodrigo Bruni, Facundo Isa and Joaquin Oviedo.

Though its a quarterfinal ahead, Fernández Lobbe said nothing changes for the Pumas as they have been playing knockout rugby since their first game, the feeble loss to England.

“The team has been growing since game one,” he said. "We have been getting better in each match, we've added more intensity and other details, too. The things that we wanted to correct from the match with England were done with Samoa; things that didn't work with Samoa we did against Chile; and details from the game with Chile were better executed against Japan.

“This team has already played four finals in this World Cup.”

He said they began thinking of Wales as soon as Japan was beaten. They haven't met Wales at the Rugby World Cup since 1999 and lost both previous matches.

“We'll have to do all the simple things well,” Fernández Lobbe said. “Wales is going to try and do their thing, exert that pressure on us. They are aligned with Warren Gatland's philosophy of putting pressure on the opposition and being a combative team.”

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AP Rugby World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby