By the time Argentina against Samoa on Friday, 22 September at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne kicks off at 17:45, 13 days will have passed since Argentina’s last outing, the 27-10 loss to England in Marseille.
Coach Michael Cheika will have spent a good deal of that time working to improve the Pumas’ discipline and attacking game for this match against Samoa, one they now cannot afford to lose.
He has made three changes to his starting XV, with Eduardo Bello coming into the front row, Guido Petti into the second row, and Matías Moroni into the midfield.
Argentina assistant coach Felipe Contepomi are confident that Argentina has developed the most since the two teams last met at the Rugby World Cup in 1999.
"It's not that I don't like comparisons, I don't like timeless comparisons. It is very difficult to compare something that happened 20 years. Since then, I don't know who has developed the most. What I can say is that Argentina has played in the best competitions since 2007 and we are fortunate to regularly face tier-one teams, the highest-ranked teams in world rugby such as Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
"Samoa has not had regular competition such as ours. The possibilities were not the same to evaluate their development, but the Samoan team that we are going to face tomorrow is very well trained, with great players who are stars in their clubs in Europe. This gives you an idea of how good they are today."
Samoa, meanwhile, are second in Pool D after their 43-10 win over Chile. Their relatively short turnaround compared to Argentina leaves coach Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua facing a different set of issues.
He too has made three changes to his starting XV. Paul Alo-Emile comes into the front row, Brian Alainu’u’ese into the second row, and Ben Lam onto the wing.
Samoa assistant coach Mahonri Schwalger said they are prepared for the match and only care about winning.
"World (Cup) rugby is all about winning. We're focused on getting that 'W' tomorrow, we will do anything we can do to make sure we get that.
"We embrace the game tomorrow, we know exactly what we expect. As Samoans we love the physicality, so we are looking forward to it and I know there's going to be some sore bodies tomorrow. We are just going to throw everything into it. It's (physicality) in our DNA, the way we play.
"It's going to be tough tomorrow, especially the Argentina supporters will be here tomorrow. Our people back home will be glued to the TV and I know our boys will put on a good performance and make them proud."
Teams:
Argentina: 1 Thomas Gallo, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 3 Eduardo Bello, 4 Guido Petti Pagadizabal, 5 Matias Alemanno, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Santiago Carreras, 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Matías Moroni, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 15 Juan Cruz Mallia. Replacements: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Lucio Cinti.
Samoa: 1. James Lay, 2 Seilala Lam, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 4 Brian Alainu'u'ese, 5 Chris Vui (c), 6 Theo McFarland, 7 Fritz Lee, 8 Steven Luatua, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 10 Christian Leali'ifano, 11 Ben Lam, 12 Tumua Manu, 13 Ulupano Junior Seuteni, 14 Nigel Ah-Wong, 15 Duncan Paia'aua. Replacements: 16 Sama Malolo, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Taleni Junior Agaese Seu, 20 Sa Jordan Taufua, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 Alai D'Angelo Leuila, 23 Danny Toala.