The Sale verdict on their live scrum/maul session with Argentina

Alex Sanderson has declared himself impressed by Argentina after his Sale side hosted a 29-man squad at Carrington this week made up of a dozen UK-based players, a dozen from the Top 14, three from Italy, one from Japan and one other player unattached.

It wasn’t simply a case of the Pumas using the Manchester-based club’s facilities ahead of their tour which begins against England at Twickenham on November 6, the meet-up also included a live scrum and maul session between Sale and Argentina that the RFU sent a referee along to.

Teams meeting up for midweek practice always has the danger of going awry as they wind up losing the rag with each other, but Sale boss Sanderson has reported that the combined Sharks/Argentina session passed off peacefully with plenty of mutual respect for what both sides did.

“We watch the training and there are a lot of similarities in what they do,” explained Sanderson. “They have a real high tempo, good urgency, good energy in and around what they have been doing but nothing too dissimilar. You can’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to prepping lads.

“They are quite an open environment so we had a good chat with Felipe Contepomi and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe who was back in the building; he is one of our legends who played here for quite a while. So it was a good way to start the relationship and then we had a live unit scrum and maul against them on Wednesday.

“The lads were a little bit nervy because we have a game this weekend and they don’t. They are battling for spots for the upcoming internationals and to go against an international team in midweek could potentially be considered risky by way of injuries and what has happened in the past with certain situations. It was nothing of the sort; it was a session conducted with the utmost respect from both sides.

“There was no cheering and celebrating if one side got a decent outcome from a maul or a scrum. There was really good sharing as to what they felt and what we felt. An invaluable experience really. They changed their session around so they could accommodate us for their set-piece. I only really have got positive things to say about the Pumas, the coaches, and how the lads conducted themselves in that live session.

“The RFU were good as well, they send a referee, Adam Leal from the Isle of Wight. He drove up from the Isle of Wight for his experience and to make sure the session was conducted in the right way. We are really grateful for that as well. It was a good experience.”

Once the camp concluded on Wednesday, the UK, French and Italian-based Argentina players returned to their clubs and are available for selection to play this weekend in the URC, Gallager Premiership and Top 14 competitions. That is in contrast to England, whose squad will have this weekend off once they complete their five-day preparation in Jersey.

It was September 24 when Argentina played their last match in The Rugby Championship, losing to South Africa in Durban, and while they are a team made up of players playing around the world that have to put in the air miles to make their squad work, Sanderson was impressed by the unity he saw among them.

“I was speaking to Felipe about it. They are only a few weeks post-Championship so they have had a little bit of a sabbatical, gone back to their clubs, but it hasn’t been hard for them to pick up where they left off as they spent a long time together.

“Looking at them they were really tight, really good ethos, a good feeling, quite open, so they have obviously got a decent culture there so it’s not too hard for them to slip back into it. There is not a lot of teething time for them to assimilate themselves back into a team where they are surrounded by like-minded people. That is the difference.

“They are all around the world but when they come together they are back with fellow Argentinians so that probably makes it all th easier because you get that kind of sense of home when you are together as a squad.”