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PARIS - Argentina's Pumas fear the 'cannon' boot of Scotland's Chris Paterson and have been told they must keep their discipline and not give away too many penalties in Sunday's World Cup quarter-final here.
Paterson almost single-handedly qualified the Scots for the last eight as he slotted home six out of six penalties in the knife-edge 18-16 pool decider against Italy in St Etienne last weekend.
And with a 100-per cent success rate with his place-kicks at the World Cup (six penalties and five conversions) he looms again as the biggest danger facing the Pumas in their drive to reach the last four for the first time.
"Scotland has a line-out as good as Ireland's and Paterson has a cannon in his leg, so we must not relax for a second," said Argentine prop Omar Hasan Jalil.
To avoid the Paterson punishment the Argentine vice-captain and lock Gonzalo Longo Elia emphasised the need for discipline.
"We have to be disciplined, try to impose our game plan and control the match," he said.
Discipline is a point that Argentina coach Marcelo Loffreda has said he will be hammering home to his players.
"Paterson is an excellent kicker, he is 100 per cent with his attempts so far and we simply cannot make mistakes or lack discipline, because otherwise we will pay the price," Loffreda said.
"But it's very wrong to think that Scotland are just a kicker and 14 players behind him."
Argentina had bad news on Wednesday about their own goalkicker Felipe Contepomi when team doctor Mario Larrain said their leading points scorer has a flu virus.
Larrain said Contepomi, who has scored 53 points in the tournament so far, would return to full fitness in time to play against the Scots at the Stade de France.
Contepomi has played at first five-eighths and centre for the Pumas but is likely to lign up in the centre alongside brother Manuel against Scotland.
Expectations and media pressure have increased on the Argentine team which stunned France 17-12 in their opening match and finished by sending Ireland out of the World Cup with a 30-15 victory.
"All the media are saying that (we are favourites) but we are trying not to think that way," said Argentine flanker and second-row Rimas Alvarez Kairelis
"We're trying to start this match the same way we started against France and Ireland."
Elia also warned against any complacency resulting from the fact that no member of the Argentine team has ever lost to Scotland.
"The last time that Los Pumas lost to Scotland was in 1990 and none of us were playing," said Elia.
"I think that Scotland respects us for that, but we don't think about it. Maybe the same statistic weighed on France in the opening match against Argentina, but we have to continue with our same philosophy."
- AFP
