KEY POINTS:
PARIS - Argentina coach Marcelo Loffreda spoke of his relief at his team being branded underdogs once again ahead of their World Cup semi-final against South Africa at the Stade de France here on Sunday.
Loffreda named an unchanged line-up after several key backs shook off injury and illness problems but the Pumas coach said he expected his team to bounce back from their lacklustre display in defeating Scotland 19-13 in the quarter-finals last week.
"We are usually the underdogs and maybe we are better in this position," he said.
"It seems we have to be the underdogs to put our minds perfectly in line and this is one of these times.
"South Africa have more chance of winning than Argentina but it is in this kind of adversity that we are more comfortable. It brings out a lot of mental toughness in the players."
But Springbok coach Jake White said Argentina's form at this World Cup meant "they are not the underdogs".
He added: "To say that is a scary thing for us."
Argentina will be at full strength as playmaker and fly-half Juan Martin Hernandez has overcome a leg problem, goalkicking centre Felipe Contepomi is over his bout of flu and full-back Ignacio Corleto is fit after suffering a knee problem.
Captain and scrum-half Agustin Pichot said he was fine despite sitting out Thursday's training due to tiredness.
He too was playing up the underdog tag and said he was happy people were surprised at the Pumas' progress.
"I think it's great that people are surprised that we are here," he said.
"If you ask Australian or New Zealand players to name five of our team they probably can't, but we know exactly how South Africa, Australia and New Zealand line-up.
"For us it's an honour to be in the final four. It's a massive achievement for us as players and coaches and now that we're here we want more.
"We're not going to stay at this stage; we want to keep surprising."
- AFP
