Thursday 01 May 2008
Phelan ready for Scotland test

Recently-appointed Argentina coach Santiago Phelan is ready and waiting to see his new charges in action against Scotland on June 7 and 14 - those who will be permitted to play.

The 44-cap flanker, who retired through injury in 2003, was unveiled last month as the successor to the highly-regarded Marcelo Loffreda, who left to join Leicester Tigers after guiding the national team to a historic third place in the 2007 World Cup.

The 34-year-old may find it tricky to field his strongest side, as his Europe-based players could still be involved in club competitions at that point.

He said: “We will try to have our best players. We will see if the European clubs will release them or not. We must remember some of them will surely reach the final stages of their respective leagues so maybe we will not count on them.

“We have a long road left before naming the squad to play Scotland and we have just started training. We will not know which names will form it until the last minute, as we do not know what conditions players will be under.

“I hope I can field the best squad possible but there are a lot of players still competing in their leagues.”

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