Juan Cruz Mallía

Juan Cruz Mallía is the kind of back three player who makes a team braver.

He counter-attacks from positions most full-backs clear from, and does it with enough success that Argentina have built it into the plan rather than tolerating it as a habit. The footwork at pace is genuinely good, and the left boot is long enough that the alternative is always available.

He covers wing and fly-half as well as fifteen, which in a squad that travels light is worth a selection place on its own.

The aerial contest is where the questions have been asked. He competes willingly, but Argentina have at times been targeted in the air in a way better-drilled back threes are not.

Years at Toulouse have surrounded him with the best attacking players in Europe, and it shows in his decision-making. For Argentina he is the release valve — the man who turns a defensive set into something else entirely.