Veteran Ledesma fronts up yet again

AT 37 Argentina hooker Mario Ledesma must be the oldest international player for a first class country, and no one doubts Argentina's place at the top table any more.

Ledesma is a cheery soul as well he might be. He has recently helped steer Clermont to their first ever Top 14 French Championship title at the eleventh time of asking and he happily admits that he, the whole squad, perhaps the entire town, got blind drunk for four days after the event. Insisting he hates media duties, nevertheless Ledesma is good company, chatting away in word perfect English (to go with his fluent French and native Spanish) and, when asked where it came from, he is piercingly honest: "I went to school with a lot of English speakers and my father paid a lot of money!"

Asked which was more important to him, a win against Scotland today in Tucaman, or the first French title for Clermont, Ledesma admits it is a difficult question for him to answer.

"The most important thing is what is still to come, so I have to say Scotland, but the French title was a huge thing for me, the people of Clermont and the whole of France, because everyone was waiting for Clermont to win the title. Even the Perpignan coach said after the game that he wasn't happy about losing but if he had to lose he would want to lose to Clermont. It was nice, everyone was happy, 150,000 people in the streets."

Ledesma has been at Clermont for six seasons which is probably five more than he imagined when he moved there after spending time at Narbonne and Castres. He sees Jason White every day and reports that the former Scotland skipper was scheduled to be back playing a month or so ago before complications surrounding his broken leg got in the way so he is still a couple of months shy of a comeback. Ledesma brushed up against Stuart Reid and Bryan Redpath from their time in French club rugby but, then again, having hung around the top echelons of the sport for the past 17 odd years, the hooker knows most people in world rugby with one possible exception... today's opponents.

"I know (Allan] Jacobsen," says Ledesma when asked about the Scottish front row, "He's a good player but (Euan] Murray he didn't come. So I know those two guys and the hooker is top class but I don't know who's playing tighthead?" Moray Low will want to introduce himself with a big performance this afternoon to ensure the Pumas remember him when it comes to the World Cup in New Zealand when Scotland are scheduled to play Argentina on a Sunday.

The last time Ledesma faced Scotland was in the French World Cup quarter-final in 2007 when the Pumas squeezed through a tight game. He first played Test rugby in 1996 and has played every season since, 15 in all, exactly matching the great Mike Gibson's longevity. Come to think of it, Ledesma probably played with the peerless Irishman!