All Blacks v Argentina: History chasing Los Pumas boosted by world-class Julian Montoya for Eden Park showdown
Argentina hooker and captain Julian Montoya.
Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi has made some alterations to his matchday squad for their Rugby Championship clash with the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.
After claiming a shock 38-30 victory in the corresponding fixture in Wellington last week, Los Pumas are hoping to become the first team to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park since 1994.
Highlighting the changes to Argentina‘s squad is the return from injury of first choice hooker and captain Julian Montoya.
Recovered from injury
The 30-year-old missed last week’s win over the All Blacks due to a rib injury but makes his return to action at the expense of Ignacio Ruiz who drops down to the replacements bench.
Montoya is joined in the front-row by Thomas Gallo and Lucio Sordoni, who comes in at tighthead prop where he replaces Eduardo Bello.
Meanwhile, Marcos Kremer shifts from the openside flank to pack down alongside Pedro Rubiolo at lock, where he takes over from Franco Molina, who is relegated to the bench.
Kremer’s spot on the side of the scrum is taken by Juan Martin Gonzalez, while Joaquin Oviedo is promoted from bench duty to take Gonzalez’s place at number eight and the back-row is completed by Pablo Matera, who continues on the blindside flank.
The backline remains the same with Santiago Carreras continuing at fly-half and he is joined by Gonzalo Bertranou to form the half-back combination, while Santiago Chocobares and Lucio Cinti are the starting centres.
The run-on side is completed by Juan Cruz Mallía, who is the full-back, while Matias Moroni and Mateo Carreras retain their spots on the wings.
Contepomi has opted for a five/three split on the bench with Ruiz, Mayco Vivas, Joel Sclavi, Molina and Tomás Lavanini the forward replacements while Lautaro Bazan Velez, Thomas Albornoz and Bautista Delguy offer backline cover.
Los Pumas team to face All Blacks
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Marcos Kremer, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Tomás Lavanini, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Thomas Albornoz, 23 Bautista Delguy
Date: Saturday, August 17
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
vKick-off: 19:05 local (08:05 BST, 07:05 GMT)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Nic Berry (Australia)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
READ MORE: In numbers: The All Blacks’ INSANE unbeaten run at Eden Park since 1994
