Argentina team v Springboks: Los Pumas star back as one of three tweaks for crucial Rugby Championship clash
Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi (inset) and back-rower Pablo Matera.
Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi has made three changes to his starting line-up for their Rugby Championship clash against South Africa in Durban on Saturday.
All three alterations are made amongst the forwards with veteran back-row Pablo Matera and second-row duo Lucas Paulos and Franco Molina the new faces in the run-on side.
Matera started Argentina‘s previous match – a 28-26 victory over Australia in Sydney – on the replacements bench but swaps places with Juan Martín González for this weekend’s eagerly anticipated encounter with the Rugby Championship‘s defending champions.
Joining Matera in the back-row are fellow flanker Marcos Kremer and Joaquín Oviedo, who continues as the starting number eight.
Two changes in the second-row
Meanwhile, Paulos and Molina come into the starting line-up at the expense of Pedro Rubiolo and Guido Petti, who have both been included in a six/two forward heavy bench split.
The rest of Los Pumas’ starting pack sees captain Julián Montoya continuing at hooker and he packs down alongside Joel Sclavi and Mayco Vivas, who are the props.
In the backline, Santiago Carreras and Gonzalo García retain their positions as the first choice half-backs while Santiago Chocobares and Lucio Cinti continue as the midfield combination.
The rest of the starting line-up sees Juan Cruz Mallía lining up at full-back again with Rodrigo Isgró and Mateo Carreras continuing alongside him in the back three as the two wings.
On the replacements bench, front-rowers Ignacio Ruiz, Boris Wenger and Francisco Coria Marchetti join Petti, Rubiolo and González as the rest of the forward cover.
Meanwhile, star playmaker Tomás Albornoz returns to action after missing the two clashes against the Wallabies in Australia due to injury and he is joined on the bench by Simón Benítez Cruz, who is the other backline replacement.
After four rounds of action in this year’s Rugby Championship, only two points separate the four competing nations in the standings with each side winning two Tests and losing two in the competition.
Australia sit atop the table with 11 points, one ahead of South Africa and New Zealand, and two clear of Argentina.
Los Pumas team to face Springboks
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo García, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Juan Martín González, 22 Simón Benítez Cruz, 23 Tomás Albornoz
Date: Saturday, September 27
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
Kick-off: 17:10 local (16:10 BST, 15:10 GMT)
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant referees: Pierre Brousset (FFR), Angus Mabey (NZR)
TMO: Brett Cronan (RA)
FPRO: Damon Murphy (RA)
READ MORE: Springboks team: Five takeaways as Rassie Erasmus gets ‘consistency’ with ‘formidable partnership’
