Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi has made seven changes to his starting XV for the crunch Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks in Nelspruit.
Los Pumas defeated the world champions 29-28 in Santiago del Estero in round five of the tournament, which kept their hopes of a maiden Rugby Championship title alive heading into the final weekend.
However, Contepomi’s charges face a daunting challenge if they are to be crowned champions as they must claim a bonus-point victory and deny the Boks a single log point.
In their pursuit of doing just that, head coach and Los Pumas legend Contepomi has made wholesale changes to his starting XV after a gruelling Test match in Argentina and the toll travel has taken on the team.
Just three backline players who started the victory over the Springboks last weekend retain their starting roles for the clash in Nelspruit.
In-form fly-half Tomas Albornoz is one of them as he starts in the number 10 jumper along with Gonzalo Garcia joining him in the starting XV after he won the penalty turnover that sealed the result. Garcia replaces Gonzalo Bertranou in the number nine shirt with the latter falling out of the team entirely.
Santiago Chocobares starts at inside centre once again but for the first time in the Rugby Championship this year he has a new centre partner as Matias Moroni replaces Lucio Cinti at outside centre.
Star winger Mateo Carreras is the last backline player who retains their starting role as he lines up in a refreshed back three that includes former sevens star Rodrigo Isgro – who earns his first start of the year – while Santiago Carreras switches roles with last week’s full-back Juan Cruz Mallia.
In the pack, Julian Montoya captains his country for the 39th time, taking him ahead of Hugo Porta in third place on the all-time list of Pumas captains. He features in an unchanged front row as Thomas Gallo starts at loosehead and Joel Sclavi at tighthead.
Pedro Rubiolo and Tomás Lavanini start in the second row while Franco Molina drops to the bench and Guido Petti falls out of matchday 23.
Breakout star Joaquin Oviedo retains the starting number eight jersey but there are two fresh faces in the flanker roles as Juan Martín Gonzalez starts in the number six jumper with Pablo Matera moving to the bench. Following the injury to Marcos Kremer, Santiago Grondona has been tasked with filling his void on the other flank.
Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles and Pedro Delgado provide front-row cover in the 5-3 split on the bench along with fellow forwards Molina and Matera. Lautaro Bazan Velez, Cinti and Mallia are the replacement backs.
Argentina XV: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Matais Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Juan Martín Gonzalez, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Lucio Cinti, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia.
