Carreras returns as Argentina name team for decider with Japan

Argentina head coach Michael Cheika has named his matchday 23 to face Japan in Nantes on Sunday, with Santiago Carreras returning at fly-half in place of Nicolas Sanchez.

Argentina need to beat Japan in order to secure their place in the quarter finals.

PERMUTATIONS:

A draw could be enough to secure second place for Japan or Argentina, depending on whether one or both secure a try-bonus point and Samoa’s result against England.

If both get try-scoring bonus points in a draw, Argentina will finish second on points difference (+46 to +18).

If the match ends in a draw, Japan must be the only team to get a try-scoring bonus point to finish second.

If neither get a bonus point in the draw, Samoa must beat England by 29 points and get a try-bonus point to have the best points difference of the three teams to finish second (+47).

Argentina would then finish third on points difference from Japan to qualify for RWC 2027.

ARGENTINA TEAM TO PLAY JAPAN IN NANTES

1 Thomas Gallo

2 Julian Montoya (c)

3 Francisco Gómez Kodela

4 Guido Petti Pagadizabal

5 Tomas Lavanini

6 Pablo Matera

7 Marcos Kremer

8 Juan Martin Gonzalez

9 Gonzalo Bertranou

10 Santiago Carreras

11 Mateo Carreras

12 Santiago Chocobares

13 Lucio Cinti

14 Emiliano Boffelli

15 Juan Cruz Mallia

Replacements:

16 Agustín Creevy

17 Joel Sclavi

18 Eduardo Bello

19 Matias Alemanno

20 Pedro Rubiolo

21 Lautaro Bazan Velez

22 Nicolas Sanchez

23 Matías Moroni