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Pumas make changes for Springboks Test...but only one in starting XV
By Rob Lancaster
Argentina have made one change for Saturday's Rugby Championship clash with South Africa, bringing in Tomas Lavanini to bolster the pack.
The second-rower takes the place of Matias Alemanno for the game against the Springboks in Mendoza, though head coach Mario Ledesma has altered his options on the bench.
Facundo Bosch is included among the replacements, the uncapped Agen hooker potentially making his debut at the weekend after being drafted into the squad to replace the injured Julian Montoya.
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Tomas Cubelli is preferred to Martin Landajo, while fit-again centre Jeronimo de la Fuente is also a substitute, as the hosts look to bounce back from their 34-21 loss to the same opponents in the opening round of this year's tournament.
However, the Pumas have lost their last six games on the bounce on home soil, conceding fewer than 30 points only once in that disappointing run of results.
As for their opponents, South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has recalled lock Franco Mostert, who was rested for last weekend's fixture in Durban.
Argentina: Emiliano Boffelli, Bautista Delguy, Matias Moroni, Bautista Ezcurra, Ramiro Moyano, Nicolas Sanchez, Gonzalo Bertranou; Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Agustin Creevy, Juan Figallo, Guido Petti, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer, Javier Ortega Desio.
Replacements: Facundo Bosch, Santiago Garcia Botta, Santiago Medrano, Matia Alemanno, Tomas Lezana, Tomas Cubelli, Jeronimo De La Fuente, Juan Cruz Mallia.
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Latest Comments
There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.
Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.
Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.
They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.
Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.
Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen
Go to commentsWas it? I just brought it up in some of my posts to rub it in that the AB last year nearly put 100 on a top 6N side lol
I agree to be honest. The biggest key to me that they might be jadded was none of them had mom performances, or even as good as their last three games.
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