Carizza set to join Pumas next week

The lengthy absence of Manuel Carizza from Los Pumas is about to end. The veteran second-rower of Rugby World Cup 2011 was left out of Argentina’s squad for the 2014 Rugby Championship and remains so until today. This, however, is set to change with him flying to Australia to join the squad in preparing for the upcoming Rugby Championship.

After two solid seasons playing Super Rugby for the Stormers and becoming a South African Champion with Western Province in the Currie Cup Carizza is to  have a chance at adding to his 43 test caps the last of which came against Scotland in June 2014. The Rosario second-rower is to be recalled in place of the injured Mariano Galarza.

Galarza joined Tomás Lavanini in forming a new-look second-row combination in the 2014 Rugby Championship. Together they took over from that of Carizza and Patricio Albacete who had been starting together since 2009.

In replacing Santiago Phelan as head coach Daniel Hourcade made it known that there was little time to play with but a great need to experiment due to the team being overly settled and, as such, aged. The second-row position was one in which he acted with great leeway as Carizza and Albacete made way not only for Lavanini and Galarza but also for Matías Alemanno, Guido Petti Pagadizabal, Juan Cruz Guillemáin and Lucas Ponce.

Carizza is now set to be recalled to join Lavanini, Alemanno and Petti Pagadizabal in preparing for the opening round match of the Rugby Championship against New Zealand in Christchurch. Also in contention to be considered for the second-row position is back-rower Benjamín Macome who has done so in the past.