Hernández, Matera, Lezana and Orlandi return to Pumas

Los Pumas Head Coach Daniel Hourcade has named a 26-man squad to travel to South Africa. The Springboks are to play host to Los Pumas in a third and final round Rugby Championship match on Saturday August 08 in Durban.

Set to earn their first test caps of 2015, Juan Martín Hernández, Tomás Lezana and Pablo Matera have been included. Their selection comes as part of a rotation policy which saw none of them face New Zealand or Australia in the two opening Rugby Championship rounds. Their return sees Nicolás Sánchez, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe and  Javier Ortega Desio left out.

Addition squad members not selected are backs Gonzalo Camacho, Santiago Cordero and Matías Moroni as well as second-rower Manuel Carizza and the injured Ramiro Herrera. All five, together with Sánchez, Fernández Lobbe and Ortega Desio started against Australia in Mendoza this past Saturday. Hourcade’s team to face the Springboks is to therefore feature at least eight changes.

Replacing Herrera in the squad is Juan Pablo Orlandi. The fifteen time capped tighthead prop last played for Argentina in 2013 and did so following the loss of Juan Figallo to injury. Figallo will play no part in the World Cup while Herrera is to undergo surgery and is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks.

The squad will dpart from Buenos Aires on Saturday flying to Johannesburg via São Paulo, Brazil.

Argentina

Backs
Horacio Agulla (Bath, England), Marcelo Bosch (Saracens, England), Tomás Cubelli (UAR), Jerónimo De la Fuente (UAR), Lucas González Amorosino (Unattached), Santiago González Iglesias (UAR), Juan Martín Hernández (Unattached), Juan Imhoff (Racing 92, France), Martín Landajo (UAR), Juan Pablo Socino (Newcastle Falcons, England), Joaquín Tuculet (UAR)

Forwards
Matías Alemanno (UAR), Marcos Ayerza (Leicester Tigers, England), Agustín Creevy (UAR), Matías Díaz (UAR), Tomás Lavanini (UAR), Juan Manuel Leguizamón (Unattached), Tomás Lezana (UAR), Benjamín Macome (Bayonne, France), Pablo Matera (UAR), Julián Montoya (UAR), Lucas Noguera Paz (UAR), Juan Pablo Orlandi (Unattached), Guido Petti Pagadizabal (UAR), Leonardo Senatore (Unattached), Francisco Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (UAR)