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Argentina XV Head Coach Pablo Bouza has made seven changes to the starting lineup for Saturday’s away international in Santiago, Chile.
The fixture is to be the third and final match of the 2016 edition of the Sudamérica Rugby Cup. The visitors are coming off an 18-8 win in Colonia del Sacramento last weekend while Uruguay defeated the Chileans in the opening fixture.
For the match Bouza has five starting players with Super Rugby experience. Three of them are to be the starting front-row with Facundo Bosch, Facundo Gigena and Enrique Pieretto set to give Los Cóndores a stiff contest up front.
Also named in the run-on team is Gonzalo Bertranou who will start at scrum half and Segundo Tuculet who is to play outside center. Both players have received starts for Los Jaguares.
Of the five only Bosch started against Uruguay. Continuity has, nonetheless seen Bouza retaining the second-row combination and both Santiago Portillo and Lautaro Bavaro will start again. Bavaria will also retain the captain’s arm band.
Los Jaguares inside center Joaquín Paz makes way for former Glasgow Warrior Gabriel Ascárate while fullback Pedro Mercerat has been replaced by Gonzalo Taboada. Ascárate is a Jaguar but is yet to receive any game time. His being named to face Chile is part of getting him ready for tougher match play.
The fixture is to be the second match between the teams in 2016. Earlier in the year the Argentina XV completed a 52-15 win in San Juan.
ARGENTINA XV
1 Facundo Gigena, 2 Facundo Bosch, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 4 Pedro Ortega, 5 Ignacio Larrague, 6 José Deheza, 7 Lautaro Bavaro (Capt.), 8 Santiago Portillo, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 11 Franco Cuaranta, 12 Gabriel Ascárate, 13 Segundo Tuculet, 14 Sebastián Cancelliere, 15 Gonzalo Taboada
Replacements: 16 Santiago Iglesias Valdez, 17 Felipe Arregui, 18 Cristian Bartoloni, 19 Sacha Casañas, 20 Lucas Maguire, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Bruno Devoto, 23 Pedro Mercerat
