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The Argentina XV has rotated its lineup for Brazil. The two South American countries will meet in the world’s southern-most city on Saturday.
Only two players who started in the win over Chile remain. Second-rower Ignacio Larrague holds down his position while Juan Cruz González moves from flyhalf to fullback. None of the remaining thirteen starting players were also in the run-on XV against Los Cóndores.
Head Coach Felipe Contepomi has named Super Rugby winger Emiliano Boffelli on the bench. Boffelli has not played since injuring his knee against the Kings in the 2016 Super Rugby season. The incident meant he missed out on all of Argentina’s test matches last year and, as such, he remains uncapped.
Additional players with Super Rugby experience include Larrague, Facundo Gigena and Segundo Tuculet. Tuculet starts this week in the centers.
The decision to play Juan Cruz González at fullback is not altogether a surprise. González often played for CUBA in the position with Bautista Güemes being the club’s starting fly half. Güemes now plays his rugby in France.
ARGENTINA XV
1 Franco Brarda, 2 Marcelo Brandi, 3 Alejo Brem, 4 Pedro Ortega, 5 Ignacio Larrague, 6 Mariano Romanini, 7 Lautaro Bavaro (capt.), 8 Tomás de la Vega, 9 Sebastián Cancelliere, 10 Domingo Miotti, 11 Franco Cuaranta, 12 Tomás Granella, 13 Segundo Tuculet, 14 Germán Schulz, 15 Juan Cruz González
Replacements: 16 Gaspar Baldunciel, 17 Facundo Gigena, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazán, 22 Juan Cappiello, 23 Emiliano Boffelli
