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Two weeks after defeating Australia on the Gold Coast, Los Pumas are looking to make further history. They will have home advantage at a sold out Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires. Their opponents, New Zealand are coming off a rare home Rugby Championship defeat against South Africa.
Argentine Head Coach Mario Ledesma has made two personal changes and two further positional changes for the match. Up front this sees Ramiro Herrera flown straight in to the starting team from France. Having played on Sunday against Pau the Stade Français Tight Head will play his first test match in a year, or 364 days to be precise.
Herrera replaces Santiago Medrano who drops to the bench. He will join Juan Pablo Zeiss with Santiago García Botta dropping out. This follows Gastón Cortés also being dropped earlier in the competition by Ledesma.
The back-row replacement will again be Juan Manuel Leguizamón as Tomás Lezana continues to mend following injury suffered in round three.
In round four Ramiro Moyano was forced off early. Having suffered a fractured rib he will not face New Zealand on Saturday. This has seen a reshuffle in the backs. Matías Moroni moves to start on the wing with Jerónimo de la Fuente playing outside center and Bautista Ezcurra elevated from the bench to play inside center.
On the bench this sees two new inclusions with Matías Orlando and Sebastián Cancelliere involved for the first time in the tournament. Cancelliere will make his Rugby Championship debut should he receive game time.
New Zealand Head Coach Steve Hansen has made six changes from the side which lost against South Africa in round four. They begin up front with Ofa Tuungafasi named to start at Tight Head in place of Owen Franks.
Man of the Match from Nelson, Shannon Frizell starts at flanker. He is to join Sam Cane and Luke Whitelock in the back-row. Luke Whitelock replaces captain Kieran Read, a move which sees Samuel Whitelock named to captain the side from the second-row.
On the bench Angus Ta’avao will make his test debut should he receive game time. He and Tim Perry are to be New Zealand’s replacement props.
There is also movement in the backline. Hansen has recalled the fit-again Sonny Bill Williams. The gifted mid-fielder starts at inside center, partnering Ryan Crotty in the centers. Ben Smith moves from wing to fullback with Waisake Naholo and Rieko Ioane set to start on the wings.
TJ Perenara has been preferred to Aaron Smith at scrum-half. He will earn his 50th cap for New Zealand in starting against Los Pumas.
The match will see number of key match-ups. Codie Taylor and Agustín Creevy cancelled each other out in Nelson and their battle looms as decisive in Buenos Aires. Ben Smith and Emiliano Boffelli are different players yet both are highly effective at fullback. But look to the engine room to see a titanic battle between Tomás Lavanini and Scott Barrett.
Despite coming off a home defeat the All Blacks are well positioned to win in Buenos Aires. Argentina’s has two wins in the Rugby Championship, something never achieved previously. But New Zealand has won 31 of the 32 previous matches against Los Pumas. Argentina’s best result was a draw in 1985.
New Zealand’s past and present records combine to make the All Blacks firm favorites. Yet the fight of Ledesma’s side means a tighter contest looms than in previous years. A New Zealand victory is expected by 10 points.
ARGENTINA
15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Matías Moroni, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (capt.), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Matías Orlando, 23 Sebastián Cancelliere
NEW ZEALAND
15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel Whitelock (capt.), 3 Ofa Tuungafasi, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Karl Tu’inukuafe
Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown
Date: Saturday September 29
Kick-Off: 7:40pm (Argentina)
Venue: Estadio José Amalfitani, Buenos Aires
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
