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Following a bye round Los Jaguares are returning to the field on Saturday. They are to be up against the Chiefs who are yet to have a bye this season. They arrived in Buenos Aires from Pretoria earlier in the week.
Gonzalo Quesada welcomes back three key names for the match. Jerónimo de la Fuente is back to captain the side from inside center; Emiliano Boffelli is fit again to play on the wing; and Marcos Kremer will start at flanker.
The return of there trio is welcome news. They are back at a time in which the team is suffering from notable injuries. Both Gonzalo Bertranou, and Bautista Delguy are out for the season while fellow regulars Matías Alemanno, and Martín Landajo are presently unavailable.
de la Fuente joins Matías Moroni in the mid-field with Matías Orlando covering from the bench. This sees no place for Bautista Ezcurra, a surprise given the inclusion of Santiago González Iglesias. Eczema’s brother, Felipe joins Orlando, and González Iglesias as the replacement backs.
In the forwards Kremer joins Javier Ortega Desio, and Tomás Lezana in the back-row. This sees former captain Pablo Matera named as a replacement with veteran Juan Manuel Leguizamón also on the bench. With it there is no reserve second-rower which means Kremer, or Ortega Desio will move if required.
Back from injury is Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro. The man likely to start for Argentina at loose head in RWC 2019 last played in October. He has been picked as the reserve loose head behind Mayco Vivas.
The Chiefs have a new captain for the match. Regular Brodie Retallick has been rested for the fixture which sees fellow second-rower Michael Allardice filling the void. He will do so in what is his 40th appearance for the Chiefs.
The New Zealand franchise are coming off a 56-20 win over the Bulls last weekend. From that match they have have four changes to their starting line-up.
In the forwards Nepo Laulala started at tight head prop, doing so in place of Angus Ta’avao. The second change in the pack comes in the second-row with Mitchell Brown named to join Allardice in locking the scrum. This sees Canadian Tyler Ardron continuing to play at the back of the scrum.
The remaining two changes come in the backs. They see Marty McKenzie starting at fly half with Jack Debreczeni ruled-out of playing in the match. He will join All Black center Anton Lienert-Brown in the crucial 10-12 axis with Lienert-Brown playing his 60th game for the Chiefs. He replaces Alex Nankivell who drops to the bench.
The bench will also see Taleni Seu, and Etene Nanai-Seturo having opportunities. Meanwhile All Black Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi is a notable replacement for the Chiefs to utilize in the second-row.
The Chiefs and Jaguares have met twice before. Their first match was in 2016 with the Chiefs coming from behind to seal a late 30-26 victory in Buenos Aires. In their second game Los Jaguares were 23-19 winners in Rotorua, New Zealand.
The combination of three factors point to a Jaguares victory. The Argentine side did not play last weekend while the New Zealanders were playing in South Africa. Added to these two crucial points in that the Chiefs have rotated while Los Jaguares are far closer to their strongest line-up. A win for the home side is thereby projected by 6 points.
TEAMS
JAGUARES
1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julián Montoya, 3 Santiago Medrano, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 6 Tomás Lezana, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 10 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente (capt.), 13 Matías Moroni, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 15 Joaquín Tuculet
Replacements: 16 Gaspar Baldunciel, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Pablo Matera, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Matías Orlando
CHIEFS
1 Aidan Ross, 2 Nathan Harris, 3 Nepo Laulala, 4 Michael Allardice (capt.), 5 Mitchell Brown, 6 Luke Jacobson, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 8 Tyler Ardron, 9 Brad Weber, 10 Marty McKenzie, 11 Solomon Alaimalo, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 13 Tumua Manu, 14 Sean Wainui, 15 Damian McKenzie
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tevita Mafileo, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Jesse Parete, 20 Taleni Seu, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Alex Nankivell, 23 Etene Nanai-Seturo
Date: Saturday, March 30
Kick-off: 6:40pm (Argentina)
Venue: Estadio Vélez Sarsfield
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Pablo Deluca (Argentina), Damian Schneider (Argentina)
TMO: Santiago Borsani (Argentina)
