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A late change has seen Agustín Creevy ruled out of playing for Argentina on Saturday. The hooker and former Pumas captain had been named on the bench to take-on South Africa in Pretoria. Instead he is returning to Argentina for personal reasons.
Without Creevy Head Coach Mario Ledesma has added Santiago Socino to the match day 23. The former Newcastle Falcon will be the replacement hooker, covering Julián Montoya from the bench if required.
The 27-year-old Socino made his test debut for Argentina last month. He was a replacement for Montoya against Australia in Brisbane. It saw him following in the foot steps of his brother, Juan Pablo Socino who made his test debut against Australia in Mendoza in 2015.
Juan Pablo Socino would go on to play in RWC 2019, featuring against Namibia, and South Africa in England. The match against the Springboks would be his 4th, and final, cap for Argentina. His brother is now pressing for a place on the plane to Japan. If selected he will match Juan Pablo in having two caps prior to the Rugby World Cup.
Creevy is expected to be Argentina’s starting hooker at RWC 2019 with Montoya being his understudy. Given the demands of Pool C there is an extremely strong argument to be made for Ledesma to take three hookers to Japan.
