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Argentina has named a team for the first match of the year. Los Pumas will face the Australia XV in Sydney on Friday. The Australia XV is the national next of XV. Many Wallabies will line-up against Los Pumas. The match will be Argentina’s first game since facing the USA at RWC 2019.
For the players involved it is their first match since March. Super Rugby and the Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thirteen of Argentina’s playing roster have played since then. They are the European-based players. None of them will play in Friday’s match.
Mario Ledesma’s Argentine-based players need game time. Moreover, five players will wear a Pumas shirt for the first time. The end result is a hybrid team involving youth and experience.
First choice players will start at loose head and hooker. Mayco Vivas and Julián Montoya will be joined by Ceibos prop Juan Pablo Zeiss in the front-row. Two uncapped players will lock the scrum. Rodrigo Fernández Criado of Los Ceibos will partner Jaguar Lucas Paulos.
Both starting flankers are also uncapped. Francisco Gorrissen has played two seasons of Super Rugby and Santiago Grondona was a rookie in 2020. Rodrigo Bruni completes the starting forwards. He will play at the back of the scrum.
Tomás Cubelli captains the side. He will form a halves combination with Domingo Miotti. Despite being uncapped, the Jaguares fly half is tipped to be the starting fly half in the Rugby Championship.
The mid-field sees Juan Cruz Mallía and Santiago Chocobares starting. The former was regarded as third choice outside center a year ago. Now he has the opportunity to become the starting inside center. Chocobares was a Super Rugby rookie this year and is uncapped.
Completing the line-up will be a back-three of Emiliano Boffelli, Bautista Delguy, and Santiago Carreras. All three went to the World Cup. Boffelli was the fullback, but is now being utilized on the left wing. This is part of a plan to see Carreras acting more as a play-maker. He will join Mallía in giving Miotti support in this role.
Friday’s match will be streamed live on the Mundo UAR app. Kick-off is scheduled for 1am Argentine time.
ARGENTINA
1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julián Montoya, 3 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 4 Rodrigo Fernández Criado, 5 Lucas Paulos, 6 Francisco Gorrissen, 7 Santiago Grondona, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 9 Tomás Cubelli (capt.), 10 Domingo Miotti, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 12 Juan Cruz Mallía, 13 Santiago Chocobares, 14 Bautista Delguy, 15 Santiago Carreras
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Ignacio Calas, 20 José Luis González, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Tomás Albornóz, 23 Sebastián Cancelliere, 24 Federico Wergzyn, 25 Joaquín Oviedo, 26 Lucio Cinti, 27 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 28 Tomás Lezana, 29 Felipe Ezcurra, 30 Lucio Sordoni
