Preview: Australia XV vs Argentina

Argentina’s preparation for the Rugby Championship continues. In the second, and final, warm-up match Mario Ledesma’s players will face an Australia XV. The match falls a week before Argentina’s first test match of 2020.

The Australian side consists of Super Rugby players. The same was true in game one. Argentina won that match 19-15. Wholesale changes have been made for game two. They include Folau Fainga’a, Angus Bell, Liam Wright, and Tom Wright all being named in Australia’s test side to face New Zealand on Saturday.

Harry Johnson-Holmes, Connal McInerney, and Pone Faamausili will start in the front-row. They replace Angus Bell,  Folau Fainga’a, and Jermaine Ainsley. The second-row is unchanged with Trevor Hosea, and Caderyn Neville again starting. Isi Naisarani remains at N8 but will be joined by Rob Valetini, and Fraser McReight rather than Lachie Swinton, and Liam Wright.

Joe Powell will lead the side from scrum-half. He also takes over from Jake Gordon to join Will Harrison in the halves. Irae Simone, and Len Ikitau will form the mid-field. The latter takes over from Tepai Moeroa. Trinston Reilly, Mark Nawawanitaese, and James Ramm complete the starting formation. Ramm moves from left wing to fullback.

For Mario Ledesma this match is mostly about game time. Super Rugby and the Super Liga Americana de Rugby were suspended in March. The first match for them was thus last week, on October 30. Game two will see a second opportunity for many and a first opportunity for others. It will also be the first time wherein Ledesma has all of his plays roster together.

Ledesma’s lineup features seven European-based players. Five come in the forwards and two in the backs. Lyon’s Francisco Gómez Kodela makes his first appearance since 2013. He will join Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, an Julián Montoya in the front-row.

The remaining European-based starting forwards were all Jaguares. Guido Petti, and Matías Alemanno will lock the scrum; while Stade Français teammates Pablo Matera, and Marcos Kremer will be the flankers. Rodrigo Bruni completes the starting pack at N8.

The Western Force bound Tomás Cubelli will play scrum-half. He will reunite with Nicolás Sánchez in the halves. Sánchez and Parisian club rival Juan Imhoff are the starting backs based in Europe. Imhoff played in the 2016 Olympics, but his last cap was the RWC 2015 Semi Final loss against Australia.

The remaining starting players are all young. The uncapped duo of 21-year-old Santiago Chocobares, and 20-year-old Lucio Cinti will start in the mid-field. 23-year-old Bautista Delguy, and 22-year-old Santiago Carreras will join Imhoff in the back-three.

Four players will miss the match due to injury. They are Emiliano Boffelli, Jerónimo de la Fuente, Facundo Isa, and Lucas Mensa. Boffelli is expected to be fine for the opening Tri Nations match. de la Fuente is confirmed out of the first two rounds of the competition.

Superb rugby was played in game one; more is expected in game two. Game time is a factor for all concerned, though the real focus os on earnings places in the test team. There will be heavy rotation during the match. Argentina are expected to win. ARN predicts the South Americans to complete victory by 10 points.

 

TEAMS

AUSTRALIA XV
1 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 2 Connal McInerney, 3 Pone Faamausili, 4 Trevor Hosea, 5 Caderyn Neville, 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Isi Naisarani, 9 Joe Powell (capt.), 10 Will Harrison, 11 Trinston Reilly, 12 Irae Simone, 13 Len Ikitau, 14 Mark Nawawanitaese, 15 James Ramm

ARGENTINA
1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Julián Montoya, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Matías Alemanno, 6 Pablo Matera (Capt.), 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Lucio Cinti, 14 Bautista Delguy, 15 Santiago Carreras

Replacements: 16 Mayco Vivas, 17 Santiago Socino, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Facundo Bosch, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Domingo Miotti, 23 Rodrigo Fernández Criado, 24 Juan Pablo Zeiss, 25 Tomás Lezana, 26 Francisco Gorrissen, 27 Santiago Grondona, 28 Juan Cruz Mallía, 29 Santiago Cordero, 30 Federico Wergzyn, 31 Sebastián Cancelliere, 32 Ramiro Moyano, 33 Felipe Ezcurra, 34 Santiago Medrano, 35 Tomás Albornoz, 36 Ignacio Calas, 37 Joaquín Oviedo, 38 José Luis González, 39 Ignacio Calles, 40 Matías Orlando, 41 Juan Martín González

Date: Saturday, November 05
Kick-Off: 3pm (Sydney), 1am (Buenos Aires)
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Streaming: Los Pumas App