Following an impressive third-place finish in the recent Rugby Championship, where Argentina recorded at least one win against all their opponents (New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia) for the first time, the Pumas are set to debut in the Autumn Nations Series.
They face Italy on Saturday at 18:40 at the Bluenergy Stadium in what promises to be a classic Latin derby, the stadium for this weekend's match (the home of football's Udinese), is located on Piazzale Repubblica Argentina.
In contrast to the Southern Hemisphere competition’s de facto “final” lost against the Springboks, head coach Felipe Contepomi, formerly of Leinster, has made one change in the scrum and five among the backs. This suggests he is experimenting in the back line, yet he remains mindful of the real challenge posed up front and does not underestimate Italy, led by the experienced Gonzalo Quesada.
Captain Julian Montoya, now with 103 international caps, will lead the team alongside Benetton Treviso prop Thomas Gallo and Joel Sclavi. Franco Molina and Pedro Rubiolo will be in the engine room, with Juan Martin Gonzalez (one of Contepomi’s vice-captains), Santiago Grondona, and Joaquin Oviedo forming the back row.
Among the players competing for Italian teams in the URC, Tomas Albornoz earns a well-deserved starting role at fly-half after a strong showing for both Treviso and in the Rugby Championship, pairing with Gonzalo Bertranou at scrum-half.
On the other hand, Prisciantelli, Bazan Velez, and Benetton hooker Bernasconi have not been selected. Bernasconi could have debuted against his United Rugby Championship (URC) teammates alongside Zebre fullback Prisciantelli.
The back three will consist of Bautista Delguy, Rodrigo Isgrò, and Juan Cruz Mallia, with Lucio Cinti and the experienced Matias Orlando in the centres. Zebre Parma scrum-half Gonzalo Garcia is among the replacements.
This is the Argentina lineup that will face Italy:
15 Juan Cruz Mallia
14 Rodrigo Isgro
13 Lucio Cinti
12 Matias Orlando
11 Baptiste Delguy
10 Thomas Albornoz
9 Gonzalo Bertranou
1 Thomas Gallo
2 Julian Montoya - captain
3 Joel Sclavi
4 Frank Molina
5 Peter Rubiolo
6 Juan Martín González
7 Santiago Grondona
8 Joaquin Oviedo
Available:
16 Ignacio Ruiz
17 Ignacio Calles
18 Francisco Gomez Codela
19 Matias German
20 Baptist Pedemonte
21 Gonzalo Garcia
22 Matias Moroni
23 Santiago Cordero
