Argentina have made three changes to their lineup for Rugby World Cup’s bronze medal match against England in Paris on Friday, indicating their intention to seek a positive finish to the tournament in France.
After suffering a heavy defeat to New Zealand in the semifinals last Friday, Argentina had vowed to turn the undesired third-place playoff into an opportunity to end the World Cup on a high note. They have remained true to their word by selecting a strong team for the clash at the Stade de France.
Coach Michael Cheika has made a solitary alteration to the forward pack, with Pedro Rubiolo replacing Tomas Lavanini. In the backline, Tomas Cubelli takes the position of scrumhalf from Gonzalo Bertranou, and Jeronimo de la Fuente replaces Santiago Chocobares at inside center.
De la Fuente, aged 32, has only played a single game in this World Cup, while the 20-year-old Rubiolo earns his tenth cap as he faces the challenge of going up against a formidable English second row.
The bench remains unchanged for the second consecutive week, ensuring that it will likely be the final test for 38-year-old former captain Agustin Creevy, who has accumulated an impressive 107 caps and has participated in 21 World Cup matches.
Argentina’s previous encounter with England resulted in a 27-10 victory for the English team in their opening pool game in Marseille at the start of the tournament last month. However, 11 of the 15 players who started for the Pumas that day will once again be on the field at kick-off on Friday.
This will be Argentina’s third time participating in the bronze match. They emerged victorious in 2007 when they defeated France 34-10, but faced defeat in 2015 when South Africa beat them 24-13.
Argentina team: 15-Juan Cruz Mallia, 14-Emiliano Boffelli, 13-Lucio Cinti, 12-Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11-Mateo Carreras, 10-Santiago Carreras, 9-Tomas Cubelli, 8-Facundo Isa, 7-Marcos Kremer, 6-Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5-Pedro Rubiolo, 4-Guido Petti, 3-Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2-Julian Montoya (captain), 1-Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16-Agustin Creevy, 17-Joel Sclavi, 18-Eduardo Bello, 19-Matias Alemanno, 20-Rodrigo Bruni, 21-Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22-Nicolas Sanchez, 23-Matias Moroni.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
