Olympian to make debut as Argentina ring the changes

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Coach Mario Ledesma has made several changes to the Argentina starting lineup for their second match of the 2021 Rugby Championship against the Springboks in Gqeberha on Saturday.

There are a plethora of changes in the Los Pumas backline as only centres Jeronimo de la Fuente and Santiago Chocobares keep their places from the opening Test loss to the Boks last week.

Matias Moroni will miss the match through injury and as a result Santiago Carreras takes his place on the wing, with Juan Cruz Mallia coming in at fullback.

Bautista Delguy has been left out of the match-day 23 entirely and his place on the right wing is taken by Olympic Sevens bronze medalist Ignacio Mendy who is set to make his Test debut.

There is also a new halfback pair as Gonzalo Bertranou and flyhalf Domingo Miotti have rotated into the starting lineup after playing off the bench in Round 1.

In the pack, Argentina have suffered a big injury blow as they will be without blindside flank Facundo Isa. As a result, Guido Petti has come into the starting lineup while Tomas Lavanini has replaced Marcos Kremer in a rotational change.

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There is a potential debutant on the bench as Lucio Cinti, another sevens player, has been named among the replacements.

Photo: Gallo Images

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Dylan Jack