Pumas bench Matera and recall Isgro for Rugby Championship decider
Pumas bench Matera and recall Isgro for Rugby Championship decider
MBOMBELA, South Africa (AP) — Argentina demoted Pablo Matera and recalled sevens star Rodrigo Isgro among seven lineup changes for the Rugby Championship decider against South Africa in Mbombela this weekend.
The Pumas stunned the Springboks 29-28 in Santiago del Estero last Saturday to keep alive a slim chance of winning a first championship title since joining the competition 12 years ago.
Also brought in on Thursday were lock Tomas Lavanini, flankers Juan Martin Gonzalez and Santiago Grondona, scrumhalf Gonzalo Garcia, center Matias Moroni and fullback Santiago Carreras.
Gonzalez, Garcia, Carreras and Moroni came off the bench last weekend.
Grondona was the only enforced change after Marcos Kremer injured his left knee in the win.
Like fellow back-rower Kremer, Matera started in all five championship matches. But he appears to have placed in the reserves for fresher legs.
The reasons for the changes varied, coach Felipe Contepomi said. “Some because of playing time, because of accumulation, and others because they are training very well and have less playing time, so they can bring more energy. Each position or player is a different situation, but we believe that it is the best combination for the match.”
Isgro has three caps, all last year. He made his Pumas debut a year ago in the championship, was picked in the Rugby World Cup squad, and played a warmup and one cup match, scoring a try against Chile. Since then, the 2023 world sevens player of the year helped Argentina build for the Paris Olympics, where it was knocked out in the quarterfinals.
“Rodri has a huge challenge,” Contepomi said. “He has played a lot in sevens lately, and changing from one format to another is not easy because of the requirements in the game and the number of minutes, time and space. But he’s been in the squad and at the World Cup, and he knows how we work. He’s trained well and we believe he will be very useful in our game plan.”
Santiago Carreras, who has replaced benched fullback Juan Cruz Mallia, was primarily a flyhalf for the Pumas and a fullback for his club Gloucester. He hasn’t started a test wearing 15 in three years.
Bautista Delguy has made way for Isgro, Cinti — another who started every match — for Matias Moroni, and Gonzalo Bertranou for Garcia.
To win the title, the Pumas must win in South Africa for the first time in nine years, earn a bonus point by scoring three more tries than the Springboks, and deny the Boks a losing bonus point.
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Argentina: Santiago Carreras, Rodrigo Isgro, Matias Moroni, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras, Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia; Joaquin Oviedo, Santiago Grondona, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Tomas Lavanini, Pedro Rubiolo, Joel Sclavi, Julian Montoya (captain), Thomas Gallo. Reserves: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Pedro Delgado, Franco Molina, Pablo Matera, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Lucio Cinti, Juan Cruz Mallia.
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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby