Pumas pick lock Lavanini to face Springboks

Argentina have made one change for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash with South Africa, bringing in Tomas Lavanini to bolster the pack.

The second-rower takes the place of Matias Alemanno for the game against the Springboks in Mendoza, though head coach Mario Ledesma has altered his options on the bench.

Facundo Bosch is included among the replacements, the uncapped Agen hooker potentially making his debut at the weekend after being drafted into the squad to replace the injured Julian Montoya.

Tomas Cubelli is preferred to Martin Landajo, while fit-again centre Jeronimo de la Fuente is also a substitute, as the hosts look to bounce back from their 34-21 loss to the same opponents in the opening round of this year’s tournament.

However, the Pumas have lost their last six games on the bounce on home soil, despite conceding fewer than 30 points only once in that disappointing run of results.

As for their opponents, South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has recalled lock Franco Mostert, who was rested for last weekend’s fixture in Durban.

Argentina: Emiliano Boffelli, Bautista Delguy, Matias Moroni, Bautista Ezcurra, Ramiro Moyano, Nicolas Sanchez, Gonzalo Bertranou; Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Agustin Creevy, Juan Figallo, Guido Petti, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer, Javier Ortega Desio.

Replacements: Facundo Bosch, Santiago Garcia Botta, Santiago Medrano, Matia Alemanno, Tomas Lezana, Tomas Cubelli, Jeronimo De La Fuente, Juan Cruz Mallia.

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