Montoya to lead experienced Los Pumas team against Boks

Argentina coach Mario Ledesma on Thursday announced his team for the Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks in Gqeberha on Saturday.

The side will be led by veteran hooker Julian Montoya and features several stars of European club rugby, including former leader Pablo Matera.

The backline includes flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez and try-scoring machine, wing Bautista Delguy.

Argentina finished second to the All Blacks in last year’s Rugby Championship (Tri-Nations) which also included Australia. South Africa didn’t play in the competition.

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Saturday’s match follows just a week after the Springboks won the series against the British and Irish Lions.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made several changes to his team, including bringing in Elton Jantjies at No 10, Frans Steyn at inside centre and Damian Willemse at fullback.

Upfront, Joseph Dweba will be on debut at hooker, while Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth are the experienced campaigners in the pack.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 5pm.

Argentina: Santiago Carreras; Bautista Delguy, Santiago Chocobares, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Matias Moroni; Nicolas Sanchez, Felipe Ezcurra; Rodrigo Bruni, Facundo Isa, Pablo Matera; Marcos Kremer, Guido Petti; Francisco Gomez Kodela, Julian Montoya (capt), Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro. Bench: Facundo Bosch, Carlos Muzzio, Santiago Medrano, Tomas Lavanini, Matías Alemanno, Gonzalo Bertranou, Domingo Miotti, Sebastian Cancelliere