Pumas tweak their backline

Argentina coach Santiago Phelan has made two changes to his backline for the clash with the Wallabies at the Gold Coast this weekend.


Exciting fullback Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino steps in for Martin Rodriguez who drops to the bench, whilst Martin Landajo gets a chance to impress at scrumhalf, with Nicolas Vergallo amongst the replacements.


The Pumas would have been encouraged by their competitive performances against the Springboks and All Blacks in the last two matches of their debut Rugby Championship campaign and will be looking for further improvement against an injury-hit Wallabies outfit on Saturday.


The selection of the elusive Amorosino could indicate that Phelan's team are planning to run the ball more against Australia than they were prepared to against the Springboks and All Blacks, although the retention of the same forward pack that performed so well last week also shows that they will look to take the Wallabies on up front.


Argentina: 15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (captain), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.

Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 18 Leonardo Senatore, 19 Toms Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Martin Rodriguez, 22 Juan Imhoff.


Date: Saturday, September 15

Venue:  Skilled Park, Gold Coast

Kick-off: 20.00 AEST; 10.00 GMT

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

TMO: Matt Goddard (Australia)