Argentina will be looking to put the series against Ireland behind them when they take on Scotland in Córdoba on Friday, writes BRENTON CHELIN.
Lucas González Amorosino, who grabbed a try in their defeat to Ireland last week, will return to his more favoured fullback position and could provide the spark needed to get the Pumas season up and running.
Having chosen to rest a number of their more experienced players with an eye on the upcoming Rugby Championship, the well-travelled Amorosino gave Argentina a notable boost in the second Test, having missed the opening Test of the season.
His inclusion at fullback is one of a number of changes from the side that went down 23-17 to Ireland in Tucumán. Coach Daniel Hourcade has opted to field a new centre pairing as well as a new halfback combination, with only Nicolás Sánchez retaining his place. Tomás Cubelli will captain the side from scrumhalf.
Meanwhile, Scotland coach Vern Cotter has had to deal with a complete squad overhaul, with only Grant Gilchrist, Peter Horne, Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg remaining from their narrow victory over Canada.
Only four players in the match-day squad can boast 20 or more caps, although Ross Ford will become Scotland's most-capped hooker when he plays his 76th international on Friday night.
Argentina slipped out of the top 10 in the IRB rankings following their back-to-back defeats to Ireland, but a win against Scotland should see them return to that list.
HEAD TO HEAD STATS
Overall: Argentina 9, Scotland 4
In Argentina: Argentina 3, Scotland 3
AMOROSINO'S STATS THAT MATTER
80 – The number of metres he ran during the second Test against Ireland
3 – The number of clean breaks he made during the second Test against Ireland
3 – The number of defenders he beat during the second Test against Ireland
Argentina – 15 Lucas González Amorosino, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Santiago González Iglesias, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli (c), 8 Tomás De la Vega, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Rodrigo Báez, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Matías Díaz, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Bruno Postiglioni.
Subs: 16 Santiago Iglesias Valdez, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Tomás Lavanini, 20 Antonio Ahualli de Chazal, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Matías Moroni, 23 Joaquín Tuculet.
Scotland – 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Kieran Low, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Al Dickinson.
Subs: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Dougie Fife.
SA Rugby mag team's SuperBru predictions
Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP Photo
