Argentina Announces Three Squad Changes for Ireland Match

Argentina has made three changes to the squad that secured a 50-18 victory over Italy last weekend, for Friday’s upcoming match against Ireland in Dublin. Coach Felipe Contepomi is back in a city he knows well, having spent six years playing for Leinster from 2003 until 2009, followed by four further seasons as part of the Irish province’s coaching team. Vice-captain Pablo Matera will return to the back row after serving a suspension, taking the place of Santiago Grondona, who moves to the replacements. Guido Petti will replace Franco Molina at lock, and there is one alteration in the backs, with Matias Moroni coming in for Matias Orlando. Fly-half Santiago Carreras, now fit again, has been named on the bench after missing the game in Udine due to a calf injury. Franco Molina is included among the replacements, while Matias Orlando has been omitted from the matchday squad. The Pumas scored seven tries against the Azzurri, with fly-half Tomas Albornoz contributing 20 points. Argentina, who reached the semi-finals at last year’s World Cup, also achieved notable results in this season’s Rugby Championship, defeating New Zealand in Wellington and world champions South Africa at home. They also scored 67 points in a home win against Australia. Ireland has won 13 of the 19 Test encounters between the two nations, including all 10 matches played at home. However, the Pumas have won three of their four World Cup meetings, including the most recent 2015 quarter-final, where they secured a 43-20 victory over an injury-hit Irish side in Cardiff. Robbie Henshaw, Conor Murray, Cian Healy, and Iain Henderson, all of whom participated in that 2015 match, are still part of the Ireland squad. Similarly, Matias Alemanno and Connacht’s Santiago Cordero remain within Argentina’s plans, although they have not been named in the squad for Friday’s fixture. Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi is back in Dublin, a city where he spent six years as a player with Leinster between 2003 and 2009, in addition to a later four-season coaching stint with the Irish province. The Argentina squad is as follows: **Starting XV:** Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya (capt), Joel Sclavi; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo. **Replacements:** Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.