Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade has added 5 new players to the squad that will be touring the Northern Hemisphere in November.
Matías Moroni, Santiago Cordero, Juan Cruz Guillemain, Santiago Iglesias Valdez and Guido Petti have been brought in after not playing any part in the Rugby Championship while Mariano Galarza and Bruno Postiglioni have not been included due to injury.
With lock Mariano Galarza injured, Hourcade has brought 2 second row forwards into a 30-man squad, Juan Cruz Guillemain of Stade Francais and Guido Petti of local side SIC.
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Also missing from the Rugby Championship squad is flanker Pablo Matera, who dislocated his shoulder in the narrow home defeat by South Africa and prop Bruno Postiglioni, who is recovering from illness.
However, veteran back row forward Juan Manuel Leguizamon is back after a leg muscle tear put him out in the run-in to the southern hemisphere championship.
Leguizamon missed Argentina’s 21-17 win over Australia in Mendoza that ended a frustrating three-year wait for the Pumas’ first victory since entering the elite tournament.
Hourcade warned, however, that this did not guarantee better performances and victories in Europe where Argentina lost to England and Wales before beating Italy last year.
“The team will have 5 players who did not play The Rugby Championship. This is part of the initial plan of incorporating competent players who have been improving, which is the case with Moroni, Cordero, Valdez and Petti.
“Guillemain was part of the system 2 years ago. We have 2 casualties. Galarza is nursing an injury while Bruno had an illness and he will require a month to recover, so we prefer to have him 100 percent healthy and start the next year.
“2 Of our opponents are above us in the rankings and have always been competitive at the this level. We have to face this with the utmost humility and make the momentum the team had after spending 3 months together.
“It’s an advantage in terms of the identity of the team but we still have to respect the opponent. Also, we’re playing away and they [opponents] will be prepared for an Argentine team that drew attention after the victory against Australia,” Hourcade said.
Argentina: Matias Alemanno, Marcos Ayerza, Rodrigo Baez, Matias Cortese, Agustin Creevy, Juan Fernandez Lobbe, Juan Cruz Guillemain, Ramiro Herrera, Santiago Iglesias Vazquez, Tomas Lavanini, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Benjamin Macome, Lucas Noguera Paz, Guido Petti, Leonardo Senatore, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Horacio Agulla, Marcelo Bosch, Santiago Cordero, Tomas Cubelli, Jeronimo De La Fuente, Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Juan Martin Hernandez, Juan Imhoff, Martin Landajo, Manuel Montero, Matias Moroni, Nicolas Sanchez, Joaquin Tuculet.