Argentina loosehead prop Marcos Ayerza, who was set to start for Los Pumas in the bronze final against the Springboks on Friday, has been ruled out of the game due to a hamstring injury sustained in training on Thursday, according to team doctor Guillermo Botto.
Team management have called up Santiago García Botta, a Belgrano Athletic prop with 5 Test caps under his belt, to take his place in the squad.
García Botta, 23, flew in from Buenos Aires on Thursday and will be on the replacements bench at the Olympic Stadium as Daniel Hourcade’s men take on South Africa for the right to finish 3rd at Rugby World Cup 2015.
Juan Figallo, himself a late call-up to replace Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro ahead of the quarterfinal against Ireland, moves up from the bench to start in place of Ayerza.
(The revised Los Pumas Team sheet has been altered to reflect the change – SEE HERE).