Los Pumas bring back Sanchez for All Blacks showdown

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Veteran playmaker Nicolas Sanchez has been promoted to Argentina’s starting XV to take on the All Blacks in Gold Coast on Sunday.

Sanchez played off the bench in Argentina’s 29-10 loss to the Springboks in Port Elizabeth last month, but has been reinstated at No 10 in place of Domingo Miotti for their third Rugby Championship clash.

The selection of the 32-year-old, who will become Argentina’s most-capped player when he runs out for his 90th Test, is one of seven changes to the Pumas’ run-on XV.

Santiago Cordero and Bautista Delguy will start on the wings as they take the No 11 and No 14 jerseys off of Santiago Carreras and Ignacio Mendy, who’ve both been dropped from the match-day squad.

Centre Santiago Chocobares has been demoted to the bench, allowing seasoned campaigner Matias Moroni to start at No 13.

In the forward pack, a new prop pairing sees Facundo Gigena and Santiago Medrano replace Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro and Francisco Gomez Kodela. 

Captain Julian Montoya retains the No 2 jersey.

A reshuffle behind the front row sees Guido Petti move from the side of the scrum to lock, allowing flank Marcos Kremer to team up with Pablo Matera and Rodrigo Bruni in the back row.

Petti’s positional shift bumps lock Tomas Lavinini to a new-look bench that includes Miotti, props Carloe Muzzio and Enrique Pieretto, halfback Felipe Ezcurra and fullback Emiliano Boffelli.

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Facundo Gigena.
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Carlos Muzzio, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Tomas Lavanini, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Santiago Chocobares, 23 Emiliano Boffelli.

Photo: Getty Images

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