Contepomi captains the Pumas
Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:54
Dr Felipe Contepomi of Leinster will captain Argentina against South Africa in the Nelson Mandela challenge to honour the 90th birthday of the Grand Old Man.
It is a team that looks close to the Pumas' strongest after the retirement of Agustín Pichot and Omar Hasan and the injury to Juan Martín Hernández.
The Argentinian team includes 10 of their squad that finished third in the World Cup tournament in France last year.
Their pack, in particular, with seven forwards who played in the World Cup tournament, will ask some questions of the Springboks.
Tighthead prop Pedro Ledesma is the only forward that did not play in the World Cup.
Hooker Mario Ledesma is the most-capped with 64 Tests to his credit.
With the recent retirement of their inspirational scrumhalf, Pichot, the Pumas still had the luxury of selecting the experienced Nicolas Vergallo - who has played in 24 Tests - to succeed him.
Argentina: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 José María Núñez Piossek, 13 Federico Martín Aramburu, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Felipe Contepomi (captain) , 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 3 Pedro Ledesma, 2 Mario Ledesma , 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Esteban Lozada, 19 Álvaro Galindo, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Benjamín Urdapilleta, 22 Rafael Carballo
Date: Saturday, August 9
Venue: Coca-Cola Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England
Touch judges: Matt Goddard (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO: Geoff
Warren (England)
