Argentina finalise squad for three tests in Britain

LONDON :The Pumas have finalised their 32-man squad for three tests in Britain this month with injured first-choice halfback pair Tomas Albornoz and Gonzalo Garcia among several key players to miss out, the Argentine Rugby Union said.

Also missing are the lock pairing of Franco Molina and Pedro Rubiolo, prop forward Joel Sclavi, flanker Benjamin Grondona and centre Lucio Cinti after an attritional Rugby Championship campaign took its toll.

There is a recall for second-row forward Matias Alemanno, who won the last of his 98 caps for the Pumas against Italy in Udine last November.

Also among the locks is a recall for Efrain Elias, who had his last call-up at the March training camp but has not played any tests this year.

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Loosehead Thomas Gallo has recovered from injury and returns along with tighthead Pedro Delgado and flanker Bautista Pedemonte.

Scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou and centre Matias Moroni have also won back places after missing out in the Rugby Championship, where the Pumas finished bottom of the table.

The selections follow a training camp in England over the last week. Argentina meet Wales in Cardiff on Sunday and then have tests against Scotland at Murrayfield on November 16 and England at Twickenham a week later.

“We had a very good camp, it’s always great to be able to get together again," said coach Felipe Contepomi. "It helped us to start preparing for the first match against Wales and to refresh and review what happened in the Rugby Championship.

"The November tour presents a huge challenge, which we are really looking forward to because it’s an opportunity to play in three iconic, packed stadiums against three historic rivals."

Squad:

Backs: Gonzalo Bertranou, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Santiago Chocobares, Simon Benitez Cruz, Bautista Delguy, Benjamin Elizalde, Rodrigo Isgro, Juan Cruz Mallia, Ignacio Mendy, Matias Moroni, Agustín Moyano, Justo Piccardo, Geronimo Prisciantelli, Nicolas Roger

Forwards: Matías Alemanno, Pedro Delgado, Efrain Elias, Thomas Gallo, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Santiago Grondona, Marcos Kremer, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Pablo Matera, Julian Montoya, Joaquin Oviedo, Bautista Pedemonte, Guido Petti, Tomas Rapetti, Ignacio Ruiz, Mayco Vivas, Boris Wenger.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)