Argentina make three changes for Rugby World Cup bronze medal match with England

Argentina head coach Michael Cheika has kept changes to a minimum for their third-place play-off with England on Friday.

The Pumas boss has made just three alterations to his starting line-up as they attempt to claim bronze at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Unlike the Red Rose, who have made several changes to their starting XV, the South Americans have gone down a different route.

Tomas Cubelli back

Cheika has decided to switch things up in three positions, with lock Pedro Rubiolo, scrum-half Tomas Cubelli, and centre Jeronimo de la Fuente coming into the side.

They replace Tomas Lavanini, Gonzalo Bertranou and Santiago Chocobares, respectively, but the other 12 players remain from the Argentina team that lost to the All Blacks in the World Cup semi-final.

That means Juan Cruz Mallia, Emiliano Boffelli and Mateo Carreras again combine in the back three.

Lucio Cinti keeps his place at centre, but he has a new partner in the shape of De la Fuente, and that also goes for Santiago Carreras, who is alongside Cubelli in the half-backs.

Up front, the back-row is unchanged as Juan Martin Gonzalez, Marcos Kremer, and Facundo Isa make up a talented loose trio.

The front-row is equally untouched, with props Thomas Gallo and Francisco Gomez Kodela on either side of captain and hooker Julian Montoya.

The only alteration in the pack is at lock as Rubiolo comes in to partner Guido Petti in the second-row.

Cheika has also resisted the temptation to give other fringe members a chance off the replacements bench, with it remaining unchanged.

That means Agustin Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Matias Alemanno and Rodrigo Bruni once again provide the forward cover, with Lautao Bazan Velez, Nicolas Sanchez and Matias Moroni the backline replacements.

Argentina’s team to play England

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

Date: Friday, October 27
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

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