BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina have recalled experienced hooker Agustin Creevy and will have a completely new second row for their final Rugby Championship test against South Africa in Salta on Saturday.
Former captain Creevy, who sat out the 16-10 loss to Australia in the previous match with a shoulder injury, comes in for Julian Montoya, who drops to the bench.
Matias Alemanno and Marcos Kremer will make up the lock pairing, taking over from Guido Petti and Tomas Lavanini, while Javier Ortega Desio replaces Tomas Lezana at flanker.
The only change in the backline sees Emiliano Boffelli return at fullback with Joaquin Tuculet dropping to the bench.
Ben Urdapilleta will provide cover for both the flyhalf and fullback positions among the replacements, and should he enter the fray will win his first cap since June 2013.
Argentina’s defeat in Brisbane was their second in succession in the competition, which has ruled them out of the trophy hunt with the championship shortened to three matches this year due to the World Cup, which starts in September.
The Springboks top the table on seven points, one ahead of New Zealand, going into the final fixture and are likely to push hard for what would be a substantial pre-World Cup boost if they can win the Southern Hemisphere championship for the first time since 2009.
The teams will meet again in Pretoria on Aug. 17 in a one-off test that is part of their build-up to the global championship in Japan that starts on Sept. 20.
Team: 15-Emiliano Boffelli, 14-Santiago Cordero, 13-Matias Moroni, 12-Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11-Ramiro Moyano, 10-Nicolas Sanchez, 9-Tomas Cubelli, 8-Facundo Isa, 7-Javier Ortega Desio, 6-Pablo Matera (captain), 5-Marcos Kremer, 4-Matias Alemanno, 3-Juan Figallo, 2-Agustin Creevy, 1-Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Replacements: 16-Julian Montoya, 17-Mayco Vivas, 18-Santiago Medrano, 19-Guido Petti, 20-Tomas Lezana, 21-Gonzalo Bertanou, 22-Ben Urdapilleta, 23-Joaquin Tuculet.
(Reporting By Nick Said; Editing by Peter Rutherfordpeter.rutherford@thomsonreuters.com; +822 3704 5698 ReutersMessaging: peter.rutherford.reuters.com@reuters.net)