Tomas Cubelli will lead a Jaguares side featuring 12 players who played in last year’s final in their Vodacom Super Rugby opener against the Lions on Sunday.
Cubelli takes the captaincy in the injury-enforced absence of regular skipper Jeronimo de la Fuente. The scrumhalf forms the halfback paring with Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, who is back after playing for Racing 92 on loan during the World Cup.
There are a total of 12 players who were in the matchday 23 in the 2019 final against the Crusaders in Christchurch, but the team does feature a few new names.
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Francisco Gorrissen will start just his second Super Rugby match this weekend, in a loose-trio with Argentinian internationals Marcos Kremer and Tomas Lezana. Meanwhile, lock Lucas Paulos will win just his fourth cap and there is a potential debut for fellow second-rower Joel Sclavi, who joined the Jaguares this year.
As it was for Argentina in the 2019 World Cup, Julian Montoya is preferred at hooker to veteran Agustin Creevy.
Jaguares – 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Juan Cruz Mallia, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, 9 Tomas Cubelli (c), 8 Tomas Lezana, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Francisco Gorrissen, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Motoya, 1 Mayco Vivas.
Subs: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Javier Ortega Desio, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Domingo Miotti, 23 Matias Orlando.
Photo: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
