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Raúl Pérez has followed through with extensive rotation. Los Jaguares’ Head Coach has opted for wholesale changes for Saturday’s away Super Rugby fixture against the Crusaders in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Getting their first opportunities to start are Facundo Isa and Gonzalo Bertranou, doing so at number eight and scrum half respectively. Both are much younger than the players they replace and have both performed admirably well when given the chance. Isa went to the Rugby World Cup where he featured in six matches and started against Georgia and Namibia.
Bertranou is in for Martín Landajo who leads the statistics as having made more linebreaks than all other scrum halves in Super Rugby this season. Isa, meanwhile, replaces Leonardo Senatore who, like Landajo, is back in Buenos Aires as a part of the roster rotation policy.
Bertranou is to join Juan Martín Hernández in a new-look halves combination. It sees Santiago González Iglesias and Jerónimo de La Fuente playing together in the mid-field and Emiliano Boffelli and Matías Moroni retained as the starting wingers.
Ruled out, though, is Ramiro Moyano who suffered a calf strain and is replaced by Joaquín Tuculet who flew over together with nine others for the matches against the Crusaders and Sunwolves.
Isa is to join Rodrigo Báez and Juan Manuel Leguizamón in the back-row, both of whom featured against the Hurricanes this past Saturday. In an effort to have him in top condition for international duty Báez has been seeing plenty of Super Rugby game time. He was out of action throughout 2015 through injury.
Coming in for Tomás Lavanini in the second-row is Matías Alemanno while regular captain Agustín Creevy returns at hooker in place of Julián Montoya.
A vastly inexperienced bench has been named with Pablo Matera and Lucas González Amorosino being the only two to have played under Daniel Hourcade in 2015. The young trio of Felipe Arregui, Facundo Bosch and Enrique Pieretto will cover the front-row, Juan Cruz Guillemaín will cover the second-row, Felipe Ezcurra will cover scrum half and Joaquín Paz will act as a replacement center.
Los Jaguares
1 Santiago García Botta, 2 Agustín Creevy, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Matías Alemanno, 6 Rodrigo Báez, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 8 Facundo Isa, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 12 Santiago González Iglesias, 13 Jerónimo de La Fuente, 14 Matías Orlando, 15 Joaquín Tuculet
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Felipe Arregui, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Juan Cruz Guillemaín, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Joaquín Paz, 23 Lucas González Amorosino
