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Argentina face South Africa in Port Elizabeth next weekend. Mario Ledesma’s enforcers will be well prepared for the fixture, though the head coach will be without some players. Fullback Emiliano Boffelli, loose head Facundo Gigena, and tight head Joel Sclavi will arrive a week later than intended.
South Africa follow up on their series win over the British & Irish Lions with a two match home series against Argentina. The Springboks will have home advantage in two matches in Port Elizabeth. Both teams will then travel east to continue the Rugby Championship in Australia.
Boffelli, Gigena, and Sclavi will miss out on the first match but will be considered for game two, also in Port Elizabeth. Their arrival dates follow the previously confirmed availability of props Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro and Francisco Gómez Kodela. In short, Ledesma’s starting props will only face South Africa.
Boffelli had two starts from three appearances in the 2020 Rugby Championship. He played from the bench in the draw against Australia in Newcastle before starting at fullback against New Zealand in the loss at the same venue and on the wing against Australia in the draw in Sydney.
Gigena featured in all three of Argentina’s test matches in the July 2021 Internationals. He started in the win over Romania in Bucharest and also earned caps in both tests against Wales in Cardiff. In short, he was expected to feature regularly in the Rugby Championship but he will not feature in game one.
Sclavi is uncapped. The 27-year-old Toro was in line to play in July only to be ruled to through injury. The tight head prop is a proven scrummager. He may be Ledesma’s go-to-man in physical contests up-front.
The non-availability of Boffelli, Gigena and Sclavi will not impact the roster immediately. The 48-man roster has all positions covered. Boffelli started at fullback at RWC 2019. That position is now occupied by Santiago Carreras. Bautista Delguy and are the starting wingers.
The absence of Gigena opens the door for a potential test debut for either Thomas Gallo or Rodrigo Martínez. Ledesma has the pair in addition to Tetaz Chaparro as his three loose head options on the roster.
The tight head prop position sees more cover. Sclavi’s test debut is expected to come during the competition. He will be an option to start following Gómez Kodela’s return to France. Both Enrique Pieretto and Santiago Medrano are also contenders for the 3 shirt. The former started against Romania and the later had a start in 2020 against New Zealand. The roster also contains Juan Pablo Zeiss and the uncapped Carlos Muzzio.
📌 Novedades en @lospumas de cara al Zurich Rugby Championship:
☑️ El pilar Joel Sclavi se sumará al plantel en Sudáfrica la próxima semana luego de cumplir con el aislamiento que realiza en Francia, tras haber ingresado a ese país.#VamosLosPumas #VamosArgentina
— Los Pumas (@lospumas) August 7, 2021
