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Pumas lacking game time face a nervous wait ahead of the World Cup announcement. All teams will have 33-men rosters. Michael Cheika’s selections and non-selections provide notable insight into his intentions for the World Cup in France.
The final round Rugby Championship match is Argentina’s final road match before finalizing their World Cup roster. Los Pumas will finalize their on-field preparations with warm-up matches in Buenos Aires against South Africa and in Madrid against Spain.
Saturday’s match in Johannesburg is the first match of 2023 wherein all players have been considered. The matches against New Zealand in Mendoza and Australia in Sydney were played while Argentina rested players who had been involved in the Top 14 play-off’s.
The team to face South Africa sees Santiago Chocobares, Juan Imhoff, Facundo Isa, Juan Cruz Mallía and Joel Sclavi back for the first time. There are also opportunities for Tomás Albornoz and Ignacio Ruiz who missed out on facing New Zealand and Australia.
This leaves five players who are on the roster to tour Australia and South Africa who have missed out on game time. Sebastián Cancelliere, Santiago Cordero, Matías Orlando, Guido Petti and Mayco Vivas all now face a nervous wait.
Orlando and Vivas were named as replacements for the match against New Zealand. Cancelliere was a late call-up to replace Bautista Delguy who missed out. Cordero has not played despite being fit while Petti is fit again now after a long recovery.
Delguy missed the tour but is being monitored from a far. He will feature for the Argentina XV against Namibia on Saturday. The Argentina XV has upcoming matches against Chile and Uruguay. What remains to be seen is whether Delguy remains on the Argentina XV roster or returns to Los Pumas to face South Africa in Buenos Aires.
Five players are likely for the back-three; that is for wing and fullback. Cancelliere, Cordero and Delguy may be competing for one spot. Then again, there may not actually be a vacancy. Cheika named five to start matches on the tour: Emiliano Boffelli, Mateo Carreras, Juan Imhoff, Rodrigo Isgró and Juan Cruz Mallía.
FIve centers are on the touring roster: Santiago Chocobares, Lucio Cinti, Jerónimo de la Fuente, Matías Moroni, and Matías Orlando. This is one number larger than the expected allotment of four places on the World Cup roster.
The match in Buenos Aires will be the final shot at securing a place on the roster. Cheika will finalize his 33-man roster following the match.
