Pumas lose scrum master Juan Figallo for Wallabies clash

Sat, Oct 4, 2014, 2:00 AM
AAP
by AAP

Argentina have lost Juan Figallo for their Castrol EDGE Rugby Championship Test against the Qantas Wallabies in Rosario on Saturday. (Sunday morning 8.30am AEST)

The heavy-hitting tight-head prop is absent with neck and back problems. Juan Pablo Orlandi replaces him in the run-on side with under-20s prop Matias Diaz moving on to the bench.

Veteran centre Felipe Contepomi is tipped to announce his retirement after becoming the most capped Pumas player in history with 87 Tests when he takes the field at Estadio Gigante de Arroyito in Rosario.

Contepomi said the team had confidence in Orlandi to do the job.

"Any player you have in your starting 15 and you lose it's a big blow especially for us that we are don't have a lot of depth like other teams," Contepomi said.

"But we've lost our captain [Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe] for the first two games and we've lost Pato Albacete, a very influential player for the first four games, and we still got through.

"Obviously we would love to have him ... we can put that as an excuse but it's not really."

"We are confident that Juan Pablo Orlandi will do a great job and just have confidence in playing with him and he will be very confident on getting onto that pitch and doing the job."

Argentina: Juan Martin Hernandez; Horacio Agulla, Marcelo Bosch, Felipe Contepomi, Juan Imhoff; Nicolas Sanchez, Martin Landajo; Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (captain); Patricio Albacete, Julio Farias Cabello; Juan Pablo Orlandi, Eusebio Guinazu, Marcos Ayerza. Replacements: Agustin Creevy, Nahuel Lobo, Matias Diaz, Manuel Carizza, Benjamin Macome, Tomas Cubelli, Santiago Fernandez, Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.

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