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Los Pumas captain Julian Montoya one of five stars to return for Wallabies tests

By AAP
(Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Argentina have included captain Julian Montoya and the first-choice halfback pairing of Tomas Cubelli and Nicolas Sanchez in their 34-man squad for the two Rugby Championship matches against Australia.

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Coach Michael Cheika, the former Wallabies coach, has also brought back Santiago Cordero and Benjamin Urdapilleta, who were among those injured in the three-test series against Scotland.

Argentina narrowly clinched the series last Saturday in a dramatic last-gasp victory at Santiago del Estero.

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Montoya had missed the decisive match with a bad back while Cubelli and Sanchez both suffered muscle tears in the first test — Cubelli in the warm-up before kick-off and Sanchez early on in the game at San Salvador de Jujuy on July 2 – that ruled them out of the rest of the series.

There are returns to the squad for tighthead prop Santiago Medrano, loose forward Joaquin Oviedo and centre Lucas Mensa, while second rower Guido Petti and winger Bautista Delguy are being rested for later clashes in the southern hemisphere championship against New Zealand and South Africa.

Argentina host Australia in Mendoza on August 6, and in San Juan on August 13.

Los Pumas Rugby Championship squad

Forwards: Matias Alemanno (Gloucester), Rodrigo Bruni (Brive), Agustin Creevy (London Irish), Thomas Gallo (Benetton Treviso), Francisco Gomez Kodela (Lyon OU), Juan Martin Gonzalez (London Irish), Santiago Grondona (Exeter Chiefs), Facundo Isa (Toulon), Marcos Kremer (Stade Francais), Tomas Lavanini (Clermont Auvergne), Pablo Matera (unattached), Julian Montoya (Leicester Tigers), Santiago Medrano (Worcester Warriors), Joaquin Oviedo (Perpignan), Lucas Paulos (Brive), Ignacio Ruiz (Jaguares XV), Joel Sclavi (La Rochelle), Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (Benetton Treviso), Mayco Vivas (Jaguares XV)

Backs: Lautaro Bazan Velez (Rovigo), Gonzalo Bertranou (Dragons), Emiliano Boffelli (Edinburgh), Santiago Carreras (Gloucester), Lucio Cinti (London Irish), Santiago Cordero (Bordeaux Begles), Tomas Cubelli (Biarritz), Jeronimo de la Fuente (Perpignan), Juan Imhoff (Racing 92), Juan Cruz Mallía (Toulouse), Lucas Mensa (Mont-de-Marsan), Matias Moroni (Leicester Tigers), Matias Orlando (Newcastle Falcons), Nicolas Sanchez (Stade Francais), Benjamin Urdapilleta (Castres).

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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