Los Pumas mix it up for British and Irish Lions clash

TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Argentina head coach Filipe Contepomi has named a side filled with youth and experience for their showdown against the British and Irish Lions at Lansdowne Road on Friday.

Los Pumas will face the B&I Lions for the first time in 20 years.

The prestigious British and Irish team, led by Andy Farrell, will play their farewell match before they tour Australia, and it will be their first ever match in Ireland.

For Felipe Contepomi’s team, this will be the first of 13 matches they will play this year.

The Pumas arrived in Dublin on Saturday, June 14, and trained at the Old Belvedere Rugby Football Club in the Irish capital, while the Lions arrived on Sunday after completing a training camp in Portugal.

There are potential debuts off the bench for Bautista Bernasconi, Boris Wenger, and Simón Benítez Cruz.

This match, being a friendly, will not award caps to either Los Pumas or Lions players. It will also not count toward the rankings.

Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12, Justo Piccardo, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Bautista Bernasconi, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Francisco Marchetti Coria, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Joaquin Moro, 21 Simon Benitez Cruz, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Santiago Cordero.

Date: Friday, June 20
Venue: Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Kick-off: 20.00 (16.00 Argentina time; 19.00 GMT)
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)