Los Pumas face England in final July Nations Championship match

Los Pumas are set to conclude their July Nations Championship window by hosting England in Santiago del Estero. The Argentine team, coming off a 35-21 victory over Wales, aims to build on their performance against a formidable English side.

Coach Felipe Contepomi has opted for two changes in the starting lineup. Mayco Vivas will replace Boris Wenger, and Matías Moroni steps in for Lucio Cinti. The full starting XV includes Julián Montoya, Tomás Rapetti, Guido Petti, Matías Alemanno, Santiago Grondona, Marcos Kremer, Joaquín Oviedo, Gonzalo García, Tomás Albornoz, Mateo Carreras, Justo Piccardo, Moroni, Bautista Delguy, and Santiago Carreras. Several players are on the bench, including Pablo Matera, who expressed optimism about the team's progress.

“

Spectacular week. Santiago always receives you with exaggerated generosity. I have enjoyed it a lot. We seek to be a better team than last Saturday. I think there has been improvement from Scotland to Wales. And today we have that opportunity that we had last Saturday. To correct in several aspects.

Matera described the week as "spectacular," highlighting the team's focus on improvement. "We seek to be a better team than last Saturday," he stated, noting progress since the Scotland match. Coach Contepomi also emphasized the need for cohesion, acknowledging that the third week of training can be challenging due to player fatigue but stressing the importance of managing energy and intensity.

England's lineup features Ellis Genge, captain Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Alex Coles, George Martin, Ollie Chessum, Guy Pepper, Ben Earl, Jack van Poortvliet, Fin Smith, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Seb Atkinson, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, and Marcus Smith. England has a dominant historical record against Los Pumas, winning 24 of their 31 previous encounters. However, Argentina boasts an undefeated record at the Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero, having previously defeated Scotland and South Africa there, making this match a clash of contrasting statistics.

“

Possibly a bit more cohesion in some parts of the game where a bit of work time is required. But as always, the third week is harder. Many already have more battered bodies. But if we can manage the energy and try to give it the intensity we want to give it… that we will evaluate.