LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran Juan Martin Hernandez was selected ahead of Nicolas Sanchez at flyhalf for Argentina as coach Daniel Hourcade opted for an experienced team to take on England at Twickenham on Saturday.
There are four changes to the Argentina side that lost to Australia in their last Rugby Championship encounter in October, including the 35-year-old Hernandez’s selection.
Santiago Garcia Botta comes into the front row in place of Lucas Noguera while Tomas Lavanini is back in the second row with Marco Kremer switching to flanker.
Ramiro Moyano returns after injury on the wing, with Matias Moroni moving inside to centre to replace Matias Orlando.
"We have chosen the team around the strategy we have opted for to face our opponent,” said Houcade as he announced his team.
“The breakdown will be key and I think the team that manages to dominate that aspect will have the initiative.
“Playing against England is always extra motivation and we know what kind of opponent we are going to face. They are the second best team in the world and the fact we have faced them three times in a year has given us a better idea of what to expect,” the coach added.
Argentina narrowly lost two tests to England, who were without any of their British and Irish Lions players, at home in June and were beaten 27-14 at Twickenham last year.
Team: 15-Joaquin Tuculet, 14-Ramiro Moyano, 13-Matias Moroni, 12-Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 11-Emiliano Boffelli, 10-Juan Martin Hernandez, 9-Martin Landajo, 8-Tomas Lezana, 7-Marcos Kremer, 6-Pablo Matera, 5-Tomas Lavanini, 4-Matias Alemanno, 3-Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2-Agustin Creevy (captain), 1-Santiago Garcia Botta
Replacements: 16-Julian Montoya, 17-Lucas Noguera, 18-Enrique Pieretto, 19-Banjamin Macome, 20-Leonardo Senatore, 21-Gonzalo Bertranou, 22-Nicolas Sanchez, 23-Sebastian Cancellere.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Jon Boyle and Toby Davis)
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