Rugby World Cup: New Zealand make two changes for semi-final vs Argentina
New Zealand have recalled wing Mark Telea and lock Sam Whitelock for Friday's Rugby World Cup semi-final against Argentina in Paris; three-time winners New Zealand are strong favourites to progress and would face England or South Africa in the final; Pumas start with Gonzalo Bertranou
Last Updated: 18/10/23 7:48pm
New Zealand have made two changes for their World Cup semi-final showdown against Argentina on Friday with Mark Telea and Sam Whitelock coming into the starting XV.
Telea was left out the All Blacks' 28-24 quarter-final victory over Ireland after breaching team protocols.
The 26-year-old starts on the left flank in place of Leicester Fainga'anuku, who drops out of the matchday 23, despite scoring the first of the Kiwis' three tries against the Irish.
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Veteran second-row Whitelock swaps roles with Brodie Retallick in the other alteration to Ian Foster's starting XV to win his 152nd cap. Retallick is on the bench.
Samisoni Taukei'aho takes the spot of fellow hooker Dane Coles among the replacements.
Head coach Foster has warned his players "not to get softened" by the acclaim which followed their thrilling win over Ireland.
"The best way to recover is to refocus really quickly on what the next challenge is and not to listen too much to any praise you're given as a group for a performance," said Foster, who was assistant to Steve Hansen four years ago when New Zealand lost to England in the semi-finals.
"Not to go down that path, not to get softened because everyone's patting you on the back saying you played well.
"That's not a good place to be as a team.
"I love the way the team has buckled down, we've redefined the challenge for us as a group, we're not satisfied with where we are now and when you're clear about your goal for the week the recovery comes along pretty quickly.
"You know that if we're not right on Friday night at Stade de France, it's going to be a sad old night and we don't want it to be like that.
"You get people talking to you about tomorrow and trying to take your eyes off today.
"In 2019 we probably didn't stop being patted on the back after the quarter-final, hence some of my language today and we're just trying to dial this back, keep things simple and let's just worry about Friday."
The Pumas have swapped Gonzalo Bertranou to start ahead of Tomas Cubelli in anticipation of a much faster game than when they overcame Wales 29-17 in Marseille.
There are seven survivors from their last World Cup semi-final in 2015, a loss to an Australia team coached by current Pumas mentor Michael Cheika.
The list includes Matias Alemanno, Agustin Creevy, Tomas Lavanini, Nicolas Sanchez, Guido Petti, captain Julian Montoya and No 8 Facundo Isa, who will play his 50th Test.
Another sell-out crowd of 80,000 fans is expected in Paris for what will be the third World Cup encounter between the two sides, and their second in the knockout stages.
The teams met earlier this year in Mendoza, where the All Blacks opened the Test season with a 41-12 win.
New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Aaron Smith; 1 Ethan de Groot, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 4 Sam Whitelock, 5 Scott Barrett, 6 Shannon Frizell, 7 Sam Cane (c), 8 Ardie Savea.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Dalton Papalii, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown.
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou; 1 Thomas Gallo, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Facundo Isa.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matias Moroni.
Rugby World Cup - remaining fixtures
Friday October 20
SEMI-FINAL - Argentina vs New Zealand (8pm, Paris)
Saturday October 21
SEMI-FINAL - England vs South Africa (8pm, Paris)
Friday October 27
3rd Place Play-off - Semi-Final 1 Runner-Up vs Semi-Final 2 Runner-Up (8pm, Paris)
Saturday October 28
FINAL - Semi-Final 1 Winner vs Semi-Final 2 Winner (8pm, Paris)
