Rugby Championship: Argentina change three for Gold Coast clash with Australia

Argentina head coach Daniel Hourcade has made three changes to his Pumas side for their Rugby Championship clash against Australia on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Following their 28-9 defeat to New Zealand in Napier last weekend, Hourcade has opted to make to changes to his backline with Racing Metro flyer Juan Imhoff and youngster Manuel Montero coming onto the wings.

Imhoff has scored 12 tries in his 21 appearances for the Pumas while dynamic 22-year-old Montero has 13 tries from just 15 Tests.

Horacio Agulla and Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino are the men to make way as Hourcade’s search for a first victory in the 2014 edition of the Rugby Championship enters a fourth match.

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In the pack, rookie lock Matias Alemanno replaces the suspended Tomas Lavinini after the Argentine second-row accepted a one-week ban for dangerous charging against the All Blacks.

Alemanno was the starting second row in Argentina's wins against Uruguay and Chile this year but plays his first Test against the Wallabies. 

Worcester Warriors hooker Agustin Creevy will again captain the Pumas again and Hourcade has an experienced back row at his disposal with Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamon, who boast more than 100 Test caps between them, combining in the flanks.

The half-back pairing of scrum-half Martin Landajo and No 10 Nicolas Sanchez remains intact, while 46-Test Juan Martin Hernandez and Marcelo Bosch pair up in the midfield.

Argentina, ranked 12th in the world, are still chasing a first Rugby Championship win in three years of the competition. 

Prior to their defeat against the All Blacks, Argentina lost back-to-back matches against South Africa, though they pushed the Springboks to the brink, losing 33-31 in Salta after a 13-6 reverse in Pretoria. 

Argentina: 15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo; 1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Agustin Creevy (capt), 3 Ramiro Herrera, 4 Mariano Galarza, 5 Matias Alemanno, 6 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Juan Manuel Leguisamon, 8 Leonardo Senatore.
Replacements: 16 Matias Cortese, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Benjamin Macome, 20 Rodrigo Baez, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Jeronimo De la Fuente, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino