Dragons RFC scrum half Gonzalo Bertranou starts for Argentina in the winner takes all clash with Japan in the Rugby World Cup on Sunday in Nantes (kick-off 12noon). The Pumas need to beat Japan in order to secure their place in the quarter finals.
A draw could be enough to secure second place for Japan or Argentina, depending on whether one or both secure a try-bonus point and Samoa’s result against England.
If both get try-scoring bonus points in a draw, Argentina will finish second on points difference (+46 to +18). If the match ends in a draw, Japan must be the only team to get a try-scoring bonus point to finish second.
If neither get a bonus point in the draw, Samoa must beat England by 29 points and get a try-bonus point to have the best points difference of the three teams to finish second (+47). Argentina would then finish third on points difference from Japan to qualify for RWC 2027.
Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Emiliano Boffelli, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya (c), Francisco Gómez Kodela, Guido Petti Pagadizabal, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez
Replacements: Agustín Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Matias Alemanno, Pedro Rubiolo, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Nicolas Sanchez, Matías Moroni
