Argentina have backed down in a club-versus-country conflict and called up nine players from local amateur sides for Saturday’s rugby union international with South Africa in Buenos Aires.
Argentina had initially threatened to seek an IRB ban on players not released by their European clubs but coach Marcelo Loffreda has now accepted he will be without nine first-choice players, including his entire front five who helped defeat France and ran Ireland so close in the autumn Tests.
He has called up five uncapped players with Argentine clubs — locks Santiago Artese (SIC) and Manuel Carizza (Rosario Jockey Club), props Marcos Ayerza (Cardenal Newman) and Alberto Vernet Basualdo (Alumni) and full-back Francisco Bosch (Hindu).
There are five players based overseas — captain Agustin Pichot and Juan Hernandez of Stade Francais, Lucas Ostiglia of Petrarca, Augusto Petrilli of Bourgoin and Martin Schusterman of Plymouth Albion in England.
Federico Martin-Aramburu (Biarritz), Hernan Senillosa and Gonzalo Longo (Clermont), Rimas Alvarez-Kairelis (Perpignan), Patricio Albacete (Pau), Mario
Ledesma (Castres), Omar Hasan (Toulouse), Rodrigo Roncero (Stade Francais) and Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) will be missing from the team.
The Springboks will also be fielding an under-strength team as five of their players stayed behind in Britain to play for the Barbarians against New Zealand in London on Saturday — Schalk Burger, Os Du Randt, Danie Rossouw, Gcobani Bobo, and AJ Venter.
Argentina squad
Santiago Artese (SIC), Miguel Avramovic (Alumni), Marcos Ayerza (Cardenal Newman), Lucas Borges (Pucara), Francisco Bosch (Hindu Club), Pablo Bouza (Duendes de Rosario), Manuel Carizza (Rosario Jockey Club), Manuel Contepomi (Cardenal Newman), Leopoldo de Chazal (Hindu Club), Nicolas Fernandez Miranda (Hindu Club), Pablo Gomez Cora (Lomas Atletic), Eusebio Guinazu (Mendoza), Juan Martin Hernandez (Stade Francais/FRA), Federico Mendez (Mendoza), Lucas
Ostiglia (Padoue/ITA), Augusto Petrilli (Bourgoin/FRA), Agustin Pichot (Stade Francais/FRA), Martin Schusterman (Plymouth/ENG), Gonzalo Pedro Tiesi (SIC), Alberto Vernet Basualdo (Alumni) – Sapa-AFP