Cheika relies on experience - Argentina name team to play England

Argentina head coach Michael Cheika has named an experienced starting XV for their opening Rugby World Cup 2023 game, against England in Marseille on Saturday, with nine players having World Cup experience. 

1 Thomas Gallo
2 Julian Montoya (c)
3 Francisco Gómez Kodela
4 Matias Alemanno
5 Tomas Lavanini
6 Pablo Matera
7 Marcos Kremer
8 Juan Martin Gonzalez
9 Gonzalo Bertranou
10 Santiago Carreras
11 Mateo Carreras
12 Santiago Chocobares
13 Lucio Cinti
14 Emiliano Boffelli
15 Juan Cruz Mallia

Replacements:

16 Agustín Creevy
17 Joel Sclavi
18 Eduardo Bello
19 Guido Petti Pagadizabal
20 Pedro Rubiolo
21 Rodrigo Bruni
22 Lautaro Bazan Velez
23 Matías Moroni 

• Agustín Creevy will play his fourth Rugby World Cup, joining Mario Ledesma Arocena, Felipe Contepomi and Martin Scelzo for most all-time by an Argentine.
• Matias Alemanno and Tomas Lavannini start alongside each other in the second-row in a Rugby World Cup match for the first time since the 2015 bronze final against South Africa. 
• Emiliano Boffelli scored 25 points against England in November last year, with one try, one conversion and six penalty goals. 
• Julian Montoya was Argentina’s top try-scorer at RWC 2019, and will captain Los Pumas at a Rugby World Cup for the first time. He has scored six of his 11 career tries at the Rugby World Cup.
• Santiago Carreras and Gonzalo Bertranou will start alongside each other in the halves for the fourth time this season. This has been Michael Cheika’s preferred combination, naming this pairing in 10 of their past 13 tests since week two of last year’s Rugby Championship.  
• Mateo Carreras is on a three-game try-scoring streak, the longest of his career. He is Los Pumas' leading try-scorer in 2023, and will make his RWC debut this weekend.