FACTBOX-Rugby-Argentina Rugby Championship team
July 16 (Reuters) - Factbox on Argentina ahead of the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship:
World ranking: 10th
Titles: 0
Last year: 4th
Coach: Mario Ledesma
Captain: Pablo Matera
The Pumas have probably never had such a good chance to break their All Blacks duck with a blend of Super Rugby runners-up and seasoned Europe-based 2015 World Cup veterans to meet the champions in the opening match at Velez Sarsfield.
All 15 of the Jaguares' starting line-up in the Super Rugby final who lost to the Canterbury Crusaders earlier this month are in the 30-man squad that Mario Ledesma named against New Zealand, who they have never beaten in 28 meetings.
There are also five players who helped Argentina reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in England four years ago including flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez, wing Santiago Cordero and back row Facundo Isa.
Ledesma named a 46-man squad in May, more than two thirds of them Jaguares, pooling together his pre-selection players for the Championship and the World Cup in Japan in which he has set himself the primary goal of qualifying from a tough group including France and England.
The squad was increased by one with last week's call-up for Cordero, who had a magnificent first season abroad with Exeter Chiefs in the English Premiership, as Ledesma again used an exception to Argentina's no-exiles rule which allows him to seek cover for less experienced or injured home-based players.
With victories under their belts against the likes of the Waikato Chiefs and Wellington Hurricanes in Super Rugby, many Argentine players now feel they are on a level playing field against New Zealand's best.
But they will have to handle fatigue and defy a record of underachievement in the tournament. The only time the Pumas have avoided last place was in the truncated 2015 edition.
A second half meltdown handed the Wallabies a 45-34 victory in Mendoza last year after the Pumas had taken a 31-7 lead at halftime, consigning Argentina to the wooden spoon.
Sanchez, a key player in the team's development over recent years, issued his team mates a warning that the other three nations would be keen to put Argentina back in their place on the international stage.
"The Rugby Championship is very tough," he said.
"Teams have very strong replacement benches and I'm sure that after all this (Jaguares success) they're going to be playing us differently."
SQUAD
Forwards: Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Mayco Vivas, Juan Pablo Zeiss, Javier Diaz, Santiago Garcia Botta, Agustin Creevy, Julian Montoya, Santiago Socino, Juan Figallo, Ramiro Herrera, Santiago Medrano, Enrique Pieretto, Lucio Sordoni, Guido Petti, Tomas Lavanini, Matias Alemanno, Lucas Paulos, Pablo Matera, Tomas Lezana, Javier Ortega Desio, Marcos Kremer, Rodrigo Bruni, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Facundo Isa
Backs: Tomas Cubelli, Gonzalo Bertranou, Martin Landajo, Felipe Ezcurra, Nicolas Sanchez, Benjamin Urdapilleta, Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, Domingo Miotti, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Matias Orlando, Matias Moroni, Lucas Mensa, Juan Cruz Mallia, Bautista Ezcurra, Ramiro Moyano, Santiago Cordero, Bautista Delguy, Sebastian Cancelliere, Emiliano Boffelli, Joaquín Tuculet, Manuel Montero, Santiago Carreras
FIXTURES (kickoff GMT)
July 20 v New Zealand, Buenos Aires (1805)
July 27 v Australia, Brisbane (0945)
Aug. 10 v South Africa, Salta (1940) (Reporting by Rex Gowar; Editing by Ian Ransom)
