Experienced forward Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe was named Thursday as the captain of the Argentina side to play Ireland in this weekend's international here at Croke Park.

Lobbe leads the team in place of regular captain Felipe Contepomi after the centre, who plays club rugby for Dublin-based province Leinster, was ruled out earlier in the week with a hand infection.

Contepomi's goalkicking duties are now set to be taken over on Saturday by outside-half Juan Martin Hernandez.

Argentina coach Santiago Phelan made five changes in all to the team which beat Italy 22-14 in Turin last week to go fourth in the world rankings.

Horacio Agulla starts at full-back in place of Bernardo Stortoni, now on the bench. Elsewhere in the backs Franciso Leonelli takes the right wing berth of Federico Martin Aramburu, now in midfield alongside Miguel Avramovic.

Aramburu and Avramovic replace Contepomi and Gonzalo Tiesi as Argentina's centre-pairing.

Juan Manuel Leguizamon, long one of Argentina's leading forwards is at No 8 with Lobbe moving across the back-row to openside flanker.

Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, a loose forward against Italy, is now in the second-row alongside Patricio Albacete with Esteban Lozada demoted to bench duty

But Phelan has retained the tough-scrummaging front-row of Juan Pablo Orlandi, Mario Ledesma and Rodrigo Roncero.

When the teams last met, Argentina won 30-15 in Paris to knock Ireland out of the 2007 World Cup, with the Pumas going on to finish the tournament in an impressive third place.

Argentina's side features six survivors from that Parc des Princes clash while nine of Ireland's starting for this weekend's match were on from the start in Paris.

Saturday's match could have a major bearing on the progress of Ireland, coming off a 22-3 loss to the All Blacks, at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

Defeat on Saturday, combined with a Scotland victory over Canada, would see Ireland drop down into ninth in the world rankings.

That would leave them in the third tier of next's month's World Cup draw in London and put them in a pool with two sides ranked above them.

With only the top two from each pool going through to the knockout stages, Ireland's hopes of a successful World Cup could be scuppered some three years before the tournament starts.

Argentina team to play Ireland in a rugby union international at Croke Park here Saturday (1445GMT):

(15-1):

Horacio Agulla; Francisco Leonelli, Federico Martin Aramburu, Miguel Avramovic, Rafael Carballo; Juan Martin Hernandez, Nicolas Vergallo; Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (capt), Martin Durand; Patricio Albacete, Rimas Alvarez Kairelis; Juan Pablo Orlandi, Mario Ledesma, Rodrigo Roncero

Replacements: Alberto Vernet Basualdo, Marcos Ayerza, Esteban Lozada, Alvaro Galindo, Agustin Figuerola, Santiago Fernandez, Bernardo Stortoni.

AFP

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