Argentina squad confirmed for The Rugby Championship

Coach Contepomi selects Los Pumas squad for matches against New Zealand.

Following the July inbound Tests, Los Pumas are preparing for a demanding schedule with their sights set on the Visa Banco Macro Rugby Championship, which will begin with a visit to New Zealand to play their first two matches of The Rugby Championship. Felipe Contepomi's team will travel first to Wellington in preparation for the first Test against the All Blacks on Saturday 10 August at Sky Stadium; the second match will be in Auckland, at the legendary Eden Park, on Saturday 17 August.

The Pumas come into the Championship after having achieved two victories and one defeat in the July Window, while the All Blacks, with the recent debut of Scott Robertson as head coach, achieved three wins in a row: two against England and one against Fiji. The last match between both teams was in the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup in France, with a victory for the men in black by 44-6.

For the tour of New Zealand, Felipe Contepomi has selected a squad of 31 players that will have six returning players and a debut call-up to the senior team: Lucio Cinti, Agustín Creevy, Juan Martín González, Tomás Lavanini, Juan Cruz Mallía and Joel Sclavi will return to the team after missing the July Tests following their participation in the 2023 World Cup in France. Efraín Elías, captain of Los Pumitas in the recent U20 World Cup, will have his first appearance in the Los Pumas senior sqaud.

Jerónimo de la Fuente, a player from Rosario who recently reached 80 caps with Los Pumas, will not participate in the 2024 Rugby Championship due to  personal reasons.

Felipe Contepomi, head coach of Los Pumas, commented: “After meeting up with the squad for the three weeks of the July Window, we now have the enormous challenge of starting a new Rugby Championship and continuing to build and evolve as a team. For the first two matches with New Zealand we have a list of 31 players and something important to note is that this list is not definitive for the rest of the competition, but may be modified as the tournament progresses.

“On the other hand, we want to thank the Argentine public for their enormous support in the first three matches of the year and we are looking forward to meeting again in La Plata, Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero in the coming weeks.”

Los Pumas squad for the tour of New Zealand and 2024 Rugby Championship:

1. ALBORNOZ, Thomas (8 caps)
2. BAZAN VELEZ , Lautaro (15 caps)
3. BELLO , Eduardo (24 caps)
4. BERTRANOU , Gonzalo (60 chapters)
5. BOGADO, Martin (4 caps)
6. RACES , Matthew (20 caps)
7. RACES , Santiago (45 caps)
8. CHOCOBARES , Santiago (21 caps)
9. CINTI , Lucio (23 caps)
10. LAMB, Santiago (52 caps)
11. CREEVY , Agustin (108 caps)
12. DELGUY, Bautista (27 chapters)
13. ELIAS, Ephraim (Without caps)
14. GALLO, Thomas (26 caps)
15. GARCÍA , Gonzalo (4 chapters)
16. GONZALEZ, Juan Martin (31 caps)
17. KREMER , Marcos (67 caps)
18. LAVANINI , Tomás (86 chapters)
19. MALLÍA , Juan Cruz (33 caps)
20. MATERA , Pablo (101 caps)
21. MOLINA , Franco (3 caps)
22. MONTOYA , Julian (97 caps)
23. MORONI , Matías (82 chapters)
24. ORLANDO , Matías (61 chapters)
25. OVIEDO , Joaquín (5 chapters)
26. PEDEMONTE , Baptist (1 cap)
27. RUBIOLO , Pedro (12 caps)
28. RUIZ , Ignacio (10 caps)
29. SCLAVI , Joel (18 caps)
30. SORDONI , Lucio (7 caps)
31. VIVAS , Mayco (24 caps)