Los Pumas Make Two Changes for Nations Championship Clash Against England

July 17, 2026
423
Ultimate Rugby

The third round of the inaugural Nations Championship is fast approaching, with Los Pumas set to conclude the opening phase of the competition against England at the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero on Saturday, 18 July. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:00pm local time.

Argentina will face England once again after the thrilling contest between the two sides at Twickenham last November, where Los Pumas came up just short in a narrow 27-23 defeat.

The teams have met 31 times, with England holding the advantage with 24 wins to Argentina's five, while two matches have ended in draws. Los Pumas' last home victory over England came in 2009, when they secured a 24-22 win in Salta.

Santiago del Estero has proven to be a happy hunting ground for Argentina, who remain unbeaten in the province. Los Pumas defeated Scotland 34-31 there in 2022 before edging South Africa 29-28 in 2024.

Felipe Contepomi's side head into the match after opening their Nations Championship campaign with a 47-38 defeat to Scotland in Córdoba before bouncing back with a 35-21 victory over Wales in San Juan. England, meanwhile, suffered a 45-21 loss to South Africa before responding with a commanding 73-8 win over Fiji.

Contepomi has made two changes to the side that defeated Wales last weekend. Mayco Vivas returns at loosehead prop in place of Boris Wenger, while Matías Moroni replaces Lucio Cinti at outside centre.

There is also a notable addition among the replacements, with Toulouse forward Efraín Elías returning to the squad. Fresh from helping the French club win the Top 14 title, he is in line to make his first appearance of the season for Los Pumas.

Argentina Starting XV

15 Santiago Carreras (66 caps) – Vice-captain
14 Bautista Delguy (41 caps)
13 Matías Moroni (96 caps)
12 Justo Piccardo (12 caps)
11 Mateo Carreras (35 caps)
10 Tomás Albornoz (23 caps)
9 Gonzalo García (18 caps)

8 Joaquín Oviedo (24 caps)
7 Marcos Kremer (82 caps)
6 Santiago Grondona (28 caps)

5 Matías Alemanno (101 caps)
4 Guido Petti (100 caps)

3 Tomás Rapetti (5 caps)
2 Julián Montoya (119 caps, captain)
1 Mayco Vivas (41 caps)

Replacements

16 Ignacio Ruiz (29 caps)
17 Boris Wenger (7 caps)
18 Pedro Delgado (10 caps)
19 Efraín Elías (2 caps)
20 Pablo Matera (123 caps) – Vice-captain
21 Joaquín Moro (4 caps)
22 Simón Benítez Cruz (11 caps)
23 Lucio Cinti (41 caps)

2026 Los Pumas Fixture List

4 July: Los Pumas 38-47 Scotland – Córdoba (Nations Championship)
11 July: Los Pumas 35-21 Wales – San Juan (Nations Championship)
18 July: Los Pumas v England – Santiago del Estero (Nations Championship)
8 August: Los Pumas v South Africa – Buenos Aires, Estadio José Amalfitani (Test Match)
29 August: Los Pumas v Australia – Jujuy (Test Match)
5 September: Los Pumas v Australia – Mendoza (Test Match)
6 November: Ireland v Los Pumas – Dublin (Nations Championship)
14 November: Italy v Los Pumas – Genoa (Nations Championship)
21 November: France v Los Pumas – Paris (Nations Championship)
27–29 November: Nations Championship Finals Weekend – Twickenham, London