Mario Ledesma and Shaun Edwards join the coaching staff of Los Pumas

Just weeks before the continuation of the Nations Championship in Europe in November, the addition of Mario Ledesma and Shaun Edwards to the Los Pumas coaching staff was confirmed. Ledesma will serve as forwards and defense coaches, respectively, until the end of the Rugby World Cup. Ledesma returns to the national team, which he led as head coach between 2018 and 2022, following his work as a consultant in the area of play and as head coach of the URBA U17 team. Edwards, meanwhile, arrives after seven years as defense coach for France, with whom he won the Six Nations in 2022, 2025, and 2026.

Felipe Contepomi, head coach of Los Pumas, spoke about the two new additions: “Mario and Shaun arrive at Los Pumas with enormous international experience. They know what it means to compete at the highest level and can contribute a lot to the team. With the World Cup just a year away, they will help us continue to grow as a team and prepare in the best possible way for what's to come.”

Regarding his return to the national team, Mario Ledesma commented: “ I am honored and very grateful for the opportunity to work with Los Pumas again. I am eager for us to get together and start working with the players and the staff.”

Shaun Edwards said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Felipe Contepomi, his coaching staff, and the Argentinian team at the end of this month and through to next year’s World Cup in Australia. I’ve always admired the skill and quality of Argentinian players, and I look forward to contributing my international experience to the team over the next year.”

Mario Ledesma,
a player who emerged from Curupaytí, the club he played for until 2001, wore the Los Pumas jersey in 84 matches between 1996 and 2011 and played in four World Cups (1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011), with the third-place finish in 2007 being his best result. In France, he played for Narbonne (2001-2003), Castres (2003-2005), and Clermont (2005-2011), with whom he won the Challenge Cup in his first year and the Top 14 in 2010. He began his coaching career at Stade Français (2011-2012), where he was an assistant to Michael Cheika. He then spent time at Montpellier (2012-2014), also as an assistant, working alongside Fabien Galthié. In 2014, he returned to work with Cheika at the Waratahs, before joining him as forwards coach for the Australian national team, a position he held until 2017, reaching the final of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. In 2017, he took over as head coach of the Jaguares and in 2018 moved to Los Pumas, a position he held until February 2022. He joins the national team after working as a consultant in the area of play and as head coach of the URBA U17 team.

Shaun Edwards
was born in Wigan, England. Considered the most successful coach in Six Nations history, with seven titles, Shaun Edwards joins Los Pumas after seven years as defense coach of France (2019-2026), with whom he won three Six Nations titles (2022, 2025 and 2026), the 2022 Grand Slam, and reached the number 1 spot in the world rankings. Previously, between 2008 and 2019, he was the Welsh defense coach, leading the team to four Six Nations titles (2008, 2012, 2013, and 2019), three of them Grand Slams (2008, 2012, and 2019), and reaching the world number one ranking in 2019. As head coach of Wasps (2002–2011), he won two Champions Cups (2004 and 2007), one Challenge Cup (2003), four English league titles (2003, 2004, 2005, and 2008), and the Anglo-Welsh Trophy (2006). As a player, he played for Wigan Warriors, an English rugby league team, between 1983 and 1997, making him the most decorated player in the Northern Hemisphere with 37 titles.