The Rugby Championship begins on August 10 at Sky Stadium in Wellington, with Los Pumas and the All Blacks playing at Eden Park in Auckland on August 17. For their inaugural the Rugby Championship games against the All Blacks in New Zealand, Argentina’s head coach Felipe Contepomi has called up a number of seasoned players.
Contepomi’s team now includes Lucio Cinti, Agustin Creevy, Juan Martín Gonzalez, Tomás Lavanini, Juan Cruz Mallia, and Joel Sclavi, who were absent from Los Pumas’ most recent mid-year international campaign.
Contepomi has also pulled a surprise by including second-row uncapped Efrain Elias in his team of 31 players, which includes 14 backs and 17 forwards.
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Elias, a professional rugby player for Toulouse, a Top 14 winner, captained Argentina’s U20 team at the World Rugby U20 Championship held in South Africa last month. Contepomi has also pulled a surprise by including second-row uncapped Efrain Elias in his team of 31 players, which includes 14 backs and 17 forwards.
Elias, a professional rugby player for Toulouse, a Top 14 winner, captained Argentina’s U20 team at the World Rugby U20 Championship held in South Africa last month. But veteran centre Jeronimo de la Fuente has ruled himself out of selection for the entire Rugby Championship for personal reasons, meaning Argentina will be without his services.
Rugby Championship All Blacks As Los Pumas mid-year Tests
Argentina enters the competition having defeated France and Uruguay in two of the three mid-year Test matches played last month, while New Zealand won all three of its international matches against England and Fiji.
In the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, Los Pumas played their final game against the All Blacks, which ended in a 44-6 triumph for the men in black.
Contepomi is excited about the challenge of facing the All Blacks in their home country and is pleased with the development his team achieved during the mid-year internationals.
We now have the enormous challenge of starting a new Rugby Championship and continuing to build and evolve as a team,” he stated, after meeting with the players for three weeks during the July window.
We have a roster of 31 players for our first two matches against New Zealand, but it’s important to remember that this is not a set list for the entire competition and could change as it goes on.
However, we would like to express our gratitude to the Argentine people for their overwhelming support over the first three games of the season. We also look forward to seeing each other again in the upcoming weeks in La Plata, Santa Fe, and Santiago del Estero.
Los Pumas squad for Rugby Championship Tests in New Zealand
Forwards: Eduardo Bello, Agustin Creevy, Efrain Elias, Thomas Gallo, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Marcos Kremer, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Franco Molina, Julian Montoya, Joaquin Oviedo, Juan Bautista Pedemonte, Pedro Rubiolo, Ignacio Ruiz, Joel Sclavi, Lucio Sordoni, Mayco Vivas
Backs: Thomas Albornoz, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Gonzalo Bertranou, Martin Bogado, Mateo Carreras, Santiago Carreras, Santiago Chocobares, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Cordero, Bautista Delguy, Gonzalo Garcia, Juan Cruz Mallia, Matias Moroni, Matias Orlando
