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June is the business end of professional leagues. The Finals of the English Premiership, United Rugby Championship (URC) and Super Rugby will all take-place later this month. The URC Final will be on June 17, one day before the English Premiership and Super Rugby Finals. The Top 14 will conclude on June 24.
The finals will affect Argentina’s preparations for the three-match home-series against Scotland. The clubs that are eliminated earlier will no longer require players. They can gain much needed rest before beginning the roster training in Buenos Aires.
53% of Michael Cheika’s roster player their rugby in France. Of the 17 players 16 are Top 14 players this season and 1 plays in the Pro D2. The Pro D2 player is Rodrigo Bruni whose club, Vannes have finished their season. Bruni will join Brive for the new season, thereby going from the Pro D2 to the Top 14.
The Top 14 play-off’s will feature Bordeaux, Castres, La Rochelle, Montpellier, Racing 92, and Toulouse. Five of the teams have players on Cheika’s roster to face Scotland. Tomás Cubelli, Facundo Isa, Francisco Gómez Kodela, Marcos Kremer, Tomás Lavanini, Lucas Paulos, and Nicolás Sánchez have ended their seasons.
In addition, the promotion vs Relegation match will involve Perpignan who also have players on the roster for July. The Perpignan vs Mont de Marsan promotion-relegation fixture will be on Sunday, July 12. Jerónimo de la Fuente, and Bautista Delguy will complete their seasons with Perpignan in that match.
The Top 14 play-off’s picture means that Benjamin Urdapilleta and Castres will play on Friday, June 17. This will be against either Joel Sclavi or Juan Cruz Mallía. Santiago Chocobares will not play. He is to undergo knee surgery and will not play in July nor in the Rugby Championship. No replacement has yet been named by Los Pumas’ staff.
Juan Imhoff, Santiago Cordero, and Guido Petti will play on Sunday, June 12 in a play-off. The winning team will face Montpellier on Saturday, June 18.
| POS | PLAYER | FRENCH CLUB | SEASON OVER? |
| TH | Francisco Gómez Kodela | Lyon | Yes |
| TH | Joel Sclavi | La Rochelle | No |
| LO | Tomás Lavanini | Clermont | Yes |
| LO | Lucas Paulos | Brive | Yes |
| LO | Guido Petti | Bordeaux | No |
| FL | Marcos Kremer | Stade Français | Yes |
| N8 | Rodrigo Bruni | Vannes | Yes |
| N8 | Facundo Isa | Toulon | Yes |
| SH | Tomás Cubelli | Biarritz | Yes |
| FH | Nicolás Sánchez | Stade Français | Yes |
| FH | Benjamín Urdapilleta | Castres | No |
| CE | Santiago Chocobares | Toulouse | Yes |
| CE | Jerónimo de la Fuente | Perpignan | No |
| CE | Juan Cruz Mallía | Toulouse | No |
| WI | Santiago Cordero | Bordeaux | No |
| WI | Bautista Delguy | Perpignan | No |
| WI | Juan Imhoff | Racing 92 | No |
Placed in second for the number of players on Michael Cheika’s roster, the English Premiership will continue eight players to the test team in July. Of them seven players completed their season on June 04 or earlier. The London Irish trio of Lucio Cinti, Agustín Creevy, and Juan Martín González had a bye on the final match day of the season. Their season concluded on May 21.
Five players ended their English Premiership seasons on Saturday, June 04. Gloucester narrowly missed out on a Semi Final. In doing so, Matías Alemanno, Santiago Carreras, and Santiago Socino have ended their seasons. So too have Santiago Grondona and Matías Orlando. Their clubs were eliminated from play-off’s contention prior to the final round of the regular season.
Argentina captain Julián Montoya remains active. The Leicester Tigers will play against Midlands rivals the Northampton Saints in a Semi Final on June 11. The winning team will face either the Harlequins or Saracens on June 18.
| POS | PLAYER | ENGLISH CLUB | SEASON OVER? |
| HK | Agustín Creevy | London Irish | Yes |
| HK | Julián Montoya | Leicester Tigers | No |
| LO | Matías Alemanno | Gloucester | Yes |
| FL | Juan Martín González | London Irish | Yes |
| FL | Santiago Grondona | Exeter Chiefs | Yes |
| CE | Lucio Cinti | London Irish | Yes |
| CE | Matías Orlando | Newcastle Falcons | Yes |
| FB | Santiago Carreras | Gloucester | Yes |
Three men on the Pumas roster for July play in the United Rugby Championship (URC). Loose head props Thomas Gallo and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro are in their off-season. Benetton did not reach the URC play-off’s. The team’s final match was on May 20.
The remaining player is Emiliano Boffelli. He will be up against many of his Edinburgh teammates in July. His team reached the play-off’s but were elimination by the Stormers who defeated them in the Quarter Final on June 04. Boffelli’s URC season has officially ended.
| POS | PLAYER | URC CLUB | SEASON OVER? |
| LH | Thomas Gallo | Benetton (Italy) | Yes |
| LH | Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro | Benetton (Italy) | Yes |
| FB | Emiliano Boffelli | Edinburgh (Scotland) | Yes |
Gonzalo García played the 2021-2022 season for Valorugby Emilia in the Italian Top 10. He was shortlisted for the MVP award. Valorugby Emilia’s season concluded with Semi Finals elimination on May 15.
| POS | PLAYER | ITALIAN CLUB | SEASON OVER? |
| SH | Gonzalo García | Valorugby Emilia | Yes |
Two players on the roster featured in the Súper Liga Americana fee Rugby (SLAR). Both Mayco Vivas and Ignacio Ruiz played for Los Jaguares XV. The team’s season concluded on May 20 with a Semi Final defeat against Selknam.
The third player based in Argentina is Lautaro Bazán Vélez. He is set to move to Italy for the new Top 10 season. He recently ended his time with Los Pumas 7’s to focus on the fifteen-man game.
| POS | PLAYER | SOUTH AMERICAN CLUB | SEASON OVER? |
| LH | Mayco Vivas | Jaguares XV | Yes |
| HK | Ignacio Ruiz | Jaguares XV | Yes |
| SH | Lautaro Bazán Vélez | Los Pumas 7’s | Yes |
Pablo Matera is the one Super Rugby 2022 player on Michael Cheika’s roster. He started for the Crusaders in their Quarter Final win over the Reds on June 03. The Crusaders will play their Semi Final at home against the Chiefs on June 10. A win would see them into the final against either the Brumbies or Blues on June 18. His arrival in Argentina will be in either mid or late June.
| POS | PLAYER | SR CLUB | SEASON OVER? |
| FL | Pablo Matera | Crusaders (New Zealand) | No |
