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Argentina will be without Marcos Kremer for the 2023 Rugby Championship. The star flanker has been suspended for five weeks. Kremer was red carded playing for Stade Français in Top 14 barrage against Racing 92.
The LNR suspended the Puma for eight weeks but reduced it by three after the player cooperated throughout the process and admitted to his guilt. The dangerous player was for a clean-out. He made direct shoulder to head contact on Racing 92’s Scottish fly half Finn Russell. Kremer was sent-off following a review by the TMO.
The match was Kremer’s final appearance for Stade Français. He will join Clermont next season. Kremer arrived at Stade Français from Los Jaguares in 2000. He made 48 appearances for the Parisians, 39 of them were in the starting line-up. Kremer appeared in more than 3100 minutes for the club.
The five week suspension will not affect Kremer’s availability for Rugby World Cup 2023. Kremer will be be unable to play for five weeks starting together, June 21. The suspension, nonetheless, means Argentina will miss Kremer for four upcoming matches.
Los Pumas face New Zealand in Mendoza. The opening match of the year will be followed by an away Rugby Championship match against Australia, a road match against South Africa and a match outside of the Rugby Championship against South Africa in Buenos Aires. Kremer will miss all of them.
Kremer will be free again following the July 29 match against South Africa. Argentina will follow it up with a match against Spain in Madrid. Kremer will be free to play in that fixture.
Michael Cheika’s Rugby Championship 2023 roster will be named early next week. Kremer was a certainty for the roster. He will now sit out the tournament. Who will start in his place? Facundo Isa is the favored player. Isa was a regular under Cheika in 2022. Cheika’s preferred back-row was Kremer, Juan Martín González and Pablo Matera.
Additional back-rowers expected on the roster are Santiago Grondona, Pedro Rubiolo, Rodrigo Bruni, and Joaquín Oviedo. They all trained in the Paris camp in March. The next in line is arguably Francisco Gorrissen who played the most rugby of every player in France this past season. He captained Vannes in the Pro D2.
