Rugby Championship 2023 – Argentina vs New Zealand – ARN Guide

For the first time since Rugby World Cup 2019, Argentina will play host to New Zealand. In the six matches since then Los Pumas have claimed two wins and New Zealand have kept the South Americans nil on two occasions.

The Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza will be the setting for the match. It is to be the first time that Argentina have hosted New Zealand outside of Buenos Aires province. The venue has seen good Pumas performances in the past; Rugby Championship wins have been recorded at the venue against both Australia and South Africa.

For both Argentina and New Zealand Rugby Championship 2023 falls at the start of the road to the World Cup. While players are fighting for places on the final rosters, the coaching staff are still filtering through possibilities. This is true both in terms of players and tactics. There will be some minor reveals but plenty will be held back.

Julián Montoya leads Los Pumas from hooker. He will earn his 86 cap while former captain Pablo Matera will earn his 92nd. Matera started at N8 throughout 2022 but moves to flanker for the opening match of 2023.

Lucio Sordoni makes his return for Argentina. The 24-year-old will earn his 4th cap and his 1st  test start. He joins Montoya and Thomas Gallo in the front-row. The battle-hoarded Matías Alemanno and Tomás Lavanini will lock the scrum with Juan Martín González and Rodrigo Bruni joining Matera in the back-row.

González is os off two home players in the starting lineup. The other is Gonzalo Bertranou again starts with Santiago Carreras in the halves. There is a surprise outside Carreras with Lucio Cinto playing inside center. It is a first in his professional career.Cinti will play inside Matías Moroni.

The back-three sees plenty of speed with Emiliano Boffelli playing fullback and Bautista Delguy and Mateo Carreras as the wingers. Mateo Carreras will earn his 1st home cap. Agustín Creevy and Nicolás Sánchez will be looking to edge closer to 100. Both feature on the bench. Creevy will earn his 98th and Sánchez his 96th cap. They are the most capped Pumas in history.

The replacements bench has the notable selection of Pedro Rubio at second-row. He is naturally a flanker and plays in this position for the Newcastle Falcons. With some similarities to Marcos Kremer, Rubiolo has prior experience in the second-row for Los Jaguares XV. Santiago Grondona coves flanker while Lautaro Bazán Vélez will be the understudy to Bertranou.

New Zealand have a line-up loaded with depth, talent and experience. Captain and flanker Sam Cane will earn his 87th cap, hooker Dane Coles his 85th, second-rower Scott Barrett his 59th, scrum-half Aaron Smith his 115th and fullback Beauden Barrett will earn his 113th cap.

There is balance across the team. Props Ethan de Groot and Tyrel Lomax are no strangers to Los Pumas. Similarly, back-rowers Ardie Savea and Shannon Frizell no first hand what to expect. The one exception in the forwards is second-rower Josh Lord who will earn his 3rd cap on Saturday.

The backline has Aaron Smith set to feed three play-makers. Damian McKenzie will play flu half, Jordie Barrett inside center and Beauden Barrett at the back. Caleb Clark and Rieko Ioane offer deadly carriers on the left wing and at outside center respectively.

Fijian Emoni Narawa joins Clark and Beaten Barrett in the back-three. He will become the 1208th All Black when he steps on to the park in Mendoza. Another point of note is that Beauden Barrett will overtake the great Dan Carter.

The match itself is the 36th encounter between the teams. The short story is prior test matches have seen New Zealand do what they do best – win well. However, Argentina has had two wins na both were recent. The first was in 2020 and the second in 2022. Neither match was in Argentina.

Can Argentina make history by winning at home against the All Blacks in 2023? 42,500 people will be in attendance with roars certain for the South American team. The match is the only scheduled fixture between Argentina and New Zealand in 2023. A second meeting would mean a clash in the late stages of the World Cup.

ARGENTINA
1 Thomas Gallo, 2 Julián Montoya (capt.), 3 Lucio Sordoni, 4 Matías Alemanno, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Juan Martín González, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Santiago Carreras, 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Lucio Cinti, 13 Matías Moroni, 14 Bautista Delguy, 15 Emiliano Boffelli

Replacements: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Lautaro Bazán Vélez, 22 Nicolás Sánchez, 23 Matías Orlando

NEW ZEALAND
1, Ethan de Groot, 2 Dane Coles, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 4 Scott Barrett, 5 Josh Lord, 6 Shannon Frizell, 7 Sam Cane (capt.), 8 Ardie Savea, 9 Aaron Smith, 10 Damian McKenzie, 11 Caleb Clarke, 12 Jordie Barrett, 13 Rieko Ioane, 14 Emoni Narawa, 15 Beauden Barrett

Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Braydon Ennor

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Date: Saturday, July 08
Kick-Off: 4:10pm (AR)
Venue: Estadio Malvinas Argentinas (Mendoza, AR)
Referee: Angus Gardner (AU)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (AU); Jordan Way (AU)
TMO: Brett Cronan (AU)
Broadcast: ESPN (Latin America); Star +; Sky Sports

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HISTORICAL RESULTS
Sep 03, 2022 – New Zealand 53-3 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Aug 08, 2022 – New Zealand 18-25 Argentina (Christchurch, NZ)
Sep 18, 2021 – New Zealand 36-13 Argentina (Brisbane, AU)
Sep 12, 2021 – New Zealand 39-0 Argentina (Gold Coast, AU)
Nov 28, 2020 – New Zealand 38-0 Argentina (Newcastle, AU)
Nov 14, 2020 – New Zealand 15-25 Argentina (Sydney, AU)
July 20, 2019 – Argentina 16-20 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 29, 2018 – Argentina 17-35 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 08, 2018 – New Zealand 46-24 New Zealand (Nelson, NZ)
Sep 30, 2017 – Argentina 10-36 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 09, 2017 – New Zealand 39-22 Argentina (New Plymouth, NZ)
Oct 01, 2016 – Argentina 17-36 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 10, 2016 – New Zealand 57-22 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Sep 20, 2015 – New Zealand 26-16 Argentina (London, UK)
Jul 17, 2015 – New Zealand 39-18 Argentina (Christchurch, NZ)
Sep 27, 2014 – Argentina 13-34 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 06, 2014 – New Zealand 28-09 Argentina (Napier, NZ)
Sep 28, 2013 – Argentina 15-33 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 07, 2013 – New Zealand 28-13 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Sep 29, 2012 – Argentina 15-54 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 08, 2012 – New Zealand 21-05 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Oct 09, 2011 – New Zealand 33-10 Argentina (Auckland, NZ)
Jun 24, 2006 – Argentina 19-25 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, NZ)
Jun 26, 2004 – New Zealand 41-07 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Dec 01, 2001 – Argentina 20-24 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jun 22, 2001 – New Zealand 67-19 Argentina (Christchurch, NZ)
Jun 28, 1997 – New Zealand 62-10 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Jun 21, 1997 – New Zealand 93-08 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Jul 13, 1991 – Argentina 06-36 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jul 06, 1991 – Argentina 14-28 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jul 29, 1989 – New Zealand 49-12 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Jul 15, 1989 – New Zealand 60-09 Argentina (Dunedin, NZ)
Jun 01, 1987 – New Zealand 45-15 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Nov 02, 1985 – Argentina 21-21 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Oct 26, 1985 – Argentina 20-23 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)

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OVERALL RESULTS
New Zealand Wins 32
Argentina Wins 2
Draws 1