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Argentina vs England will mark the end of an era. It is to be a World Cup send off for players on the roster. Some at the end of their test careers will be appearing in the Bronze Final while others will be watching on inside the stadium.
As is always the case, there will be widespread roster changes from one Rugby World Cup to the next. This time around many of the personal changes will be immediate; many Pumas at the World Cup this year will not be playing for Argentina in 2024.
In terms of the team to face England for Bronze, Agustín Creevy, Nicolás Sánchez, Tomás Cubelli, and Francisco Gómez Kodela are all expected to be earning their final test caps for Los Pumas. Juan Imhoff will not play in the Bronze Final nor again for his country.
The aforementioned Pumas are aged in their mid-30’s or later now. Matías Alemanno is 31 but prior to the tournament beginning, the Córdoba second-rower said that France 2023 will be his final Rugby World Cup.
Alemanno will remain playing for Argentina in 2024. Indeed, he has a major career milestone within reach. He will earn his 93rd test cap in the Bronze Final. He will thus be able to reach 100 caps in 2024 and assess when he determines it is time to retire from international duty for Argentina.
Alemanno played in Rugby World Cups 2015, 2019 and 2023. He was highly involved in all three. The first saw him playing under the leadership of Agustín Creevy. The hooker from La Plata is now at the end of his test match career.
Aged 38, Creevy will end his time with Los Pumas against England. He is now a world record holder as the oldest player to play in a Rugby World Cup Semi Final. He broke Victor Matfield’s record in the Semi Final loss to New Zealand.
Creevy is also Argentina’s record-holder for the most appearances in Rugby World Cups and the most caps in history. He will earn his 108th test cap in the Bronze Final. When he takes to the field he will match the mark of 22 Rugby World Cup appearances held by Jason Leonard (England) and Richie McCaw (New Zealand). The trio are joint for second place behind All Black Samuel Whitelock who will earn his 26th World Cup cap in the final against South Africa on Saturday.
Rugby World Cup 2023 is the fourth for Creevy and also for Nicolás Sánchez. They were at the heart of Argentina’s road to the 2015 Bronze Final. Creevy was the captain during the campaign with Sánchez leading Los Pumas in the Bronze Final that year against South Africa.
Sánchez was man-of-the-match in the Quarter Final win over Ireland in Cardiff, Wales. Days after turning 35, Sánchez will play for Argentina for the final time. In appearing against England in the Bronze Final, Sánchez will end his test career with 103 caps.
Sánchez is the second Puma to reach 100 test caps. The Tucumán fly half will earn his 104th and final cap in the match against England. Despite not being the regular goal-kicker this tournament, Sánchez was able to overtake Gonzalo Quesada to be Argentina’s all-time top point scorer in Rugby World Cups. He has 153 points including the decisive try against Wales in the 2023 Quarter Final win.
Juan Imhoff joined Creevy and Sánchez at Rugby World Cups 2011 and 2015. He missed out on 2019 selection due to Argentina’s controversial decision to give preference to Jaguares Super Rugby players over those playing abroad.
Imhoff will miss the Bronze Final. Argentina’s wing stocks are at an all-time high. Both Mateo Carreras and Emiliano Boffelli have been on top of their game at the World Cup in France. Imhoff featured against Chile in the pool match in Nantes.
In his first Rugby World Cup campaign, Imhoff was a young player still based in Rosario. The Duendes player went on to plat for Racing 92 over a phenomenally long period. He joined the club in 2011 and still plays for the Parisians in the Top 14.
Imhoff played in four Rugby World Cup matches in his debut tournament in 2011. He was a try scorer against both Romania and Georgia. He played in six matches at Rugby World Cup 2015 where he scored tries against Georgia, Tonga and Ireland. He scored two against the Lelos and in the Quarter Final win over Ireland.
The 2023 Bronze Final will see scrum-half Tomás Cubelli earning his 93rd test cap. Cubelli featured in Rugby World Cups 2015 and 2019. He was the starting scrum-half in 2019 while rotated with Martin Landajo in 2019. He defied age to start the Quarter Final against Wales in 2023.
Cubelli is back from Gonzalo Bertranou for the Bronze Final against England. The match will bring an end to his Rugby World Cup career. He may yet be able to reach the milestone of 100 test caps. It will not be easy, however, for the Miami Sharks signing.
Francisco Gómez Kodela is a perfect example of the phrase never give up. He made his Rugby World Cup debut at the age of 38. Argentina have been well-served by tight head props over the years with Gómez Kodela unable to be a regular Puma until 2020.
While others had been playing tight head for Los Pumas during the 2010’s, Gómez Kodela was busy playing Top 14 rugby for Biarritz, Bordeaux and Lyon. He will earn his 38th test cap in the Bronze Final and bring a close to his test career.
Matías Moroni was a young center selected for Rugby World Cup 2015. He was the understudy to Marcelo Bosch and, as fate would have it, he started in place of Bosch in the Quarter Final against Ireland. Bosch was suspended for a dangerous tackle against Namibia in Argentina’s final pool match. Moroni scored the opening try in the win over Ireland.
Moroni is a specialist outside center though he has been highly adaptable to fill in at both inside center and on the wing. He did so well against Wales in the Quarter Final in 2023 while he was the regular starting right winger at Japan 2019.
Moroni is now aged 32. His age and abilities mean that his test career will not end with the Bronze Final. He will earn his 80th cap. He will be able to target 20 more to reach 100 though the likelihood of a center playing for Argentina at the age of 36 is low.
Moroni has been the understudy to Lucio Cinti at France 2023 while Jerónimo de la Fuente has been the understudy to Santiago Chocobares. Like Moroni, de la Fuente will be 36-years-old at the next World Cup.
de la Fuente and Moroni have a long history playing together. They were the starting centers against Tonga in Leicester during Rugby World Cup 2015. They played a lot together for Argentina and for Los Jaguares. Moroni has since impressed for the Leicester Tigers and Newcastle Falcons in the English Premiership while de la Fuente has been a key player, and captain, for Perpignan.
The Bronze Final will see de la Fuente earning his 78th test cap for his country. Remarkably he comes from the same club, Duendes, as Juan Imhoff and Emiliano Boffelli.
Rugby World Cup 2023 is the third to feature de la Fuente. The 32-year-old had the honor of captaining Argentina in the battle of the Andes against Chile in Nantes. He previously captained Los Jaguares in Super Rugby.
