The World’s best Rugby Sevens player from 2023, Rodrigo Isgró is back. Having been drafted in to Los Pumas by Michael Cheika, the big name from Mendoza returns to Argentina 7’s with an eye to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) confirmed Isgró as part of an extended roster for the upcoming season of international competition. The roster has assembled following the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile in which Los Pumas 7’s won Gold.
The opening tournament of the 2024 season will take place in Dubai on December 02-03. Isgró is listed for the tournament following his outstanding last twelve months. In addition to his impressive year on the 7’s World Series, Isgró made his debut for Argentina against Australia in the Rugby Championship and went on to also play in the World Cup, scoring a try against Chile in Nantes.
Isgró is not the only returnee. Santiago Mare is back in the mix. Mare played Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) – now Super Rugby Americas – for Los Jaguares XV before moving abroad to continue his career in Italy.
Luciano González is also back. He joined Isgró in being selected to train with Los Pumas in 2023. González went on to have a busy time with the Argentina XV against Rugby World Cup teams Chile, Namibia, and Uruguay in World cup warm-up matches.
The roster also contains the tried and the tested. Isgró is one of two World Rugby 7’s Players of the Year. He is joined by Marcos Moneta. Both players were outstanding in the 2023 Sevens campaign for Argentina.
Veteran players joining them include Santiago Álvarez Fourcade, Matías Osadczuk, Germán Schulz and the longest-serving player of them all, Gastón Revol.
There are also opportunities for other players. After an outstanding rookie season for Los Pampas in Super Rugby Americas 2023, Tomás Elizalde has been named on the roster. So too has former Argentina XV scrum-half Joaquín Pellandini. The latter may well be a contemporary instance of Lautaro Bazán Vélez who impressed Cheika so much that the former 7’s player played in the World Cup knock-out matches.
The roster also included invitational players. SIC junior players Gregorio Pérez Pardo and Joaquín Dragotto and Tala RC’s Ignacio Gross will train with Los Pumas 7’s.
Argentina will take-on Spain, Australia and Ireland in their pool of the opening tournament of the upcoming season. The season will also include tournament in Cape Town (South Africa), Perth (Australia), Vanoucer (Canada), Los Angeles (USA), Hong Kong, Singapore and Madrid (Spain).
ROSTER 2024 – LOS PUMAS 7’S
ÁLVAREZ FOURCADE, Santiago
AUAD, Lucio
DRAGOTTO, Joaquín *
ELIZALDE, Tomás
FRAGA, Agustín
GONZÁLEZ, Luciano
GRAZIANO, Matteo
GROSS, Ignacio *
ISGRÓ, Rodrigo
JORGE, Francisco
LATORRE, Alfonso
LAVAYÉN, Alejo
MARE, Santiago
MONETA, Marcos
OSADCZUK, Matías
PELLANDINI, Joaquín
PÉREZ PARDO, Gregorio *
PUEYRREDÓN, Facundo
REVOL, Gastón
SCHULZ, Germán
VERA FELD, Santiago
WADE, Tobías
* Invitational Players