Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Argentina’s preparations for a busy 2025 begin this month with a training camp from March 10-12. The coaching staff, led by Felipe Contepomi, will run a camp will take place in London, UK. The purpose of the training camp is to have a framework in place. Los Pumas’ opening assignment of 2025 falls outside of the July International Window. Argentina take-on the British & Irish Lions in Dublin, Ireland on June 20.
 ROSTER – WHERE DO THEY PLAY THEIR RUGBY? |
The 30-man roster is exclusively made-up of professional rugby players based in Europe. Those who play in Super Rugby Americas were not considered. Pedro Delgado, Joaquín Moro, and Justo Piccardo are examples. The likes of Pablo Matera (Japan) and Gonzalo Bertranou (USA) were also not called-up.
The 30 players play their rugby in the Top 14 and Pro D2 in France, the English Premiership and the United Rugby Championship (URC).
| UNCAPPED + RETURNING PLAYERS |
Felipe Contepomi has invested in the future; the roster contains uncapped players Bautista Bernasconi, Benjamín Grondona, Gerónimo Prisciantellli and Benjamín Elizalde. All four play their rugby in Europe’s elite. Their inclusion comes ahead of capped players including Facundo Bosch, Francisco Gorrissen, Rodrigo Bruni, Jerónimo de la Fuente, Sebastian Cancelliere, and Martín Bogado.
Ignacio Mendy and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro both return. Mendy scored a hat-trick against Uruguay in July 2024. It was his one and only cap for the year and the second of his test career. Tetaz Chaparro is the most capped Pumas prop of all-time. He was forced out of Rugby World cup 2023 through injury and missed all of the 2024 campaign. Mendy and Tetaz Chaparro are teammates at Benetton.
Mayco Vivas is also back on the roster. He lost his spot to Ignacio Calles in the later half of 2024. Both Calles and first-choice loose head, Thomas Gallo are absent from the London camp; both due to injuries.
Veteran N8 Facundo Isa is included for the first time since Rugby World Cup 2023. He took 2024 off from international duty. Rodrigo Bruni also did so but has not been recalled.
Second-rower Lucas Paulos was selected for the July Internationals but left out of the rosters for the Rugby Championship and November. He returns with Pedro Rubiolo and Matías Alemanno recovering from injuries and Tomás Lavanini, like Bruni and de La fuente, not selected.
| INJURIES |
The long-awaited return of Emiliano Boffelli is on hold. Boffelli missed the entirety of 2024 for Los Pumas due to injury. He made his return for Edinburgh in the URC against Zebre Parma in February. He was hurt in the match and remains sidelined.
Vannes lost Bautista Pedemonte for the remainder of the Top 14 season. He was a rookie for Argentina in 2024, earning two caps at flanker. Fellow Top 14 player, Joel Sclavi has been out of action since late December but has been included.
Eduardo Bello was injured playing against Australia in the 2024 Rugby Championship. He will not participate in the camp and nor will the in-form Santiago Medrano. The tight head prop was named in the Top 14 team of the month for February. Lucio Sordoni has also not been selected.
Veteran center Matías Moroni is not included. He announced an injury on social media hours before Contepomi named his 30-man roster. Jerónimo de la Fuente is again absent. He stepped away from the test arena for the birth of his second child following the July 2024 internationals.
First-choice tight-head second-rower Pedro Rubiolo is a serious doubt to face the British & Irish Lions in June. Moreover, he is far from assured being fit to face England and Uruguay in July. His return may not come until well into the 2025 Rugby Championship.
| ARGENTINA ROSTER – MARCH 2025 |
#1 LOOSE HEAD PROP
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| NAHUEL TETAZ CHAPARRO | MAYCO VIVAS |
| Age: 35 | Age: 26 |
| Height: 1.88m | Height: 1.86 kg |
| Weight: 121 kg | Weight: 126 kg |
| Debut: vs Chile (2010) | Debut: vs New Zealand (2019) |
| Caps: 78 | Caps: 27 |
| Club: Benetton (IT) | Club: Gloucester (UK) |
#2 HOOKER
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| BAUTISTA BERNASCONI | JULIÁN MONTOYA | IGNACIO RUIZ |
| Age: 23 | Age: 31 | Age: 24 |
| Height: 1.74m | Height: 1.84m | Height: 1.87m |
| Weight: 114kg | Weight: 108 kg | Weight: 112 kg |
| Debut: – | Debut: vs Uruguay (2014) | Debut: vs Scotland (2022) |
| Caps: – | Caps: 105 | Caps: 17 |
| Club: Benetton (IT) | Club: Leicester Tigers (UK) | Club: Perpignan (FR) |
#3 TIGHT HEAD PROP
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| FRANCISCO CORIA | JOEL SCLAVI |
| Age: 24 | Age: 30 |
| Height: 1.86m | Height: 1.88m |
| Weight: 125 kg | Weight: 137 kg |
| Debut: vs Uruguay (2024) | Debut: vs Scotland (2022) |
| Caps: 1 | Caps: 27 |
| Club: Brive (FR) | Club: La Rochelle (FR) |
#4 LOOSE HEAD SECOND-ROW
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| FRANCO MOLINA | GUIDO PETTI |
| Age: 27 | Age: 30 |
| Height: 1.98m | Height: 1.94m |
| Weight: 118kg | Weight: 111kg |
| Debut: vs France (2024) | Debut: vs Italy (2014) |
| Caps: 12 | Caps: 87 |
| Club: Exeter Chiefs (UK) | Club: Bordeaux (FR) |
#5 TIGHT HEAD SECOND-ROW
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| EFRAÍN ELÍAS | LUCAS PAULOS |
| Age: 20 | Age: 27 |
| Height: 2.01m | Height: 1.99m |
| Weight: 114 kg | Weight: 123 kg |
| Debut: vs New Zealand (2024) | Debut: vs New Zealand (2020) |
| Caps: 1 | Caps: 14 |
| Club: Toulouse (FR) | Club: Bayonne (FR) |
#6/7 FLANKER
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| JUAN MARTÍN GONZÁLEZ | SANTIAGO GRONDONA | MARCOS KREMER |
| Age: 24 | Age: 26 | Age: 27 |
| Height: 1.92m | Height: 192m | Height: 1.99m |
| Weight: 106 kg | Weight: 105 kg | Weight: 115 kg |
| Debut: vs Romania (2021) | Debut: vs New Zealand (2020) | Debut: vs New Zealand (2016) |
| Caps: 40 | Caps: 19 | Caps: 73 |
| Club: Saracens (UK) | Club: Bristol Bears (UK) | Club: Clermont (FR) |
#8 EIGHTMAN
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| BENJAMÍN GRONDONA | FACUNDO ISA | JOAQUÍN OVIEDO |
| Age: 21 | Age: 31 | Age: 23 |
| Height: 1.91m | Height: 1.88m | Height: 1.91m |
| Weight: 105 kg | Weight: 111 kg | Weight: 113 kg |
| Debut: – | Debut: vs Scotland (2014) | Debut: vs Australia (2021) |
| Caps: – | Caps: 51 | Caps: 13 |
| Club: Bristol Bears (UK) | Club: Toulon (FR) | Club: (Perpignan, FR) |
#9 SCRUM-HALF
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| GONZALO GARCÍA |
| Age: 25 |
| Height: 1.73m |
| Weight: 77 kg |
| Debut: vs New Zealand (2021) |
| Caps: 11 |
| Club: Zebre Parma (IT) |
#10 FLY HALF
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| TOMÁS ALBORNOZ | SANTIAGO CARRERAS |
| Age: 27 | Age: 26 |
| Height: 1.77m | Height: 1.83m |
| Weight: 84 kg | Weight: 87 kg |
| Debut: vs Australia (2022) | Debut: vs South Africa (2019) |
| Caps: 17 | Caps: 53 |
| Club: Benetton (IT) | Club: Gloucester (UK) |
#12/13 CENTER
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| SANTIAGO CHOCOBARES | LUCIO CINTI |
| Age: 25 | Age: 25 |
| Height: 1.89m | Height: 1.90m |
| Weight: 96 kg | Weight: 91 kg |
| Debut: vs New Zealand (2020) | Debut: vs South Africa (2021) |
| Caps: 27 | Caps: 32 |
| Club: Toulouse (FR) | Club: Saracens (UK) |
#11 LEFT WING
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| MATEO CARRERAS | SANTIAGO CORDERO |
| Age: 25 | Age: 31 |
| Height: 1.72m | Height: 1.76m |
| Weight: 80 kg | Weight: 83 kg |
| Debut: vs Australia (2021) | Debut: vs England (2013) |
| Caps: 27 | Caps: 54 |
| Club: Bayonne (FR) | Club: Connacht (IE) |
#14 RIGHT WING
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| BAUTISTA DELGUY | RODRIGO ISGRÓ | IGNACIO MENDY |
| Age: 27 | Age: 25 | Age: 24 |
| Height: 1.82m | Height: 1.83m | Height: 1.86m |
| Weight: 84 kg | Weight: 100 kg | Weight: 86 kg |
| Debut: vs Wales (2018) | Debut: vs Australia (2023) | Debut: vs South Africa (2021) |
| Caps: 33 | Caps: 7 | Caps: 2 |
| Club: Clermont (FR) | Club: Harlequins (UK) | Club: Benetton (IT) |
#15 FULLBACK
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| BENJAMÍN ELIZALDE | JUAN CRUZ MALLÍA | GERÓNIMO PRISCIANTELLI |
| Age: 20 | Age: 28 | Age: 25 |
| Height: 1.88m | Height: 1.82m | Height: 1.82m |
| Weight: 91 kg | Weight: 88 kg | Weight: 88 kg |
| Debut: – | Debut: vs Scotland (2018) | Debut: – |
| Caps: – | Caps: 42 | Caps: – |
| Club: Bristol Bears (UK) | Club: Toulouse (FR) | Club: Zebre Parma (IT) |
