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Argentina has named a preliminary roster for Rugby World Cup 2019. It contains 46 players with Head Coach Mario Ledesma including players who play in both England, and France.
Named are six players who played in the European 2018-2019 season in either the English Premiership, or the Top 14. They are Juan Figallo, Ramiro Herrera, Facundo Isa, Nicolás Sánchez, Santiago Socino, and Benjamín Urdapilleta.
Of note is that Socino signed a contract with Los Jaguares which will see him based in Argentina beginning next month. In departing England for Argentina he has been named as one of three hookers by Ledesma.
Ledesma explained the selection policy and criteria as:
“We took as criteria a number of references for selection. We have selected some players from outside based on these criteria and they are the players that add value above that of those that we have here (in Argentina). This does not mean that an injury will not see a resorting to naming further players from abroad. Those in the list today will train in the first stage of the preparation”.
In 2018 Ledesma utilized limited players from Europe for the Rugby Championship, and the November Internationals. They were props Gastón Córtes, Juan Figallo, and Ramiro Herrera; hooker Facundo Bosch; and second-rower Mariano Galarza.
Córtes is out of the frame and has had little game time this season at the Leicester Tigers. Both Figallo, and Herrera are on the roster, while Bosch and Galarza have been left out in preference of Jaguares’ players.
In the case of Bosch his non-selection comes with the inclusion of the aforementioned Socino. It is not a notable surprise given that Ledesma met with Socino earlier this year in England.
Back in the picture is winger Manuel Montero. The last of his 27 caps came in 2017 and he has not played Super Rugby this year with him having served a suspension which ended well after the start of the season.
Montero has been busy with the Argentina XV as has center Lucas Mensa who has also been named on the preliminary roster. Uncapped Jaguares Santiago Carreras, and Lucas Paulos have also been included.
Missing out are star wingers Santiago Cordero, and Juan Imhoff. Their exclusion is based on the resources available at Jaguares. Yet a call-up for one, or both, is not out of the picture as Bautista Delguy continues to recover from injury. The same applies to Mariano Galarza who misses out despite Matías Alemanno’s inclusion while being injured.
Argentina’s road to Rugby World Cup 2019 will see Los Pumas playing their first test on July 20. It is to be against New Zealand in Buenos Aires. Subsequent fixtures see Argentina playing against Australia in Brisbane on July 27; against South Africa in Salta on August 10, and in Pretoria on August 17.
The Rugby World Cup will be played in September, and October. Argentina’s first match is to be against France in Tokyo on Saturday September 21.
The complete preliminary roster for Rugby World Cup 2019 is listed below. Players are attached to their clubs following the completion of the Super rugby season.
| PLAYER | POSITION | TEAM | UNION |
| Javier Díaz | LH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Santiago García Botta | LH | Harlequins | England |
| Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro | LH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Mayco Vivas | LH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Juan Pablo Zeiss | LH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Agustín Creevy | HK | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Julián Montoya | HK | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Santiago Socino | HK | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Juan Figallo | TH | Saracens | England |
| Ramiro Herrera | TH | Stade Français | France |
| Santiago Medrano | TH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Enrique Pieretto | TH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Lucio Sordoni | TH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Matías Alemanno | LO | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Tomás Lavanini | LO | Leicester Tigers | England |
| Lucas Paulos | LO | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Guido Petti | LO | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Rodrigo Bruni | FL | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Marcos Kremer | FL | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Juan M Leguizamón | FL | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Tomás Lezana | FL | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Pablo Matera | FL | Stade Français | France |
| Facundo Isa | N8 | Toulon | France |
| Javier Ortega Desio | N8 | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Gonzalo Bertranou | SH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Tomás Cubelli | SH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Felipe Ezcurra | SH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Martín Landajo | SH | Harlequins | England |
| Joaquín Díaz Bonilla | FH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Santiago G Iglesias | FH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Domingo Miotti | FH | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Nicolás Sánchez | FH | Stade Français | Argentina |
| Benjamín Urdapilleta | FH | Castres | France |
| Jerónimo de la Fuente | CE | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Bautista Ezcurra | CE | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Juan Cruz Mallía | CE | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Lucas Mensa | CE | Argentina XV | Argentina |
| Matías Moroni | CE | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Matías Orlando | CE | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Sebastián Cancelliere | WI | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Santiago Carreras | WI | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Bautista Delguy | WI | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Manuel Montero | WI | Argentina XV | Argentina |
| Ramiro Moyano | WI | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Emiliano Boffelli | FB | Jaguares | Argentina |
| Joaquín Tuculet | FB | Jaguares | Argentina |
