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Argentina will play host to Scotland in July 2022. The teams will meet in a three match series. No games will be played in Buenos Aires nor will any take place at a repeated venue from the past. All three matches will be at venues that have never before hosted Argentina vs Scotland.
International competition between Argentina and Scotland dated back to 1969. Argentina recognizes matches from this time as capped internationals. Scotland’s first recognized test match against Argentina was in 1990.
The first test match in Argentina that both Argentina and Scotland recognize as a test match was in 1994. Los Pumas were 16-15 and 19-17 winners in Buenos Aires. Scotland returned in 2008 for a split series. Argentina were 21-15 winners in Rosario and Scotland won 26-14 in Buenos Aires.
Scotland made history in 2010. The Europeans won the two-match series 2-0. Scotland won 24-16 in Tucumán and 13-9 in Mar del Plata. Subsequent matches saw Scotland winning 21-19 in Córdoba in 2014 and 44-15 in Resistencia in 2018.
The match venues for the July 2022 are all different. The matches will take place at three venues that have hosted test rugby but that Scotland has never played at. One of the three will play host to a Los Pumas test match for the first time.
Game one of the July 2022 series will take place in San Salvador de Jujuy. Argentina’s northernmost provincial capital will host Los Pumas’ first home test match since 2019. The Estadio 23 de Agosto in San Salvador de Jujuy will host Los Pumas vs Scotland on Saturday, July 02.
The most recent test match in San Salvador de Jujuy was in June 2017. Los Pumas completed a 45-19 win over Georgia on that occasion. Ramiro Moyano scored a hat-trick. He now plays his rugby in Scotland for Edinburgh.
Game two will also be played in northern Argentina. The teams will make the short drive south to Salta. The match will take place on Saturday, July 09. With the matches being game two out of three it is pivotal to the outcome of the series.
Salta has been a venue of past Pumas triumphs. Argentina defeated England 24-22 in 2009. Los Pumas also defeated South Africa at the ground. Argentina were 26-24 winners in 2016. The most recent test match in Salta was a big win for the Springboks; Los Pumas were beaten 46-13 in 2019.
The series will conclude on Saturday, July 16. The third test match will take place at ARN understands that the venue fought off a bid from the Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao López in Santa Fé. The Santa Fé venue has hosted four Pumas test matches while the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero will host its first ever test match in 2022.
The Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades is a new venue. It opened in March 2021. The state of the art facility has a seating capacity for 30,000 spectators. It is a potential homecoming for Pumas flankers Facundo Isa and Tomás Lezana.
The venue selection sees Scotland playing in three Northern Argentine cities. Matches are not in Santa Fé nor in Buenos Aires. It is a tour wherein the visiting team will legitimately play in once in a lifetime locations.
Argentina’s three-match home series against Scotland will be the first of three stages of international competition for 2022. The Rugby Championship will follow while the year will conclude with a tour to Europe in November. Argentina will face Scotland away as part of the tour.
