Argentina have arrived in Wales for the opening game in the Quilter Nations Series this weekend with 10 of the players who steered the Pumas to a 29-17 World Cup quarter-final win over their hosts in the 2023 World Cup.
While new Wales head coach Steve Tandy has included 11 of the players who were in the matchday squad in Marseilles two years ago, his opposite number Felipe Contepomi has selected one less in his 32-man squad for this month’s matches against Wales, Scotland and England
Although the Pumas finished bottom of The Rugby Championship table this summer, they still picked up notable wins over New Zealand (29-23 in Buenos Aires) and Australia (28-24 in Sydney). They also got to within two points of champions South Africa (29-27 at Twickenham) in their final game.
While at Argentina XV played in Munster last weekend – they face Bristol Bears on Friday night – Contepomi had his senior squad in London for a pre-tour camp.
“It’s always good to get back together and we had a very good camp. It helped us start preparing for the first match against Wales on Sunday and refresh our memories and review what the Rugby Championship was like,” said Contepomi.
“This month presents us with a huge challenge, but one that we are really looking forward to. It gives us the chance to play at three iconic stadia against three historic rivals. It will present different challenges because we know that in the autumn the weather conditions here are different from what we’re used to playing in in the Southern Hemisphere.
“It will be a great challenge to see how we adapt and how we use those conditions in the best way. It’s a great opportunity that we’re looking forward to seizing.”
Only three of Contepomi’s squad – former Dragons scrum half Gonzalo Bertranou and fellow backs Agustín Moyano and Roger Nicholas – play their rugby in Argentina. The rest of the squad ply their trade in England, France, Italy and Japan.
Seven players weren’t considered for the tour due to injury – Tomás Albornoz (Benetton Rugby), Gonzalo García (Zebre), Joel Sclavi (La Rochelle), Lucio Cinti (Saracens), Franco Molina (Exeter Chiefs), Pedro Rubiolo (Bristol Bears), and Benjamín Grondona (Bristol Bears) – six of who played in the recent win over New Zealand.
Locks Guido Petti (Harlequins) and Matias Alemanno (Gloucester) will be hoping to take a step closer to a century of caps at Principality Stadium on Sunday 9 November. Petti has 95 and Alemanno, who plays alongside Freddy Thomas, Tomos Williams and Max Llewellyn at Kingsholm, is on 98.
Pack veterans Julian Montoya and Pablo Matera have both joined the 100-cap club and are still going strong. Former Leicester Tigers skipper Montoya, now at Pau, has 114 to his name, while Matera has 118.
The Pumas played their first game at the home of Welsh rugby in 1976, when they pushed the reigning Grand Slam champions all the way before losing 20-19 to a very late penalty kicked by Phil Bennett. That was an uncapped game for Wales, who were led that day by current WRU president, Terry Cobner.
There had been two previous uncapped games for Wales on tour in Argentina in 1969, which ended in a win for Argentina and a draw, before the first full capped match between the two nations was played in Cardiff during the 1991 World Cup. Wales won that one 19-7.
This weekend’s clash will be the 23rd between the two teams, with Wales leading 14-7 with one match drawn. The Pumas have claimed three wins at Principality Stadium to date, in 2001, 2012 and 2021
Argentina squad for Quilter Nations Series
Forwards
Matías Alemanno (Gloucester)
Francisco Coria Marchetti (Brive)
Pedro Delgado (Harlequins)
Efraín Elías (Toulouse)
Thomas Gallo (Benetton Rugby)
Juan Martín González (Saracens)
Santiago Grondona (Bristol Bears)
Marcos Kremer (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
Pablo Matera (Honda Heat)
Julián Montoya (Pau)
Joaquín Oviedo (Perpignan)
Bautista Pedemonte (Vannes)
Guido Petti (Harlequins)
Tomás Rapetti (Toulouse)
Ignacio Ruiz (Perpignan)
Mayco Vivas (Oyannax)
Boris Wenger (Harlequins)
Backs
Simón Benítez Cruz (Newcastle Falcons)
Gonzalo Bertranou (Los Tordos)
Mateo Carreras (Bayonne)
Santiago Carreras (Bath)
Santiago Chocobares (Toulouse)
Bautista Delguy (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
Benjamín Elizalde (Bristol Bears)
Rodrigo Isgró (Harlequins)
Juan Cruz Mallía (Toulouse)
Ignacio Mendy (Benetton Rugby)
Matías Moroni (Bristol Bears)
Agustín Moyano (Dogos)
Justo Piccardo (Montpellier)
Gerónimo Prisciantelli (Racing 92)
Roger Nicolás (Tarucas)