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Argentina Head Coach Felipe Contepomi has named a 32-man roster to face the British & Irish Lions. The June 20 fixture falls outside of the World Rugby player release window. This means that Contepomi has restrictions in calling-up players involved in ongoing competitions.
The match against the British & Irish Lions is to be Argentina’s first of thirteen capped test matches for the year. Los Pumas will play host to three test matches in July before competing in the 2025 Rugby Championship and ending the year with the July Internationals.
The opportunity of facing the British & Irish Lions is rare. Contepomi competed in the 25-25 draw in 2005. That was the most recently match between the teams. In short, if the teams were to meet again in twenty years time then matches come less than once in every player’s adult Pumas careers.
 ROSTER – WHERE DO THEY PLAY THEIR RUGBY? |
The roster includes professional rugby players based in Argentina, England, France, Ireland, Italy, and Japan. They will travel to Dublin on Thursday. Captain Julián Montoya will join the roster after the English Premiership Final.
Contepomi has rewarded players from Super Rugby Americas (SRA). In all, eleven SRA players have made his 32-man roster. They are Luciano Asevedo, Simón Benítez Cruz and Nicolás Roger (Tarucas); Boris Wenger, Pedro Delgado, Leonel Oviedo, Agustín Moyano and Faustino Sánchez Valarolo (Dogos); and Joaquín Moro, Justo Piccardo and Santiago Pernas (Pampas).
| UNAVAILABLE PLAYERS |
The match is positioned before the tour to Australia and after the United Rugby Championship (URC) and English Premiership Finals. The date is before the end of the Top 14 season and this is central to the selections made by Felipe Contepomi.
Toulouse players Efraín Elías, Santiago Chocobares and Juan Cruz Mallía were not considered nor was Bordeaux’s Guido Petti. Their teams will play in the Semi Finals; they ware awaiting winners from the Top 14 Barrage.
Bayonne, Castres, Clermont and Toulon will compete in barrage with two advancing to the Semi Finals. The uncertainty saw none of Facundo Bosch, Rodrigo Bruni, Mateo Carreras, Lucas Paulos, Bautista Delguy, Marcos Kremer and Facundo Isa selected by Contepomi.
Major League Rugby (MLR) is also ongoing. Contepomi opted against naming any Pumas who play in the USA. Los Angeles scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou and the Miami Sharks duo of Tomás Cubelli and Matías Orlando were not selected.
Some available players were not called-up due to a combination of injuries and / or now being on vacations. Examples include Matías Alemanno, Eduardo Bello, Emiliano Boffelli, Ignacio Calles, Jerónimo de la Fuente, Thomas Gallo, Tomás Lavanini, Rodrigo Martínez, Bautista Pedemonte, Ignacio Ruiz, Lucio Sordoni and Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro. In addition, Francisco Gómez Kodela, who has retired from professional rugby, is not included nor is the uncapped Gerónimo Prisciantelli is out through injury.
| UNCAPPED + RETURNING PLAYERS |
Eight of the SRA players included are uncapped. Luciano Asevedo, Leonel Oviedo, Boris Wenger, Simón Benítez Cruz, Agustín Moyano, Nicolás Roger, Faustino Sánchez Valarolo and Santiago Pernas all have the opportunity of debuting.
Bautista Bernasconi, Benjamín Grondona, and Benjamín Elizalde can also all debut. They are the uncapped players based abroad. They play for URC and English Premiership clubs.
Four returning players have also been included. Francisco Coria Marchetti, Joaquín Moro, Mayco Vivas, and Ignacio Mendy are back on the roster after not playing in the November Internationals. Moro will join the Leicester Tigers next season.
| ARGENTINA ROSTER – JUNE 2025 |
#1 LOOSE HEAD PROP
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| MAYCO VIVAS | BORIS WENGER |
| Age: 26 | Age: 22 |
| Height: 1.86 kg | Height: 1.88m |
| Weight: 126 kg | Weight: 110kg |
| Debut: vs New Zealand (2019) | Debut: uncapped |
| Caps: 27 | Caps: – |
| Club: Gloucester (UK) | Club: Dogos |
#2 HOOKER
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| BAUTISTA BERNASCONI | JULIÁN MONTOYA | LEONEL OVIEDO |
| Age: 23 | Age: 31 | Age: 27 |
| Height: 1.74m | Height: 1.84m | Height: 1.86m |
| Weight: 114kg | Weight: 108 kg | Weight: 115kg |
| Debut: uncapped | Debut: vs Uruguay (2014) | Debut: uncapped |
| Caps: – | Caps: 105 | Caps: – |
| Club: Benetton (IT) | Club: Leicester Tigers (UK) | Club: Dogos |
#3 TIGHT HEAD PROP
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| FRANCISCO CORIA | PEDRO DELGADO | JOEL SCLAVI |
| Age: 24 | Age: 27 | Age: 30 |
| Height: 1.86m | Height: 1.85m | Height: 1.88m |
| Weight: 125 kg | Weight: 135kg | Weight: 137 kg |
| Debut: vs Uruguay (2024) | Debut: vs South Africa (2024) | Debut: vs Scotland (2022) |
| Caps: 1 | Caps: 2 | Caps: 27 |
| Club: Brive (FR) | Club: Dogos | Club: La Rochelle (FR) |
#4/5 SECOND-ROW
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| LUCIANO ASEVEDO | FRANCO MOLINA | PEDRO RUBIOLO |
| Age: 21 | Age: 27 | Age: 22 |
| Height: 2.03m | Height: 1.98m | Height: 1.94m |
| Weight: 124 kg | Weight: 118kg | Weight: 115 kg |
| Debut: uncapped | Debut: vs France (2024) | Debut: vs South Africa (2022) |
| Caps: – | Caps: 12 | Caps: 20 |
| Club: Tarucas | Club: Exeter Chiefs (UK) | Club: Bristol Bears (UK) |
#6 FLANKER
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| SANTIAGO GRONDONA | PABLO MATERA |
| Age: 26 | Age: 31 |
| Height: 192m | Height: 1.93m |
| Weight: 105 kg | Weight: 110kg |
| Debut: vs New Zealand (2020) | Debut: vs Chile (2013) |
| Caps: 19 | Caps: 109 |
| Club: Bristol Bears (UK) | Club: Mia Honda Heat (JP) |
#7 FLANKER
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| JUAN MARTÍN GONZÁLEZ | JOAQUÍN MORO |
| Age: 24 | Age: 24 |
| Height: 1.92m | Height: 1.89m |
| Weight: 106 kg | Weight: 102kg |
| Debut: vs Romania (2021) | Debut: vs Uruguay (2024) |
| Caps: 40 | Caps 1 |
| Club: Saracens (UK) | Club: Pampas |
#8 EIGHTMAN
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| BENJAMÍN GRONDONA | JOAQUÍN OVIEDO |
| Age: 21 | Age: 23 |
| Height: 1.91m | Height: 1.91m |
| Weight: 105 kg | Weight: 113 kg |
| Debut: – | Debut: vs Australia (2021) |
| Caps: – | Caps: 13 |
| Club: Bristol Bears (UK) | Club: Perpignan (FR) |
#9 SCRUM-HALF
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| SIMÓN BENÍTEZ CRUZ | GONZALO GARCÍA | AGUSTÍN MOYANO |
| Age: 25 | Age: 25 | Age: 22 |
| Height: 1.77m | Height: 1.73m | Height: 1.73m |
| Weight: 77kg | Weight: 77 kg | Weight: 75kg |
| Debut: uncapped | Debut: vs New Zealand (2021) | Debut: uncapped |
| Caps: – | Caps: 11 | Caps: – |
| Club: Tarucas | Club: Zebre Parma (IT) | Club: Dogos |
#10 FLY HALF
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| TOMÁS ALBORNOZ | NICOLÁS ROGER |
| Age: 27 | Age: 25 |
| Height: 1.77m | Height: 1.77m |
| Weight: 84 kg | Weight: 80kg |
| Debut: vs Australia (2022) | Debut: uncapped |
| Caps: 17 | Caps: – |
| Club: Benetton (IT) | Club: Tarucas |
#12 CENTER
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| JUSTO PICCARDO | FAUSTINO SÁNCHEZ VALAROLO |
| Age: 23 | Age: 20 |
| Height: 1.83m | Height: 1.87 |
| Weight: 105kg | Weight: 94kg |
| Debut: vs Ireland (2024) | Debut: uncapped |
| Caps: 1 | Caps: – |
| Club: Pampas | Club: Dogos |
#13 CENTER
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| LUCIO CINTI | MATÍAS MORONI |
| Age: 25 | Age: 34 |
| Height: 1.90m | Height: 1.84m |
| Weight: 91kg | Weight: 91kg |
| Debut: vs South Africa (2021) | Debut: vs Scotland (2014) |
| Caps: 32 | Caps: 89 |
| Club: Saracens (UK) | Club: Brive (FR) |
#11 LEFT WING
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| SANTIAGO CORDERO | IGNACIO MENDY |
| Age: 31 | Age: 24 |
| Height: 1.76m | Height: 1.86m |
| Weight: 83 kg | Weight: 86 kg |
| Debut: vs England (2013) | Debut: vs South Africa (2021) |
| Caps: 54 | Caps: 2 |
| Club: Connacht (IE) | Club: Benetton (IT) |
#14 RIGHT WING
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| RODRIGO ISGRÓ | SANTIAGO PERNAS |
| Age: 25 | Age: 21 |
| Height: 1.83m | Height: 1.80m |
| Weight: 100 kg | Weight: 91kg |
| Debut: vs Australia (2023) | Debut: uncapped |
| Caps: 7 | Caps: – |
| Club: Harlequins (UK) | Club: Pampas |
#15 FULLBACK
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| SANTIAGO CARRERAS | BENJAMÍN ELIZALDE |
| Age: 26 | Age: 20 |
| Height: 1.83m | Height: 1.88m |
| Weight: 87 kg | Weight: 91 kg |
| Debut: vs South Africa (2019) | Debut: uncapped |
| Caps: 53 | Caps: – |
| Club: Gloucester (UK) | Club: Bristol Bears (UK) |
