Nations Championship 2026 – Argentina vs Wales – ARN Guide

Two of rugby’s most powerful nations past and present will square-off at the foot of the Andes on Saturday. Argentina play host to Wales in a second round fixture in the 2026 Nations Championship. The Argentina vs Wales rugby rivalry is a highly competitive clash of styles that spans nearly six decades.

The rugby ties run deeper than typical international fixtures because of Y Wladfa (The Welsh settlement in Patagonia), which began in the Chubut province in 1865. This unique cultural bridge has brought a familiar respect between the two nations, even as they fiercely battle on the pitch. The first official test series took place in 1968, famously featuring hard-fought matches and dramatic touring moments.

Argentina faced Wales in Patagonia on June 11, 2006. The game was hosted in Puerto Madryn, a coastal city located right in the heart Y Wladfa. Puerto Madryn was was originally founded by Welsh settlers in 1865. Playing there allowed the team and traveling fans to easily visit nearby Welsh-speaking strongholds like Gaiman. History was also written as the match marked the international debut of Alun Wyn Jones, who went on to become the world’s most-capped rugby player.

While Wales dominated the early 2000s, Argentina has dramatically closed the gap in recent years. Los Pumas secured their largest victory in the rivalry in November 2025, dominating the Welsh with a historic 52-28 win at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. This massive result signaled a surge in Argentine dominance over recent years.

The nations meet as part of the Nations Championship. Argentina (coached by Felipe Contepomi) is set to host an improving Welsh squad (coached by Steve Tandy) at the Estadio del Bicentenario in San Juan, Argentina. It comes a week after Argentina was soundly beaten by Scotland in Córdoba and Wales were impressive winners against Fiji in Cardiff in a match that was officially a home game for Fiji.

 

FORM GUIDE

Current World Ranking: 7 (83.77 points)

Current World Ranking: 11 (76.67 points)

Date	Competition	Opponent	Result	Score	Venue
Feb 7, 2026	Six Nations	England	Loss	7–48	Twickenham Stadium, London
Feb 15, 2026	Six Nations	France	Loss	12–54	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Feb 21, 2026	Six Nations	Scotland	Loss	23–26	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Mar 6, 2026	Six Nations	Ireland	Loss	17–27	Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Mar 14, 2026	Six Nations	Italy	Win	31–17	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
June 27, 2026	Friendly	Barbarians	Win	33–31	Twickenham Stadium, London
July 4, 2026	Nations Championship	Fiji	Win	39–24	Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

 

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
1	Boris Wenger	Mayco Vivas
3	Tomás Rapetti	Pedro Delgado
6	Santiago Grondona	Pablo Matera
7	Marcos Kremer	Santiago Grondona
12	Justo Piccardo	Faustino Sánchez Valarolo
14	Bautista Delguy	Rodrigo Isgró
	IN	OUT
6	James Botham	MacKenzie Mann
10	Sam Costelow	Dan Edwards
12	Joe Hawkins	Harrison Hawkins
14	Ellis Mee	Louis Rees-Zammit
15	Blair Murray	Cameron Murray

 

TEST DEBUT

– Kane James

 

MILESTONES

– Guido Petti (100 caps)

– Ryan Elias (50 caps)

 

MOST CAPS

– P Matera (122), J Montoya (118),  M Alemanno (100), G Petti (99), M Moroni (95), M Kremer (81), S Carreras (65)

– T Williams (73), J Adams (71), A Wainwright (68), A Beard (66), N Smith (64), D Lewis (58), R Elias (49)

+ LEAST CAPS

– I Mendy (4), T Rapetti (4), B Wenger (6), F Coria Marchetti (8), S Benítez Cruz (10), J Piccardo (11)

– B Warren (1), T Williams (8), E Mee (9), E James (10), M Llewellyn (11), J Hawkins (12), B Murray (17)

+ NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Thomas Gallo (LH), Eduardo Bello (TH), Joel Sclavi (TH), Pedro Rubiolo (LO), Juan Martín González (FL), Santiago Chocobares (CE), Juan Cruz Mallía (FB)

– Christ Tshiunza (LO), Josh Macleod (FL)

 

NOTES

• Saturday’s test match will be the eighth in the city of San Juan. The teams previously played at the Estadio del Bicentenario in 2018. Wales were 23-10 winners.
• The most recent match between the teams was won by Los Pumas by a record margin.
• Wales’ 23 players have a total of 738 caps. The average caps per player in the 23 is 32.09.
• Argentina’s 23 players have 1014 caps. The average is 44.09 per Puma in the 23.
• Felipe Contepomi has dropped 28-year-old props Mayco Vivas and Pedro Delgado and replaced them with Boris Wenger (24) and Tomás Rapetti (21). Delgado is out of the 23.
• The match will be the first test starts for both Wenger and Rapetti.
• Steve Tandy has dropped star Louis Rees-Zammit to the replacements with Englishman Ellis Mee starting.
• Kane James will make his test debut for Wales as a replacement.
• Guido Petti becomes the sixth Puma to reach 100 test caps. He debuted as a teenager and has 17 caps in Rugby World Cups.
• Guido Petti and Matías Alemanno become the second lock combination of test cap centurions. They follow New Zealand’s Brodie Retallick (109 caps) and Sam Whitelock (153 caps). Retallick and Whitelock became the world’s first second-row centurion duo when they started together on November 19, 2022 against England.
• Ryan Elias will reach 50 caps if he replaces his captain during the match.
• Wales’ 23 features 10 men who play in the URC (all in Wales), 12 in England and 1 in France.
• The Welsh-based players are 6 Scarlets players, 3 Cardiff players, 2 from Dragons and 2 from Ospreys.
• 14 of the 23 Pumas play in France and 7 in England. Ignacio Mendy is the only match-day Puma who plays in the URC. The now former Zebre Parma scrum-half, Gonzalo García has joined Pau.
• International competition between Wales and Argentina began in 1968 with Wales playing two matches as Wales XV.
• The contest in San Juan will be refereed by Paul Williams. The New Zealander was heavily criticized for controversial decisions in refereeing Los Pumas vs Australia in 2025 and Ireland in 2024.
• The UAR will spearhead a charity drive to support the Venezuelan Rugby Federation community, which was affected by the recent earthquake in that country. The public is invited to donate rugby gear in good condition—jerseys, shorts, socks, boots, and balls—which can be dropped off at the San Juan Rugby Union’s area at the Fan Fest or at the Union’s headquarters (Urquiza 44 Norte) on Thursday the 9th and Friday the 10th from 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on Saturday the 11th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

 

PREDICTION

On the one hand, Felipe Contepomi’s Pumas are coming off a lackluster performance against Scotland. On the other hand, Steve Tandy’s Wales are coming off a strong showing against Fiji and back-to-back wins for the first-time since Rugby World Cup 2023. Needless to say, Argentina will be fired-up to right the wrongs from Córdoba. The Welsh have had reduced preparations due to the travel required from Cardiff to San Juan. A sunny afternoon awaits the teams at the foot of the Andes. Argentina are favorites to win in San Juan.

 

LINE-UPS

ARGENTINA
1 Boris Wenger (Harlequins), 2 Julián Montoya (Pau), 3 Tomás Rapetti (Toulouse), 4 Guido Petti (Harlequins), 5 Matías Alemanno (Vannes), 6 Santiago Grondona (Pau), 7 Marcos Kremer (Clermont), 8 Joaquín Oviedo (Perpignan), 9 Gonzalo García (Pau), 10 Tomás Albornoz (Toulon), 11 Mateo Carreras (Bayonne), 12 Justo Piccardo (Montpellier), 13 Lucio Cinti (Saracens), 14 Bautista Delguy (Clermont), 15 Santiago Carreras (Bath)

Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz (Perpignan), 17 Mayco Vivas (Oyonnax), 18 Francisco Coria Marchetti (Brive), 19 Franco Molina (Newcastle Red Bulls), 20 Pablo Matera (Mie Honda Heat), 21 Simón Benítez Cruz (Newcastle Red Bulls), 22 Matías Moroni (Bristol Bears), 23 Ignacio Mendy (Benetton)

WALES
1 Rhys Carre (Saracens), 2 Dewi Lake (Gloucester), 3 Dillon Lewis (Dragons), 4 Ben Carter (Dragons), 5 Adam Beard (Montpellier), 6 James Botham (Cardiff), 7 Jac Morgan (Gloucester), 8 Aaron Wainwright (Leicester Tigers), 9 Tomos Williams (Saracens), 10 Sam Costelow (Scarlets), 11 Josh Adams (Cardiff), 12 Joe Hawkins (Scarlets), 13 Eddie James (Scarlets), 14 Ellis Mee (Scarlets), 15 Blair Murray (Scarlets)

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias (Scarlets), 17 Nicky Smith (Sale Sharks), 18 Ben Warren (Ospreys), 19 Teddy Williams (Cardiff), 20 Kane James (Exeter Chiefs), 21 Kieran Hardy (Ospreys), 22 Max Llewellyn (Gloucester), 23 Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol Bears)

 

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, July 11
Kickoff: 4:10pm (Argentina); 8:10pm (Wales)
Venue: Estadio Bicentenario, San Juan (Argentina)
Broadcasts: ESPN, Disney + (Argentina)
Weather Forecast: Sunny; 20°C (68°F); Wind S 8 mph

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia), Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)
Split Screen/FPRO: Brett Cronan (Australia)

 

HISTORY vs (1968-2025)

2025-11-09 – Wales 28-52 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2023-10-14 – Wales 17-29 Argentina (Marseilles, France)*
2022-11-12 – Wales 20-13 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2021-07-17 – Wales 13-31 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2021-07-10 – Wales 20-20 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2018-06-16 – Argentina 12-30 Wales (Santa Fé, Argentina)
2018-06-09 – Argentina 10-23 Wales (San Juan, Argentina)
2016-11-12 – Wales 24-20 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2013-11-26 – Wales 40-06 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2012-11-10 – Wales 12-26 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2011-08-20 – Wales 28-13 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2009-11-21 – Wales 33-16 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2007-08-18 – Wales 27-20 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
2006-06-17 – Argentina 45-27 Wales (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
2006-06-11 – Argentina 27-25 Wales (Puerto Madryn, Argentina)
2004-06-19 – Argentina 20-35 Wales (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
2004-06-12 – Argentina 50-44 Wales (Tucumán, Argentina)
2001-11-10 – Wales 16-30 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
1999-10-01 – Wales 23-18 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales) *
1999-06-12 – Argentina 16-23 Wales (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
1999-06-05 – Argentina 26-36 Wales (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
1998-11-21 – Wales 43-30 Argentina (Llanelli, Wales)
1991-10-09 – Wales 16-07 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales) *
1976-10-16 – Wales 20-19 Argentina (Cardiff, Wales)
1968-09-28 – Argentina 9-8 Wales (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
1968-09-15 – Argentina 9-5 Wales XV (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

* Rugby World Cup Fixture

 

OVERALL RESULTS vs (1968-2023)

– 15

– 9

DRAW – 2