Nations Championship 2026 – Italy vs Argentina – ARN Guide

Italy plays host to Argentina in Genoa on Saturday in a round five Nations Championship fixture. The test match is the first of the year between the teams and the first since 2024. Both teams enter on the back of heavy defeats and are adjusting to a growing list of player injuries.

Last weekend, the Azzurri fell 66–7 to South Africa in Turin, while Los Pumas suffered a 42–12 setback against Ireland in Dublin. With both camps eager to bounce back, head coaches Gonzalo Quesada and Felipe Contepomi have each made five changes to their starting line-ups.

For Italy, Quesada faces a notable reunion against the nation he represented 38 times as a fly-half, recalling experienced figures such as Danilo Fischetti, Stephen Varney, and Tommaso Allan. Argentina, meanwhile, travels without injured regulars Julián Montoya, Juan Cruz Mallía, and Marcos Kremer, handing captaincy duties to Pablo Matera.

History favors the visitors ahead of the 25th official meeting between the sides, with Argentina holding 18 wins to Italy’s five alongside a single draw. The Azzurri last defeated Los Pumas in 2008 and last won at home against the South Americans in 1998.

The showdown in Genoa also comes with both programs actively building toward Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia. Under the pressure of a growing injury toll, Quesada and Contepomi are being forced to look beyond their established core. For Italy, replacement forwards Enoch Opoku-Gyamfi, Alessandro Ortombina, and Samuele Locatelli are cases in point, while Argentina’s decision to hand maiden starts to Bautista Bernasconi and Juan Martín Scelzo, alongside testing Bautista Delguy at fullback, offers invaluable tactical flexibility and succession planning ahead of next year’s global showpiece.

 

FORM GUIDE

WORLD RANKING: 11th  (76.30)

Date	Result	Match Result	Venue
2026-11-07	Loss	Italy 7-66 South Africa	Turin, IT
2026-07-18	Loss	Australia 57-10 Italy	Perth, AU
2026-07-11	Loss	New Zealand 47-17 Italy	Wellington, NZ
2026-07-04	Loss	Japan 27-10 Italy	Tokyo, JP
2026-03-14	Loss	Wales 31-17 Italy	Cardiff, GB-WAL
2026-03-07	Win	Italy 23-18 England	Rome, IT
2026-02-22	Loss	France 33-8 Italy	Villeneuve-d’Ascq, FR
2026-02-14	Loss	Ireland 20-13 Italy	Dublin, IE
2026-02-07	Win	Italy 18-15 Scotland	Rome, IT

 

WORLD RANKING: 8th  (81.62)

Date	Result	Match Result	Venue
2026-11-06	Loss	Ireland 42-12 Argentina	Dublin, IE
2026-09-05	Draw	Argentina 28-28 Australia	Mendoza, AR
2026-08-29	Loss	Argentina 21-27 Australia	San Salvador de Jujuy, AR
2026-08-08	Loss	Argentina 10-17 South Africa	Buenos Aires, AR
2026-07-18	Loss	Argentina 24-31 England	Santiago del Estero, AR
2026-07-11	Win	Argentina 35-21 Wales	San Juan, AR
2026-07-04	Loss	Argentina 38-47 Scotland	Córdoba, AR

 

STARTING LINE-UP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
1	Danilo Fischetti	Muhamad Hasa
6	Ross Vintcent	Alessando Ortombina
7	Manuel Zuliani	Samuele Locatelli
9	Stephen Varney	Alessandro Fusco
15	Tommaso Allan	Mirko Belloni
	IN	OUT
2	Bautista Bernasconi	Julián Montoya
6	Pablo Matera	Juan Martín González
7	Joaquín Moro	Marcos Kremer
8	Juan Martín Scelzo	Pablo Matera
9	Simón Benítez Cruz	Gonzalo García
14	Rodrigo Isgró	Bautista Delguy
15	Bautista Delguy	Juan Cruz Mallía

 

MOST CAPS

– T Allan (92), F Ruzza (75), S Ferrari (74), D Fischetti (67), N Cannone (66), P Garbisi (58), M Ioane (50)

– P Matera (128), G Petti (105), F Isa (53), JM González (52), M Vivas (45), B Delguy (43), M Carreras (37), S Chocobares (36), J Sclavi (33)

 

LEAST CAPS

– S Locatelli (1), E Opoku Gyamfi, (2), A Ortombina (3), P Odogwu (11), M Hasa (12), F Mori (17).

– B Bernasconi (3), JM Scelzo (3), F Moreno (4), E Elías (7), G Prisciantelli (7), J Moro (8), B Wenger (12).

 

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

– Mirco Spagnolo (LH), Andrea Zambonin (LO), Michele Lamaro (FL), Sebastian Negri (FL), Juan Ignacio Brex (CE), Tommaso Menoncello (CE), Louis Lynagh (WI).

– Thomas Gallo (LH), Julián Montoya (HK), Ignacio Ruiz (HK), Santiago Grondona (FL), Marcos Kremer (FL), Joaquín Oviedo (NO. 8), Santiago Carreras (FH), Juan Cruz Mallía (FB).

 

NOTES

• It will be the 25th test match between Italy and Argentina. Los Pumas have 18 wins and the Azzurri 5.
• Both sides are looking to erase lopsided losses from last weekend. Italy conceded nine tries in a 66–7 defeat to South Africa in Turin, while Argentina fell 42–12 to Ireland in Dublin.
• Italy has not beaten Los Pumas on home soil since November 1998 in Piacenza. Argentina is chasing its 10th consecutive victory vs Italy and its 19th win overall in 26 meetings.
• Italy and Argentina have played two prior matches in Genoa, with Los Pumas winning in 2005 and 2014.
• Argentina last lost to Italy in 2008. It was a 13-12 home defeatin Córdoba.
• Italy’s most recent home match at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris was a 34–19 win over Chile in November 2025.
• The Azzurri, are otherwise unbeaten at the venue with five wins from seven matches since 2000.
• Argentina’s matchday has 716 caps, giving the squad an average of 31.13 caps per player. The starting XV accounts for 486 caps at an average of 32.40 caps, heavily anchored by centurions Pablo Matera (128) and Guido Petti (105). The replacements have 230 test caps at an average of 28.75 caps per player.
• Italy is more experienced overall with 877 caps, giving the squad an average of 38.13 caps per player. The starting XV has 742 at an average of 49.47 caps. The eight replacements contribute 135 caps for an average of 16.88 caps per player.
• Gonzalo Quesada will be coaching against his Homeland. He earned 38 caps for Argentina between 1996 and 2003, famously finishing as the top point-scorer at the 1999 Rugby World Cup. This is his second time coaching against his native country after Argentina defeated Italy 50–18 in Udine in November 2024.
• Across four Nations Championship rounds so far, Italy is last on the Northern Hemisphere table with zero points, having conceded 197 points (an average of 49.25 per match) and losing their last three Tests by margins of 30 points or more.
• Four Italian players play for Zebre Parma: Tommaso Allan, Muhamed Hasa, Alessandro Ortombina, and Samuele Locatelli. While, eight play for Benetton: Simone Ferrari, Niccolò Cannone, Federico Ruzza, Manuel Zuliani, Lorenzo Cannone, Leonardo Marin, Paolo Odogwu, and Alessandro Garbisi.
• Argentina’s Bautista Bernasconi plays for Benetton Rugby, while Tomás Albornoz is a former Benetton player. Gonzalo García and Gerónimo Prisciantelli are former Zebre Parma players.
• Former Italian winger Denis Dallan will be involved in singing the national anthem.
• Pablo Matera captains Los Pumas with Julián Montoya injured.
• A hooker crisis of sorts sees Bautista Bernasconi making his first-ever Test start. His understudy, Facundo Bosch, will earn his first cap since 2021. Montoya, Ignacio Ruiz and Leonel Oviedo are injured.
• Rookie Puma Juan Martín Scelzo earns his first start for Argentina. His father, Martin Scelzo played for Argentina together with Gonzalo Quesada at Rugby World Cups 1999 and 2003.
• Bautista Delguy earns his first start at fullback. Across his previous 43 Test caps for Los Pumas since 2018, all 37 of his starts had come on the wing (33 on the right, 4 on the left).
• The loss of Marcos Kremer sees Facundo Isa earning his first cap of 2026.
• Quesada and Contepomi have both opted for two, rather than three, replacement backs. They are Alessandro Garbisi and Federico Mori for Italy and Gonzalo García and Gerónimo Prisciantelli for Argentina.

 

LINE-UPS

ITALY
1 Danilo Fischetti, 2 Giacomo Nicotera (capt.), 3 Simone Ferrari, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 5 Federico Ruzza, 6 Ross Vintcent, 7, Manuel Zuliani 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 9 Stephen Varney, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 11 Monty Ioane, 12 Leonardo Marin, 13 Paolo Odogwu, 14 Ange Capuozzo, 15 Tommaso Allan

Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Muhamad Hasa, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Enoch Opoku Gyamfi, 20 Alessandro Ortombina, 21 Samuele Locatelli, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Federico Mori

ARGENTINA
1 Boris Wenger, 2 Bautista Bernasconi, 3 Francisco Moreno, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 6 Pablo Matera (capt.), 7 Joaquín Moro, 8 Juan Martín Scelzo, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 10 Tomás Albornoz (vice-capt.), 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Justo Piccardo, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 15 Bautista Delguy

Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Efraín Elías, 20 Juan Martín González (vice-capt.), 21 Facundo Isa, 22 Gonzalo García (vice-capt.), 23 Gerónimo Prisciantelli

 

PREDICTION

Under Gonzalo Quesada, Italy plays a game built on disciplined kicking exits, driving mauls, and dual-playmaker setups (pairing Paolo Garbisi with Leonardo Marin or Tommaso Allan) that use pull-back passes and loops to unleash counter-attackers, while relying on compact defensive line integrity and jackals with Manuel Zuliani being a specialist. In contrast, Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina thrives on fast-paced rugby with explosive ball-carrying forwards to generate quick ball for fly-half Tomás Albornoz, to open the backs, and an aggressive aerial kicking game targeting Mateo Carreras and Rodrigo Isgrò. New defensive coach, Shaun Edwards is charged with introducing a suffocating, fast-advancing structure to force the opposition behind the advantage line. It is a trade-off as it risks a high penalty count. Argentina are favorites to win in Genoa.

 

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, November 14, 2026
Kick-Off: 12:40pm CET (Italy) / 8:40am ART (Argentina)
Venue: Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa (Italy)
Weather: Partly Sunny, 14°C (high) / 9°C (low). Wind N (10 mph / 16 km/h)
Broadcast: ESPN, Disney + (Latin America), Rugby Pass, Premier Sports (Canada)

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Morne Ferreira (South Africa), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Foul Play Review Officer (FPRO): Ian Tempest (England)

 

HISTORY vs (1978-2026)

DATE	MATCH RESULT	VENUE
2024-11-09	Italy 18-50 Argentina	Udine, IT
2021-11-13	Italy 16-37 Argentina	Treviso, IT
2017-11-18	Italy 15-31 Argentina	Florence, IT
2016-06-11	Argentina 30-24 Italy	Santa Fe, AR
2014-11-15	Italy 18-20 Argentina	Genoa, IT
2013-11-23	Italy 14-19 Argentina	Rome, IT
2012-06-09	Argentina 37-22 Italy	San Juan, AR
2010-11-13	Italy 16-22 Argentina	Verona, IT
2008-11-15	Italy 14-22 Argentina	Turin, IT
2008-06-28	Argentina 12-13 Italy	Córdoba, AR
2007-06-09	Argentina 24-6 Italy	Mendoza, AR
2006-11-18	Italy 16-23 Argentina	Rome, IT
2005-11-19	Italy 22-39 Argentina	Genoa, IT
2005-06-17	Argentina 29-30 Italy	Córdoba, AR
2005-06-11	Argentina 35-21 Italy	Salta, AR
2002-11-16	Italy 06-36 Argentina	Rome, IT
2001-07-14	Argentina 38-17 Italy	Buenos Aires, AR
1998-11-07	Italy 23-19 Argentina	Piacenza, IT
1997-10-22	Italy 18-18 Argentina	Lourdes, FR
1995-10-17	Argentina 26-06 Italy	Tucumán, AR
1995-06-04	Italy 31-25 Argentina	East London, ZA (RWC)
1989-06-24	Argentina 21-16 Italy	Buenos Aires, AR
1987-05-28	Italy 16-25 Argentina	Christchurch, NZ (RWC)

Italy Wins 5
Argentina Wins 18
Draws 1