Stars missing in Argentina squad

31 players made the roster. Felipe Contepomi’s first selection as the man in charge of Los Pumas is close to that of the roster which competed at Rugby World Cup 2023. All but one player is capped. The roster does, however, come with notable absentees.

Franco Molina’s inclusion coincides with the one-selection of Lucas Paulos. The Bayonne second-rower started against the World Champion Springboks in Johannesburg last year.

Pumas who play in Super Rugby, Japan Rugby League One and Major League Rugby have not been considered. Some or all of Martín Bogado, Santiago Medrano, Pablo Matera, Nicolás Sánchez and Tomás Cubelli may otherwise have been included.

Then there are other players who featured at the World Cup but have missed out on a place in Contepomi’s camp. Veterans Juan Imhoff, Agustín Creevy and Francisco Gómez Kodela are examples.

A further player missing is Rodrigo Isgró. He was not considered due to his involvement with Los Pumas 7’s. He made the roster for the World Cup and started against Chile. Luciano González also trained with the roster and played for the Argentina XV.

With Imhoff and Isgró missing there are recalls for Santiago Cordero and Bautista Delguy. Cordero is recovering from injury while Delguy is in the middle of an outstanding season for Clermont. The same applies to Ignacio Mendy for Benetton. Mendy was a notable missing name.

Mendy’s form in the United Rugby Championship saw him sign a new deal with the club until 2027. His one cap was in 2021. Gonzalo García, Gerónimo Prisciantelli, Bautista Bernasconi, Domingo Miotti and Matías Orlando are further cases of notable missing players. Not all are capped though their performances this season mean they are firmly in the conversation.

When pieced together a powerful hypothetical side could assembles such as that below.