Argentina Head Coach Felipe Contepomi has named a 32-man roster for the upcoming match against the British & Irish Lions on June 20. The fixture falls outside of the World Rugby player release window, limiting Contepomi’s ability to call up players currently involved in ongoing competitions.
This match will be the first of thirteen capped test matches for Argentina this year. Los Pumas will host three test matches in July before competing in the 2025 Rugby Championship and closing out the year with the July Internationals.
The opportunity to face the British & Irish Lions is rare for Argentina. The teams last met in 2005, ending in a 25-25 draw—one of the most recent encounters between the two sides. Such matches occur infrequently, with players only having a chance to face the Lions once or twice in their careers.
Roster Breakdown: Where They Play
The roster features players from Argentina, England, France, Italy, and Japan. The squad will travel to Dublin on Thursday, with Captain Julián Montoya joining after the English Premiership Final.
Contepomi has called up players from the Super Rugby Americas (SRA), with 11 SRA players making the cut. These players include Luciano Asevedo, Simón Benítez Cruz, and Nicolás Roger (Tarucas); Boris Wenger, Pedro Delgado, Leonel Oviedo, Agustín Moyano, and Faustino Sánchez Valarolo (Dogos); Joaquín Moro, Justo Piccardo, and Santiago Pernas (Pampas).
Unavailable Players
Due to the timing of the match, several players were unavailable for selection. The match is positioned before Argentina’s tour to Australia and after the United Rugby Championship (URC) and English Premiership Finals. It also falls before the conclusion of the Top 14 season, which affected some selections.
Toulouse players Efraín Elías, Santiago Chocobares, and Juan Cruz Mallía were unavailable, as their team is still competing in the Top 14 Semi-Finals. Bordeaux’s Guido Petti was also unavailable for the same reason. Additionally, players from teams involved in the Top 14 Barrage, such as Bayonne, Castres, Clermont, and Toulon, were not considered, including Facundo Bosch, Rodrigo Bruni, Mateo Carreras, Lucas Paulos, Bautista Delguy, Marcos Kremer, and Facundo Isa.
Contepomi also opted not to include Major League Rugby (MLR) players, with Los Angeles scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou and Miami Sharks duo Tomás Cubelli and Matías Orlando not selected.
Other players were unavailable due to injuries or vacation. These include Matías Alemanno, Eduardo Bello, Emiliano Boffelli, Ignacio Calles, Jerónimo de la Fuente, Thomas Gallo, Francisco Gómez Kodela, Tomás Lavanini, Rodrigo Martínez, Bautista Pedemonte, Ignacio Ruiz, and Lucio Sordoni. Additionally, uncapped player Gerónimo Prisciantelli is out due to injury.
Uncapped and Returning Players
Contepomi has included eight uncapped players in the squad. These players are: Luciano Asevedo, Lionel Oviedo, Boris Wenger, Simón Benítez Cruz, Agustín Moyano, Nicolás Roger, Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, and Santiago Pernas. These players will have the opportunity to make their international debut.
Bautista Bernasconi, Benjamín Grondona, and Benjamín Elizalde are also uncapped but are based abroad, playing for URC and English Premiership clubs.
Four returning players have also been included in the squad after missing the November Internationals: Francisco Coria Marchetti, Joaquín Moro, Mayco Vivas, and Ignacio Mendy. Moro will join Leicester Tigers next season.
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