'It's an honour' - Contepomi's Argentina name squad for Lions clash
ARGENTINA HAVE NAMED a 32-man squad ahead of next week's clash with Andy Farrell's British and Irish Lions in Dublin.
Head coach Felipe Contepomi, formerly of Leinster, will lead los Pumas onto familiar ground as they take on the Lions at the Aviva Stadium on Friday 20 June [KO 8pm, TG4].
Argentina last faced the Lions back in 2005 in Cardiff when the sides drew 25-25 before Clive Woodward's side departed for their tour of New Zealand.
Contepomi has included several first-choice players in his squad for next week's game, including captain Julián Montoya, flankers Pablo Matera and Juan Martín González, centres Lucio Cinti and Matías Moroni, out-half Tomás Albornoz, wing Rodrigo Isgró, and number eight Jaoquín Ovieda – all of whom started the Pumas' most recent Tests against Ireland and France last November.
Contepomi has also named lots of less familiar faces, calling on 11 players involved in the Super Rugby Americas competition. Six of those players - Boris Wenger, Pedro Delgado, Leonel Oviedo, Agustín Moyano, and Faustino Sánchez Valarolo – will feature for Dogos XV in the Super Rugby Americas final against Uruguayan side Peñarol on Friday.
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That means the Dogos contingent will arrive in Ireland later than the bulk of Contepomi's squad, who will fly out from Argentina on Friday.
Los Pumas had an encouraging 2024 campaign under Contepomi as they won three of their six games in the Rugby Championship before a big win away to Italy, a narrow defeat to Ireland, and a defeat to France in the autumn.
Argentina face Steve Borthwick's England in two Tests next month and have a clash with Uruguay before the 2025 Rugby Championship kicks off in August. So they will be looking to get off to a strong start to the year in Dublin next week.
'It's an honour to have received the invitation from the British & Irish Lions to play their farewell match before the tour of Australia, which will be their first ever visit to Ireland,' said Contepomi, who played for and coached Leinster.
'I know how prestigious it is for them to be part of this team, and being invited to this event fills us with pride.
'For us, it's a great challenge to pick up where we left off in 2024 and continue our quest for continuous improvement. Every match is an opportunity to continue growing as a team, and we take it with great responsibility.'
Argentina squad to face the Lions:
Props: Mayco Vivas, Boris Wenger, Joel Sclavi, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Pedro Delgado
Hookers: Julián Montoya, Bautista Bernasconi, Leonel Oviedo
Locks: Pedro Rubiolo, Franco Molina, Luciano Asevedo
Back rows: Juan Martín González, Benjamín Grondona, Santiago Grondona, Pablo Matera, Joaquín Moro, Joaquín Oviedo
Halfbacks: Gonzalo García, Agustín Moyano, Tomás Albornoz, Simón Benítez Cruz, Nicolás Roger
Centres: Lucio Cinti, Matías Moroni, Justo Piccardo, Faustino Sánchez Valarolo
Back threes: Santiago Carreras, Santiago Cordero, Rodrigo Isgró, Benjamín Elizalde, Ignacio Mendy, Santiago Pernas
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