Argentina’s Next in Line Players for Rugby Championship

Argentina’s 31-man roster for the 2024 Rugby Championship came with some notable inclusions and omissions. There are changes from Felipe Contepomi’s roster that faced France and Uruguay in July. The combination of the two rosters helps indicate which players are in Contepomi’s planning and who is out of favor.

This article looks into the players who ought to be considered the next in line for the Rugby Championship. It notes who will be likely called-up to replace someone due to injury or a slump in form. It identifies players across all positions.

ARGENTINA – FORWARDS

Contepomi utilized Thomas Gallo and Marco Vivas against France and Uruguay. Both are on the Rugby Championship roster. Joel Sclavi is back following rest to replace Ignacio Calles. This makes Calles the next in line at loose head. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro took part in the training camp in March but is not yet fully-fit.

Sclavi can play both loose head and tight head. The roster also contains Eduardo Bello and Lucio Sordoni who both featured in July. Francisco Coria debuted against Uruguay but was not selected for the Rugby Championship. Veteran Francisco Gómez Kodela remains ahead of Santiago Medrano.

39-year-old Agustín Creevy is back to join captain Julián Montoya and Ignacio Ruiz in the hooker department. The uncapped Bautista Bernasconi was included in July but exited through injury. Tomás Bartolini replaced him but Calles covered hooker against Uruguay.

Second-row saw rookie Franco Molina and the uncapped Efraín Elías selected ahead of Matías Alemanno, Lucas Paulos and Guido Petti. The trio are evidently the next-in-line options and probably in that order. Tomás Lavanini and Pedro Rubiolo are retained from the World Cup. Elías may be used as a back-rower.

Juan Martín González was rested in July. Fellow back-rowers Pablo Matera and Marcos Kremer had captaincy responsibilities. Rookie Juan Bautista Pedemonte joins them as a flanker option with Joaquín Oviedo the starting N8 from July.

The London camp featured Rodrigo Bruni and Santiago Grondona. The former rested in July but was not called-up for the Rugby Championship. The latter continues to recover from surgery. Contepomi handed Joaquín Moro his debut against Uruguay. Nicolás D’Amorim joined the roster but did not play. Facundo Isa is taking the year off from Los Pumas.

ARGENTINA – BACKS

Gonzalo Bertranou and Lautaro Bazán Vélez both started in July while Gonzalo García completed his comeback as a replacement against Uruguay. The trio are all on the Rugby Championship roster. Veteran Tomás Cubelli is missing while Dogos scrum-half Agustín Moyano is the next in line.

Santiago Carreras started at fly half against France and Tomás Albornoz did so against Uruguay. There are no changes for July. It is unclear as to who is the next-in-line. The candidates are former Puma Domingo Miotti, the uncapped Gerónimo Prisciantelli, and veteran Nicolás Sánchez.

Jerónimo de la Fuente played in July but is sitting out the Rugby Championship for personal reasons. Lucio Cinti rested in July and returns to join Santiago Chocobares, Matías Moroni, and Matías Orlando as the center options. Having joined the July roster, Justo Piccardo is the next in line.

World Cup goal-kicker Emiliano Boffelli is out following surgery. Mateo Carreras and Bautista Delguy started at wing against France with Ignacio Mendy replacing Delguy against Uruguay. Mendy is not on the roster to face New Zealand. He is the next in line for wing.

Fullback sees Martín Bogado and Juan Cruz Mallía included. The former started against France in Mendoza while the latter rested throughout July. Mateo Soler was unused on the roster.

ARGENTINA – Next in Line 23

#	PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	CAPS
1	Ignacio Calles	Pau (FR)	TH/LH	3
2	Bautista Bernasconi	Benetton (IT)	HK	–
3	Francisco Coria	Brive (FR)	TH	1
4	Matías Alemanno	Gloucester (GB-ENG)	LO	93
5	Lucas Paulos	Bayonne (FR)	LO	14
6	Santiago Grondona	Bristol Bears (GB-ENG)	FL	14
7	Joaquín Moro	Pampas	FH/N8	1
8	Rodrigo Bruni	Bayonne	N8	26
9	Agustín Moyano	Dogos	SH	–
10	Geronimo Prisciantelli	Zebre (IT)	FH/FB/CE	–
11	Rodrigo Isgró	Los Pumas 7’s	WI	3
12	Justo Piccardo	Pampas	CE	–
13	Luciano González	Los Pumas 7’s	CE	–
14	Ignacio Mendy	Benetton (IT)	WI/FB	2
15	Mateo Soler	Dogos	FB	–

16	Tomás Bartolini	Dogos	HK	–
17	Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro	Benetton (IT)	LH	78
18	Francisco Gómez Kodela	Stade Français (FR)	TH	38
19	Guido Petti	Bordeaux (FR)	LO	82
20	Nicolás D’Amorim	Pampas	FL	–
21	Tomás Cubelli	Miami Sharks (US)	SH	93
22	Domingo Miotti	Montpellier (FR)	FH	5
23	Benjamín Elizalde	Bristol Bears (GB-ENG)	FB	–