Argentina play host to Scotland in Córdoba on Saturday. The contest marks the official debut for both teams in the inaugural Nations Championship. Los Pumas enter as the higher ranked of the two sides with a World Ranking of 5th. Scotland are not far behind in 7th.
The test match sees Scotland seeking redemption following the November 2025 fixture in which Argentina completed a record come-back victory to win 33-24 in Edinburgh. Scotland had been in control with a 21-0 lead.
The result of the November 2025 match was critical for Rugby World Cup 2027 seeding; it resulted in Argentina being placed in Band A and gaining a favorable draw of Canada, Fiji and Spain while Scotland will be up against Ireland, Portugal and Uruguay.
The Nations Cup provides the twelve teams involved with unparalleled preparations for the World Cup. The twelve teams involved will be exposed to elite level opposition in July and November while the other twelve Rugby World Cup 2027 competitors, the Tier 2, will play each other in the World Rugby Nations Cup.
The reasoning behind the Nations Championship is to unify the July and November windows with a tournament. This means the South vs North matches in July and the reverse in November. However, it comes with controversy. For instance, Japan compete in the South and will play Ireland in Australia. In addition, Fiji’s home matches in July will all be in the UK; indeed, Scotland take-on Fiji in Edinburgh.
The twelve teams were selected because they represent the commercial and competitive elite of world rugby, guaranteeing the high-stakes matchups that organizers deemed necessary so as to secure major broadcast deals. The organizers are Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR.
| FORM GUIDE |
Current World Ranking: 7 (82.90 points)
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 7, 2026 | Italy | 18-15 | Loss | Rome, Italy |
| Feb 14, 2026 | England | 31-20 | Win | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Feb 21, 2026 | Wales | 26-23 | Win | Cardiff, Wales |
| Mar 7, 2026 | France | 50-40 | Win | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Mar 14, 2026 | Ireland | 43-21 | Loss | Dublin, Ireland |
Current World Ranking: 5 (84.97 points)
Yet to play in 2026
| + STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
– FIRST MATCH OF 2026
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Ewan Ashman | George Turner |
| 3 | Elliot Millar-Mills | Zander Fagerson |
| 4 | Jonny Gray | Max Williamson |
| 5 | Scott Cummings | Grant Gilchrist |
| 10 | Tom Jordan | Finn Russell |
| 13 | Rory Hutchinson | Huw Jones |
| 14 | Kyle Steyn | Darcy Graham |
| 15 | Jamie Dobie | Blair Kinghorn |
| + MILESTONES |
– M Alemanno 100 Caps
– P Schoeman 50 Caps; S Cummings 50 Caps; G Hiddleston debut
| + MOST CAPS |
– P Matera (121), J Montoya (117), M Alemanno (99), G Petti (98), M Moroni (94), S Carreras (64)
– Z Fagerson (81), D Graham (55), S Cummings (49), P Schoeman (49), R Sutherland (48), G Horne (45)
| + LEAST CAPS |
– F Sánchez Valarolo (1), J Moro (3), T Rapetti (3), B Wenger (5), A Moyano (8), P Delgado (9), R Isgró (16), G García (16), F Molina (19)
– G Hiddleston (0), F Burke (3), A Samuel (3), R Hutchinson (11), E Millar Mills (14), G Brown (16), T Jordan (17), K Rowe (17), J Dobie (19)
| + NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Eduardo Bello (TH), Santiago Chocobares (CE), Thomas Gallo (LH), Pedro Rubiolo (LO), Juan Martín González (FL), Marcos Kremer (FL), Juan Cruz Mallía (FB), Justo Piccardo (CE), Pedro Rubiolo (LO), Joel Sclavi (TH)
– Grant Gilchrist (LO), Finn Russell (FH), Huw Jones (CE), Blair Kinghorn (FB)
| NOTES |
- Argentina and Scotland have 50% win rates against each other. Both have won 13 times each.
- Los Pumas most recently played in Córdoba in 2025, losing 41-24 against New Zealand. Los Pumas’ first appearance in Córdoba was a 49-30 win over Fiji in 2003.
- Matías Alemanno has the honor of earning his 100th test cap in his home town of Córdoba.
- Fellow Cordobes, Faustino Sánchez Valarolo earns his first test start for Argentina. He will be the only Super Rugby Americas 2026 player involved for Argentina.
- In all there are 7 Córdoba players in the 23: Matías Alemanno, Joaquín Oviedo, Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, Santiago Carreras, Boris Wenger, Franco Molina and Agustín Moyano.
- Gregor Hiddleston will debut for Scotland as a replacement.
- Of the twelve teams in the Nations Championship, Scotland has the lowest percentage of homegrown players. In comparison, Argentina’s roster is entirely homegrown.
- Scotland is captained by Australian born and raised center, Sione Tuipulotu. He is one of 10 players set to face Argentina that was not born in Scotland nor raised in Scotland.
- Regular Finn Russell is out. New Zealander Tom Jordan starts at fly half in his place. Fellow New Zealander Fergus Burke will be Jordan’s understudy in Córdoba.
- Jack Dempsey from Australia is an ex Wallaby while Ben White is from England and played for England.
- Ben White is teammates with Tomás Albornoz at Toulon in the Top 14. Similarly, Jonny Gray, Joaquín Oviedo and Ignacio Ruiz play together for Perpignan.
- In the Premiership, Tom Jordan plays with Matías Moroni at Bristol Bears while Fergus Burke and Lucio Cinti are teammates at Saracens.
- Argentina’s Top 14 Finalists were not considered for the match. Santiago Chocobares, Efraín Elías, Domingo Miotti and Justo Piccardo may be added for matches against Wales and England.
- Scott Cummings earns his 50th cap as does South African prop Pierre Schoeman.
- 14 Scotland players play for the Glasgow Warriors: Kyle Rowe, Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu, Jamie Dobie, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Gregor Hiddleston, Rory Sutherland, Zander Fagerson, Alex Samuel, Gregor Brown, George Horne.
| PREDICTION |
The contest is between two of rugby’s elite teams. Both are former Rugby World Cup Semi Finalists and will be teams attracting attention at the next Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027. The coaches have seasoned players but are both without some due to injuries and the long season only having ended this past Saturday. Taking chances against the opposition will be vital as both teams have talent distributed across their line-ups. Friendly playing conditions are forecast for Córdoba for the Saturday afternoon kick-off. Los Pumas are slight favorites to win in Córdoba.
| LINE-UPS |
ARGENTINA
1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julián Montoya (capt.), 3 Pedro Delgado, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Matías Alemanno, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Santiago Grondona, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 9 Gonzalo García, 10 Tomás Albornoz, 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Faustino Sánchez Valarolo, 13 Lucio Cinti, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 15 Santiago Carreras
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Boris Wenger, 18 Tomás Rapetti, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Joaquín Moro, 21 Agustín Moyano, 22 Matías Moroni, 23 Bautista Delguy
SCOTLAND
1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 Elliot Millar-Mills, 4 Jonny Gray, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge, 8 Jack Dempsey, 9 Ben White, 10 Tom Jordan, 11 Kyle Rowe, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (capt.), 13 Rory Hutchinson, 14 Kyle Steyn, 15 Jamie Dobie
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, July 04
Kickoff: 4:10pm (Argentina); 8:10pm (UK)
Venue: Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba (Argentina)
Broadcasts: ESPN, Disney + (Argentina); ITV (UK)
Weather Forecast: Sunny; 11°C (52°F). Wind NE 11 km/h (8 mph).
| MATCH OFFICIALS |
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Jordan Way (Australia); Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Television Match Official: Brett Cronan (Australia)
Split Screen/FPRO: Eric Gauzins (France)
| HISTORY vs (1969-2025) |
Nov 16, 2025 – Scotland 24-32 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Nov 19, 2022 – Scotland 52-29 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jul 16, 2022 – Argentina 34-31 Scotland (Santiago del Estero, AR)
Jul 09, 2022 – Argentina 06-29 Scotland (Salta, AR)
Jul 02, 2022 – Argentina 26-18 Scotland (Jujuy, AR)
Nov 24, 2018 – Scotland 14-09 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jun 23, 2018 – Argentina 15-44 Scotland (Resistencia, AR)
Nov 19, 2016 – Scotland 19-16 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Nov 08, 2014 – Scotland 41-31 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jun 21, 2014 – Argentina 19-21 Scotland (Córdoba, AR)
Sep 25, 2011 – Argentina 13-12 (Wellington, NZ)
Jun 19, 2010 – Argentina 09-13 Scotland (Mar del Plata, AR)
Jun 12, 2010 – Argentina 16-24 Scotland (Tucumán, AR)
Nov 28, 2009 – Scotland 06-09 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jun 14, 2008 – Argentina 14-26 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jun 07, 2008 – Argentina 21-15 Scotland (Rosario, AR)
Oct 07, 2007 – Argentina 19-13 Scotland (Paris, FR)
Nov 12, 2005 – Scotland 19-23 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Nov 18, 2001 – Scotland 16-25 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Aug 21, 1999 – Scotland 22-31 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Jun 11, 1994 – Argentina 19-17 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jun 04, 1994 – Argentina 16-15 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
Nov 10, 1990 – Scotland 49-03 Argentina (Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Nov 24, 1973 – Scotland 12-11 Argentina Edinburgh, GB-SCO)
Sep 27, 1969 – Argentina 3-6 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 13, 1969 – Argentina 20-3 Scotland (Buenos Aires, AR)
| vs OVERALL RESULTS |
– 13 WINS
– 13 WINS
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