Once affectionately dubbed rugby’s little brother to the Springboks, the men from Argentina are very grown up, and not quite so little in presence or prestige.
Consistency has always been the Achilles heel of Los Pumas, but in the last two Castle Rugby Championship tournaments, including the current one, the Pumas turned potential into potency.
Former international Felipe Contepomi has proved inspirational since his appointment as Pumas head coach in 2024. He enjoyed a stellar player career, was capped 87 times for the Pumas and played his club rugby for Bristol, Leinster, Toulon and Stade Francais.
Contepomi has a strong association with Ireland, having studied at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; spent between 2003 and 2009 in Dublin at Leinster, playing 116 times; and was the Irish club giants’ backs coach between 2018 and 2022.
He has introduced the best aspects of what he learned in Ireland and merged the raw power and physicality that runs so deep in the DNA of Argentinean rugby, with an attacking style that has been the most impressive of all the teams playing in the Rugby Championship.
Contepomi has also, in 18 months, created history with wins against the Wallabies, the All Blacks and Springboks in the 2024 Rugby Championship. The 38-30 win was the most points a team had ever scored against the All Blacks in New Zealand, until the Boks (43-10) winners surpassed this at the same Sky Stadium in Wellington.
The Pumas scored the most points in the history of the Rugby Championship, coming from behind to beat the Wallabies 67-27 ,and then beating the Boks at home by a point.
In 2025, they tamed the British & Irish Lions in Dublin, beat the All Blacks at home for the first time, and were a minute away from completing a double against the Wallabies in Australia. They lost the first Test in the 84th minute and were always in control in a second Test win.
They arrive in South Africa determined to pitch up for next Saturday’s Test in Durban, having been torn apart 48-7 by the tournament-winning Boks in last season’s final round in Nelspruit.
Contepomi rued last year’s final hit out, insisted the occasion was too big for his squad, but confident that the gains had been made in victories, consistency and in Argentina’s charge to a top five world ranking.
It is the biggest challenge to play them, especially in South Africa, but it is a challenge that excites us. There is so much respect for them but also self-belief that we are good enough to beat any team, including them.
— Felipe Contepomi, Pumas head coach
The Pumas were World Cup semifinalists in 2007, 2015 and 2023, but it was an inability to back up big wins that has been their undoing. They were also limited in the backs, but there has been a revolution, more than an evolution, with their back play, especially since Contepomi’s arrival. “Our mentality has changed,” said Contepomi.
“We focus more on process than the result. Obviously, it’s nicer to win, but in last season’s win against the Springboks, they had the chance to win the Test with a late penalty kick. My impression of the game would not have changed, regardless of the result. The performance speaks to our processes and what we are trying to achieve.”
Contepomi has always been an admirer of the Boks, both when facing them as a player and now as a coach, but the admiration is not to be confused with being in awe of the back-to-back world champions. “They have set the standard, and they have the titles. They have a great coach and a support staff, an iconic leader and wonderfully talented players.
“It is the biggest challenge to play them, especially in South Africa, but it is a challenge that excites us. There is so much respect for them but also self-belief that we are good enough to beat any team, including them.”
Contepomi aside, hooker Julian Montoya has captained the Pumas 50 times, and vice-captain Pablo Matera is among Test rugby’s most imposing loose forwards.
The Pumas are tough, but where they once lacked variation and balance, they now have plenty with the new breed of backline player, aligned to Contepomi’s attacking mindset, adding a dimension that was absent in their style a few years ago.
The starting backline in the win against the Wallabies in Sydney is world class, with Juan Cruz Mallia at fullback, Rodrigo Isgro, Mateo Carreras (wingers), midfielders Santiago Chocobares and Luciano Cinti and halfbacks Gonzalo Garcia and Santiago Carreras lethal as a collective.
Tomas Albornoz, the regular starting 10, has recovered from injury and will play against the Boks, but the quality of this Pumas side is that Albornoz’s No 10 stand-in in Sydney, Carreras, scored 23 points.
Argentina, playing their 19th Test in South Africa, have just the one victory, which was in Durban in 2015. “The Pumas have a powerful pack and classy playmakers in their backline and we will have to be mentally and physically ready for them,” said Bok coach Rassie Erasmus.
“They beat us last season and they, like us, New Zealand and Australia, are all in with a chance to win the tournament. We must be at our best to win, in Durban and a week later against them at Twickenham.”
• Argentina moved their home game to Twickenham for commercial reasons.
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