A reputable Argentina XV roster has been finalized for the 2026 Americas Rugby Championship (ARC). Álvaro Galindo has assembled a 28-man roster for the tournament that will be include three rounds of matches. It will provide Argentine players with the opportunity of pressing for higher honors as Felipe Contepomi continues his planning for Rugby World Cup 2027.
The competition will get underway on Saturday, August 29. The Argentina XV will face Paraguay in the tournament opener in Talcahuano, Chile. Subsequent matches will be on Wednesday, September 02 and Sunday, September 06. Both matches per day will be played at the same match venue.
The ARC champion will be determined based on competition points. Paraguay is the only Senior Men’s team involved. The Argentina XV, Chile XV and Uruguay XV are all next-of-XV selections. This means that the matches will not be capped.
SUPER RUGBY AMERICAS CONNECTION
The arrival of Super Rugby Americas (SRA) has helped bridge the gap between club and elite level. Under the prior structure of Super Rugby there was one team (Los Jaguares) and thus limited places for domestic players to become professionals.
SRA has four Argentine teams and the four from other South American countries also all feature Argentines. The following table documents the players and their SRA 2026 teams.
SRA Team
Player
Position
Capibaras
Enzo Avaca
Prop
Capibaras
Diego Correa
Prop
Capibaras
Martín Vaca
Hooker
Capibaras
Ignacio Gandini
Flanker
Capibaras
Felipe Villagrán
Flanker
Capibaras
Alejo Sugasti
Scrum Half
Capibaras
Ignacio Dogliani
Fly Half
Capibaras
Bautista Estellés
Center
Pampas
Rodrigo Fernández Criado
Second-Row
Pampas
Joaquín Pascual Viale
Second-Row
Pampas
Francisco Sluga
Second-Row
Pampas
Juan Pedro Bernasconi
Flanker
Pampas
Federico Serpa
Fly Half
Pampas
Juan Cruz Corso
Center
Tarucas
Thiago Sbrocco
NO. 8
Tarucas
Pedro Coll
Center
Tarucas
Mateo Pasquini
Wing
Yacare
Joaquín Domínguez
NO. 8
Dogos
Galo Fernández
Hooker
Dogos
Nicolás Viola
Scrum Half
ARGENTINA XV CAPTAIN AND YOUTH
Galindo’s team will featured changed leadership. Nicolás D’Amorim captained the Argentina XV against the USA in Florida earlier this month. D’Amorim is not on the roster for the ARC. He was the only capped Puma that featured in the loss to the Eagles.
Los Pumitas captain, Tomás Dande is on the roster. The flanker led Argentina at the 2026 Junior World Championship. He will be joined by plenty of 2026 graduates of Los Pumitas. They are Bautista Salinas Mallea (tight head prop), Joaquín Pascual Viale (second-Row), Luciano Avaca (wing), Pedro Coll (center), Bautista Lescano (wing), Simón Pfister (fullback), and Federico Serpa (fly half).
Pfister was a breakout star for Argentina U20 at the World Rugby Junior World Championship. He scored eight tries for his country.
Club
Player
Position
Huirapuca R.C.
Tomás Dande
Flanker
Alumni
Joaquín Pascual Viale
Second-Row
Los Tordos R.C.
Bautista Salinas Mallea
Prop
Tala R.C.
Luciano Avaca
Wing
Tigres R.C.
Pedro Coll
Center
CAE
Bautista Lescano
Wing
Tucumán R.C.
Simón Pfister
Fullback
Los Tordos R.C.
Federico Serpa
Fly Half
ARC 2026 – FIXTURES
Round 1 | Saturday August 29 – Estadio CAP Acero, Talcahuano
1pm | Argentina XV vs Paraguay — Referee: Raimundo Fuenzalida (Chile)
4pm | Chile XV vs Uruguay XV — Referee: Federico Longobardi (Argentina)
Round 2 | Wednesday, September 02 – Escuela Militar, Santiago
12pm | Argentina XV vs Uruguay XV — Referee: Sergio Alvarenga (Paraguay)
3pm | Chile XV vs Paraguay — Referee: Armen Abi-Saab (Uruguay)
Round 3 | Sunday, September 06 – Estadio Elías Figueroa Brander, Valparaíso
1pm | Uruguay XV vs Paraguay — Referee: Sebastián Toledo (Chile)
4pm | Chile XV vs Argentina XV — Referee: Sergio Alvarenga (Paraguay)
ARGENTINA XV ROSTER – FORWARDS
HOOKER
Galo Fernández
Juan Ignacio Greising Revol
Martín Vaca
PROP
Enzo Avaca
Diego Correa
Nicolás Revol Pitt
Bautista Salinas Mallea
SECOND-ROW
Rodrigo Fernández Criado
Joaquin Domínguez
Joaquín Pascual Viale
Francisco Sluga
FLANKER
Tomás Dande
Ignacio Gandini
Felipe Villagrán
NO.8
Juan Pedro Bernasconi
Thiago Sbrocco
Foto Crédito: SRA Gaspafotos
ARGENTINA XV ROSTER – BACKS
SCRUM HALF
Alejo Sugasti
Nicolás Viola
FLY HALF
Ignacio Dogliani
Federico Serpa
CENTER
Pedro Coll
Juan Cruz Corso
Bautista Estellés
WING
Luciano Avaca
Bautista Lescano
Mateo Pasquini
FULLBACK
Simón Pfister
Franco Rossetto
Foto: Franco Perego / Profocus