After the First test loss last Saturday in Jujuy, Felipe Contepomi’s squad has prepared for the rematch against Australia in Mendoza, which will also be the last home appearance of the year for the national team.
The match will decide the Visa Galicia Cup and will be played on Saturday, September 5 at the Malvinas Argentinas Stadium.
The Mendoza match will be the fifth meeting between the two teams in Mendoza, in which Los Pumas have only one win.
Following the match Los Pumas will have a break until they play again in November in Europe when the Nations Championship Northern Series and Finals will take place.
As for the team that lost in Jujuy last week, Felipe Contepomi [pictured right] made four changes in the starting XV: Pedro Delgado, Efraín Elías, Franco Molina and Nicolás Roger move into the starting team, while Francisco Moreno, Tomás Lavanini, Benjamín Grondona and Gerónimo Prisciantelli move out. Lock Guido Petti has moved to the backrow with Santiago Carreras switching to fullback. On the bench two players will make their debut: , Facundo Cardozo from Mendoza and Mateo Soler from Cordoba.
Facundo Cardozo, a player trained in Teqüe de Mendoza and currently at Universitario de Tucumán, was champion with Dogos XV in 2024 and this year he was present in Tarucas, the Tucumán franchise. In turn, in 2025 he was part of the Argentina XV squad that played the European tour against Munster and Bristol Bears.
Mateo Soler, son of Facundo Soler (Puma #520), was trained at Tala Rugby Club, and currently plays for Dogos XV, where in addition to being champion in 2024, he was the MVP in 2026. With Los Pumitas he played in the Oceania U20 Championship in 2022 and the U20 World Cup in 2023. In 2024 he received his first call-up to Los Pumas.
Los Pumas team for the rematch against Australia in Mendoza:
1. WENGER, Boris (10 caps)
2. RUIZ, Ignacio (32 caps)
3. DELGADO, Pedro (11 caps)
4. ELIAS, Ephraim (5 caps)
5. MOLINA, Franco (21 caps)
6. MATERA, Pablo (126 caps) Captain
7. PETTI, Guido (103 caps) Vice-Captain
8. MORO, Joaquín (7 caps)
9. BENÍTEZ CRUZ, Simón (14 caps)
10. ROGER, Nicolás (4 caps)
11. MENDY, Ignacio (7 caps)
12. SÁNCHEZ VALAROLO, Faustino (4 caps)
13. CINTI, Lucio (44 caps)
14. ISGRÓ, Rodrigo (19 caps)
15. CARRERAS, Santiago (69 caps) Vice-captain
Replacements:
16. OVIEDO, Leonel (2 caps)
17. VIVAS, Mayco (43 caps)
18. MORENO, Francisco (2 caps)
19. LAVANINI, Tomás (93 caps)
20. SCELZO, Juan Martín (1 cap)
21. CARDOZO, Facundo (without caps) *
22. BERTRANOU, Gonzalo (68 caps)
23. SOLER, Mateo (without caps) *