{"id":69034,"date":"2025-08-15T01:29:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/69034\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T01:29:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:29:08","slug":"rugby-championship-2025-argentina-vs-new-zealand-game-1-arn-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/69034\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby Championship 2025 – Argentina vs New Zealand Game 1 – ARN Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in C\u00f3rdoba will play host to the opening round clash of the 2025 Rugby Championship between Argentina and New Zealand. The city becomes Argentina\u2019s ninth to play host to Los Pumas in the tournament.<\/p>\n

Argentina prepared for the Rugby Championship with four matches. Los Pumas defeated the British & Irish Lions in Dublin in June before losing a home series against England and defeating Uruguay in July. New Zealand warmed-up by winning three home test matches against France.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Rugby Championship is the fourteenth edition of the annual competition between Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Argentina joined in 2012. The competition determines the best team from the Southern Hemisphere annually.<\/p>\n

However, the arrival of the Nations Championship<\/a> and South Africa vs New Zealand contesting \u201cThe Greatest Rugby Rivalry\u201d in 2026 is set affect the Rugby Championship<\/a> with it changing to be played on a biennial basis. This means that after 2025, there will only be one normal Rugby Championship in the following five years. There will be no Rugby Champions in 2026, 2028 or 2030 and reduced Rugby Championships in 2027 and 2031. Only 2029 will feature a normal format with two matches between all competitors.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Rugby Championship sees Argentina having two home matches against New Zealand for the first time in tournament history. This is a reverse of the 2024 and 2022 tournaments in which New Zealand had home advantage for the two matches between the teams in both years.<\/p>\n

C\u00f3rdoba and Buenos Aires host the two fixtures in the 2025 Rugby Championship. This gives Juli\u00e1n Montoya and his team two opportunities to claim a first-ever home victory over New Zealand. Los Pumas enter the match having defeated all three of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in 2024<\/a> and writing history against the British & Irish Lions<\/a> to open 2025.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

FORM GUIDE\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\" Current World Ranking: 7<\/a> (82.05 points)
2025-07-19 \u2013 Argentina 52-17 Uruguay<\/a> (Salta, AR)
2025-07-12 \u2013 Argentina 17-22 England<\/a> (San Juan, AR)
2025-07-05 \u2013 Argentina 12-35 England<\/a> (La Plata, AR)
2025-06-20 \u2013 British & Irish Lions 24-28 Argentina<\/a> (Dublin, IE)<\/p>\n

\"\" Current World Ranking: 2<\/a> (92.06 points)
2025-07-19 \u2013 New Zealand 29-19 France (Hamilton, NZ)
2025-07-12 \u2013 New Zealand 43-12 France (Wellington, NZ)
2025-07-05 \u2013 New Zealand 31-27 France (Dunedin, NZ)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nIN
\nOUT<\/p>\n

3
\nPedro Delgado
\nFrancisco G\u00f3mez Kodela<\/p>\n

4
\nFranco Molina
\nGuido Petti<\/p>\n

7
\nMarcos Kremer
\nBenjam\u00edn Grondona<\/p>\n

8
\nJoaqu\u00edn Oviedo
\nJoaqu\u00edn Moro<\/p>\n

9
\nGonzalo Garc\u00eda
\nSim\u00f3n Ben\u00edtez Cruz<\/p>\n

10
\nTom\u00e1s Albornoz
\nNicol\u00e1s Roger<\/p>\n

11
\nBautista Delguy
\nSantiago Pernas<\/p>\n

12
\nSantiago Chocobares
\nJusto Piccardo<\/p>\n

13
\nLucio Cinti
\nMat\u00edas Moroni<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nIN
\nOUT<\/p>\n

2
\nCodie Taylor
\nSamisoni Taukei\u2019aho<\/p>\n

3
\nFletcher Newell
\nTyrel Lomax<\/p>\n

4
\nScott Barrett
\nPatrick Tuipulotu<\/p>\n

6
\nTupou Vaa\u2019i
\nSamipeni Finau<\/p>\n

7
\nDu\u2019Plessis Kirifi
\nArdie Savea<\/p>\n

8
\nArdie Savea
\n\u202fLuke Jacobson<\/p>\n

10
\nBeauden Barrett
\nDamian McKenzie<\/p>\n

12
\nJordie Barrett
\nQuinn Tupaea<\/p>\n

13
\nBilly Proctor
\nAnton Lienert-Brown<\/p>\n

15
\nWill Jordan
\nRuben Love<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" \u2013 \u00a0Pablo Matera (112), Juli\u00e1n Montoya (108), Guido Petti (89), Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (79), Marcos Kremer (73), Santiago Carreras (55), Juan Cruz Mall\u00eda (42), Juan Mart\u00edn Gonzalez (42).<\/p>\n

\"\" \u2013 Beauden Barrett (136), C Taylor (99), Ardie Savea (97), Anton Lienert-Brown (85), Rieko Ioane (83), Scott Barrett (81), Jordie Barrett (71), Damian McKenzie (64), Patrick Tuipulotu (53).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" \u2013 Sim\u00f3n Ben\u00edtez Cruz (3), Pedro Delgado (4), Justo Piccardo (4), Rodrigo Isgr\u00f3 (9), Gonzalo Garc\u00eda (11), Franco Molina (12).<\/p>\n

\"\" \u2013 Ollie Norris (2), Fabian Holland (3), Du\u2019Plessis Kirifi (3), Billy Proctor (4), Pasilio Tosi (9), Samipeni Finau (11), Cortez Ratima (14).<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" \u2013 Ignacio Calles (LH), Thomas Gallo (LH), Eduardo Bello (TH), Efra\u00edn El\u00edas (LO), Tom\u00e1s Lavanini \u00a0(LO), Gonzalo Bertranou (SH), Mat\u00edas Moroni (CE), Mateo Carreras (WI)<\/p>\n

\"\" \u2013 Tamaiti Williams (LH), Tyrel Lomax (TH), Ofa Tu\u2019ungafasi (TH), Luke Jacobson (FL), Wallace Sititi (N8), Cam Roigard (SH), Caleb Clarke (WI)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Argentina is targeting a first-ever home win over New Zealand. Los Pumas defeated the All Blacks in 2020<\/a> in Sydney, Australia and in 2022<\/a> and 2024 in New Zealand<\/a>.
\nJusto Piccardo and Sim\u00f3n Ben\u00edtez Cruz will make their Rugby Championship debuts. Ben\u00edtez Cruz has signed for Newcastle Red Bulls<\/a> and Piccardo for Montpellier<\/a>.
\nGonzalo Garc\u00eda, Tom\u00e1s Albornoz, Juan Cruz Mall\u00eda, Santiago Chocobares, Marcos Kremer, Bautista Delguy, Mateo Carreras, Joaqu\u00edn Oviedo and Ignacio Ruiz all sat out the test matches in July.
\nMateo Carreras is also notably absent against New Zealand. This is tactical with Felipe Contepomi having favored Bautista Delguy\u2019s aerial game.
\nPedro Delgado replaces Francisco G\u00f3mez Kodela who has retired<\/a>. It sees a Super Rugby Americas prop starting ahead of Joel Sclavi while fellow French-based prop, Francisco Coria misses out on the 23.
\nNo Tight Head has held down the starting position for Argentina against New Zealand since Joel Sclavi did so in 2022. Lucio Sordoni started in Auckland<\/a> in 2024 and Eduardo Bello in Wellington<\/a>. Francisco G\u00f3mez Kodela started the World Cup Semi Final<\/a> in Paris in 2023.
\nPablo Matera will earn his 113th cap for Argentina. He is the most capped Puma in history.
\nArgentina\u2019s halves pairing of Gonzalo Garc\u00eda and Tom\u00e1s Albornoz is the first-ever all Tucum\u00e1n combination.
\nCodie Taylor will earn his 99th cap for the All Blacks while Ardie Savea will earn his 98th.
\nBeauden Barrett will earn his 137th cap. He has a New Zealand record of 21 caps against Los Pumas.
\nArgentina last hosted New Zealand in 2023. The All Blacks won 41-12<\/a> in Mendoza.
\nThe All Blacks have never previously played a test match in C\u00f3rdoba.\u00a0Argentina\u2019s previous home test matches against New Zealand took place in Buenos Aires, La Plata and Mendoza.
\nNew Zealand has played uncapped matches in C\u00f3rdoba province. The All Blacks won 30-13 in 1976 against a mainland selection, and against C\u00f3rdoba in 1985 and 1991 by scorelines of 72-9 and 38-9.
\nLos Pumas have previously played five test matches in C\u00f3rdoba. The first was a 49-30 win over Fiji in 2003.
\nFour of Los Pumas\u2019 23 are Cordobeses: Juan Cruz Mall\u00eda (Jockey Club Cordobesa), Franco Molina (Jockey Club Cordobesa), Santiago Carreras (C\u00f3rdoba Athletic) and Joaqu\u00edn Oviedo (C\u00f3rdoba Athletic).
\nC\u00f3rdoba becomes the 9th Argentine city to host Los Pumas in a Rugby Championship test match. It follows Buenos Aires, La Plata, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, San Juan, Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

New Zealand is unbeaten in 2025 but, arguably, won against France without the authority of teams from years gone by. Argentina fell to England and defeated the British & Irish Lions and Uruguay. The matches saw player rotation with an eye to having players at their peak for the Rugby Championship. After a long wait, C\u00f3rdoba will play host to a first-ever Rugby Championship fixture. The opportunity has the locals excited; under 1,500 of 57,000 tickets remained on Wednesday<\/a>. Pleasant weather is forecast for the Saturday evening fixture. New Zealand are favorites to win in C\u00f3rdoba.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"
ARGENTINA<\/p>\n

#
\nPLAYER
\nFROM
\nCAPS<\/p>\n

1
\nMayco Vivas
\nRafaela
\n31<\/p>\n

2
\nJuli\u00e1n Montoya (capt.)
\nBuenos Aires
\n108<\/p>\n

3
\nPedro Delgado
\nSantiago del Estero
\n4<\/p>\n

4
\nFranco Molina
\nC\u00f3rdoba
\n12<\/p>\n

5
\nPedro Rubiolo
\nRafaela
\n23<\/p>\n

6
\nPablo Matera (vice-capt.)
\nBuenos Aires
\n112<\/p>\n

7
\nMarcos Kremer
\nConcordia
\n73<\/p>\n

8
\nJoaqu\u00edn Oviedo
\nC\u00f3rdoba
\n13<\/p>\n

9
\nGonzalo Garc\u00eda
\nTucum\u00e1n
\n11<\/p>\n

10
\nTom\u00e1s Albornoz
\nTucum\u00e1n
\n17<\/p>\n

11
\nBautista Delguy
\nBuenos Aires
\n33<\/p>\n

12
\nSantiago Chocobares
\nRufino
\n27<\/p>\n

13
\nLucio Cinti
\nLa Plata
\n34<\/p>\n

14
\nRodrigo Isgr\u00f3
\nMendoza
\n9<\/p>\n

15
\nJuan Cruz Mall\u00eda
\nC\u00f3rdoba
\n42<\/p>\n

16
\nIgnacio Ruiz
\nBuenos Aires
\n18<\/p>\n

17
\nNahuel Tetaz Chaparro
\nGeneral Juan Madariaga
\n79<\/p>\n

18
\nJoel Sclavi
\nMar del Plata
\n27<\/p>\n

19
\nGuido Petti
\nBuenos Aires
\n89<\/p>\n

20
\nJuan Mart\u00edn Gonzalez
\nMendoza
\n42<\/p>\n

21
\nSim\u00f3n Ben\u00edtez Cruz
\nBuenos Aires
\n3<\/p>\n

22
\nSantiago Carreras
\nC\u00f3rdoba
\n55<\/p>\n

23
\nJusto Piccardo
\nBuenos Aires
\n4<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"
NEW ZEALAND<\/p>\n

#
\nPLAYER
\nHOMEGROWN
\nCAPS<\/p>\n

1
\nEthan de Groot
\nNew Zealand
\n32<\/p>\n

2
\nCodie Taylor
\nNew Zealand
\n98<\/p>\n

3
\nFletcher Newell
\nNew Zealand
\n25<\/p>\n

4
\nScott Barrett (Capt.)
\nNew Zealand
\n81<\/p>\n

5
\nFabian Holland
\nNetherlands<\/a>
\n3<\/p>\n

6
\nTupou Vaa\u2019i
\nNew Zealand
\n40<\/p>\n

7
\nDu\u2019Plessis Kirifi
\nNew Zealand
\n3<\/p>\n

8
\nArdie Savea (vice-capt.)
\nNew Zealand
\n97<\/p>\n

9
\nCortez Ratima
\nNew Zealand
\n14<\/p>\n

10
\nBeauden Barrett
\nNew Zealand
\n136<\/p>\n

11
\nRieko Ioane
\nNew Zealand
\n83<\/p>\n

12
\nJordie Barrett (vice-capt.)
\nNew Zealand
\n71<\/p>\n

13
\nBilly Proctor
\nNew Zealand
\n4<\/p>\n

14
\nSevu Reece
\nFiji<\/a>
\n34<\/p>\n

15
\nWill Jordan
\nNew Zealand
\n44<\/p>\n

16
\nSamisoni Taukei\u2019aho
\nTonga<\/a>
\n33<\/p>\n

17
\nOllie Norris
\nNew Zealand
\n2<\/p>\n

18
\nPasilio Tosi
\nNew Zealand
\n9<\/p>\n

19
\nPatrick Tuipulotu
\nNew Zealand
\n53<\/p>\n

20
\nSamipeni Finau
\nNew Zealand
\n11<\/p>\n

21
\nFinlay Christie
\nNew Zealand
\n23<\/p>\n

22
\nAnton Lienert-Brown
\nNew Zealand
\n85<\/p>\n

23
\nDamian McKenzie
\nNew Zealand
\n64<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Date: Saturday, August 16
Venue: Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, C\u00f3rdoba (AR)
Kickoff: 6:10pm (AR); 9:10am (NZ)
Weather Forecast: Sunny, 16\u00b0C, wind (8 km\/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN; Disney +<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia); Morn\u00e9 Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
FPRO: Damon Murphy (Australia)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"vs \"\" HISTORY<\/p>\n

Aug 17, 2024 \u2013 New Zealand 42-10 Argentina<\/a> (Auckland, NZ)
Aug 10, 2024 \u2013 New Zealand 30-38 Argentina<\/a> (Wellington, NZ)
Oct 20, 2023 \u2013\u00a0New Zealand 44-06 Argentina<\/a> (Paris, FR)*
Jul 08, 2023 \u2013 Argentina 12-41 New Zealand<\/a> (Mendoza, AR)
Sep 03, 2022 \u2013 New Zealand 53-3 Argentina<\/a> (Hamilton, NZ)
Aug 08, 2022 \u2013 New Zealand 18-25 Argentina<\/a> (Christchurch, NZ)
Sep 18, 2021 \u2013 New Zealand 36-13 Argentina<\/a>\u00a0(Brisbane, AU)
Sep 12, 2021 \u2013 New Zealand 39-0 Argentina<\/a> (Gold Coast, AU)
Nov 28, 2020 \u2013 New Zealand 38-0 Argentina<\/a> (Newcastle, AU)
Nov 14, 2020 \u2013 New Zealand 15-25 Argentina<\/a> (Sydney, AU)
Jul 20, 2019 \u2013 Argentina 16-20 New Zealand<\/a> (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 29, 2018 \u2013 Argentina 17-35 New Zealand<\/a> (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 08, 2018 \u2013 New Zealand 46-24 New Zealand<\/a> (Nelson, NZ)
Sep 30, 2017 \u2013 Argentina 10-36 New Zealand<\/a> (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 09, 2017 \u2013 New Zealand 39-22 Argentina<\/a> (New Plymouth, NZ)
Oct 01, 2016 \u2013 Argentina 17-36 New Zealand<\/a> (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 10, 2016 \u2013 New Zealand 57-22 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Sep 20, 2015 \u2013 New Zealand 26-16 Argentina (London, UK) *
Jul 17, 2015 \u2013 New Zealand 39-18 Argentina (Christchurch, NZ)
Sep 27, 2014 \u2013 Argentina 13-34 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 06, 2014 \u2013 New Zealand 28-09 Argentina (Napier, NZ)
Sep 28, 2013 \u2013 Argentina 15-33 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 07, 2013 \u2013 New Zealand 28-13 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Sep 29, 2012 \u2013 Argentina 15-54 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 08, 2012 \u2013 New Zealand 21-05 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Oct 09, 2011 \u2013 New Zealand 33-10 Argentina (Auckland, NZ) *
Jun 24, 2006 \u2013 Argentina 19-25 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, NZ)
Jun 26, 2004 \u2013 New Zealand 41-07 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Dec 01, 2001 \u2013 Argentina 20-24 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jun 22, 2001 \u2013 New Zealand 67-19 Argentina (Christchurch, NZ)
Jun 28, 1997 \u2013 New Zealand 62-10 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Jun 21, 1997 \u2013 New Zealand 93-08 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Jul 13, 1991 \u2013 Argentina 06-36 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jul 06, 1991 \u2013 Argentina 14-28 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Jul 29, 1989 \u2013 New Zealand 49-12 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Jul 15, 1989 \u2013 New Zealand 60-09 Argentina (Dunedin, NZ)
Jun 01, 1987 \u2013 New Zealand 45-15 Argentina (Wellington, NZ) *
Nov 02, 1985 \u2013 Argentina 21-21 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Oct 26, 1985 \u2013 Argentina 20-23 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)<\/p>\n

* Rugby World Cup Match<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"vs \"\" OVERALL RESULTS<\/p>\n

New Zealand Wins 35
Argentina Wins 3
Draws 1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in C\u00f3rdoba will play host to the opening round clash of the 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-69034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}