The Pumas will make their debut against Australia in the Rugby Championship, which will have a new regulation

After intense weeks of preparation, the Argentine team’s debut in the rugby league was throbbing. It will be against Australia, Saturday at 16:10, at the Malvinas Argentinas stadium in Mendoza, an environment that brings to mind good memories, as they have achieved two of their five victories in this prestigious championship there.

At the beginning of the same Saturday, at 12.05, the first appointment will open South Africa and New Zealand at the Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit, in the African country.

Thinking about the Wallabies, and with the boost of confidence that came from the epic victory against Scotland in the Test Match played at the Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, the Head Coach Michele Sheika confirmed the starting line-up without opening Nicola Sanchezabsent due to injury, and with the return of Tommaso Cubelli, which had left the concentration at the beginning of the international window in July.

Also stands out as new faces the presence of Joaquín Oviedo, Santiago Medrano and Lucas Mensa, who join Argentina XV and received the first call from Cheika.

The 15th of the debut

1. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2. Julián Montoya (captain), 3. Francisco Gómez Kodela; 4. Matías Alemanno 5. Tomás Lavanini; 6. Juan Martín González, 7. Marcos Kremer, 8. Pablo Matera; 9. Tomas Cubelli, 10. Santiago Carreras; 11. Emiliano Boffelli, 12. Jerónimo de la Fuente, 13. Matías Orlando, 14. Santiago Cordero; 15. Juan Cruz Mallia.

Already installed since Monday in the lands of Mendoza, The Pumas did the final part of the preparation at the Los Tordos club facilities. The week started with low-demand work, complemented by activities in a gym near the hotel where they are concentrated, and then escalated.

“The team is doing well. After two weeks of rest after the tests against Scotland, he is back with a good spirit and training pace. We have reached a higher level of detail, especially the concentration to face a team like Australia, which is always a threat.Cheika commented.

Unlike the format of previous years, in the current edition of the Rugby Championship Argentina will play two consecutive home games against Australia, the first in Mendoza and the second in the Bicentennial of San Juanin the same way that South Africa will start its participation by receiving New Zealand twice in a row.

Then, the Argentine players will travel to Oceania to visit the All Blacks on August 27 and September 3, while on the last two dates, September 17 and 24, they will alternate locations with South Africa, as well as New Zealanders and Australians.

Another peculiarity is the modification of the red card rule. It has been established that, after 20 minutes of the infringement, the disqualified player can be replaced by a substitute. This was announced by SANZAAR, the organizing body.

In turn, a player who had been tactically substituted can return to the field in place of a player with a red card; and if a team has unused substitutes on the bench, it is not required to substitute the red card before using players who have already been tactically substituted.

Chief Executive Brendan Morris commented: “This is a very good decision for the rugby league. All four SANZAAR national unions agree and believe, whenever possible, matches should be played 15 against 15 “.

The Puma and the rugby league

In the previous season, Los Pumas had their weakest participation in the league. They lost all six matches and failed to score points, which led to the coach Mario Ledesma step to the side.

as a counter-face, the most outstanding performance was in 2015. On that occasion, in which each team played three games, Argentina finished in third place after beating South Africa at Kings Park in Durban.

Since the first participation in 2012, between the aforementioned tournament and the Three Nations (2020), the Albiceleste team has played 51 games with a balance of six wins, three draws and 42 defeats, scoring 882 goals and receiving 1.655.