Coach Felipe Contemponi has announced his match day squad for the Test in Wellington.

After a mixed July Window in which Los Pumas went from less to more, enjoying two victories in three matches, the time has come to begin the most important event of the year, The Rugby Championship.

The first two stops for the national team will be in New Zealand against the All Blacks, on Saturday, August 10 at Sky Stadium in Wellington. Felipe Contepomi's team arrived in the New Zealand capital on Sunday August 4 to prepare and carried out their training sessions at Porirua Park.

This Saturday's match will be the 22nd meeting between the two teams in the Rugby Championship and the 42nd in history. The Pumas won twice:  a memorable 25-15 win in Parramatta, Sydney in 2020; and 25-18 in Christchurch in 2022.

Regarding the Championship, the players who have worn the blue and white the most times against the men in black are Pablo Matera and Nicolás Sánchez with 16 matches, followed by captain Julián Montoya and Matías Alemanno with 15. The top try scorers are Emiliano Boffelli with four with Agustín Creevy and Nicolás Sánchez with three each.

The Pumas have played five matches against the All Blacks in Wellington, the last being in 2012 (a 21-5 defeat), but one of the most memorable matches in the city was not against the locals, but against Scotland in the 2011 World Cup, with Argentina winning 13-12 in the group stage.

For Saturday's match, three players who did not play in the July Window return to the starting XV: Number 8 Juan Martín González, and Juan Cruz Mallía and Lucio Cinti in the backs. Similarly three players also return in the replacements:  hooker Agustín Creevy, prop Joel Sclavi and second row Tomás Lavanini.

Efraín Elías, a player from Córdoba who was recently captain of Los Pumitas (Under 20s) and recently had his first call-up to the national team will be on the substitutes' bench and if he plays it will be his debut for the Los Pumas shirt.

As captain Julián Montoya will not be among the 23, Pablo Matera will assume the captaincy for this match.
 

Los Pumas team to play New Zealand at Sky Stadium, Wellington:

1. GALLO, Thomas (26 caps)
2. RUIZ, Ignacio (10 caps)
3. BELLO, Eduardo (24 caps)
4. MOLINA, Franco (3 caps)
5. RUBIOLO, Pedro (12 caps)
6. MATERA, Pablo (101 caps) Captain
7. KREMER, Marcos (67 caps) Vice-captain
8. GONZALEZ, Juan Martin (31 caps)
9. BERTRANOU, Gonzalo (60 chapters)
10. CARRERAS, Santiago (45 caps)
11. CARRERAS, Mateo (20 caps)
12. CHOCOBARES, Santiago (21 caps)
13. CINTI, Lucio (23 caps)
14. MORONI, Matias (82 caps)
15. MALLÍA, Juan Cruz (33 caps) Vice-captain

Replacements:
16. CREEVY, Agustin (108 caps)
17. VIVAS, Mayco (24 caps)
18. SCLAVI, Joel (18 caps)
19. LAVANINI, Tomás (86 chapters)
20. ELIAS, Ephraim (0 caps)
21. OVIEDO, Joaquín (5 chapters)
22. BAZAN VELEZ, Lautaro (15 caps)
23. ALBORNOZ, Tomas (8 caps)