Argentina begin the final stretch of the Nations Championship with a profoundly renewed side. Los Pumas visit Ireland at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Friday 6 November from 17:10 Buenos Aires time. Felipe Contepomi has made twelve changes from the team that drew 28-28 with Australia in Mendoza and restored the captaincy to Julián Montoya for a test that combines history, quality and the need for consistency.
Only Boris Wenger, Guido Petti and Pablo Matera retain starting places. Wenger, Montoya and Francisco Moreno form the front row, with Petti partnering Pedro Rubiolo in the second row. Juan Martín González and Marcos Kremer join Matera in the back row. The pack combines international experience, contact power and mobility, but must connect quickly against an opponent capable of punishing every weakness at the set piece.
The backline changes completely. Gonzalo García and Tomás Albornoz operate at scrum-half and fly-half, while Santiago Chocobares and Justo Piccardo form the centre partnership. Mateo Carreras and Bautista Delguy occupy the wings, with Juan Cruz Mallía returning at fullback after a long knee rehabilitation. His return offers tactical reading and aerial skill, two central resources against Ireland's territorial pressure.
Leonel Oviedo, Mayco Vivas, Joel Sclavi, Efraín Elías, Juan Martín Scelzo, Simón Benítez Cruz, Gerónimo Prisciantelli and Lucio Cinti form the bench. The split allows Argentina to renew the front row, add energy to the pack and modify the backline structure in the second half. In a match likely to be decided by repeated phases and discipline, the quality of the replacements will matter as much as the opening plan.
Contepomi cannot select every leading option. Santiago Carreras suffered a serious knee injury with Bath and Thomas Gallo underwent surgery on his left wrist after being hurt in France. Chocobares arrives after a head knock that required monitoring. Those absences explain part of the transformation, while opening opportunities for players who must show that they can maintain the standard away from the usual first-choice team.
History raises the difficulty. Argentina and Ireland have met 25 times since 1952: Los Pumas have won eight, lost sixteen and drawn once. Argentina's latest victory was the 43-20 World Cup quarter-final in 2015; the national side have never won in Dublin and carry eleven defeats there. The Aviva nevertheless holds a positive recent memory, as Argentina beat the British & Irish Lions 28-24 at the venue in 2025.
Ireland are the first of three matches before finals weekend. Los Pumas face Italy in Genoa on 14 November and France in Paris on the 21st, then move to Twickenham for the conclusion from 27 to 29 November. Dublin must be a starting point rather than an isolated episode. With a changed line-up, Contepomi wants immediate competitiveness while expanding the options for a sequence demanding depth, recovery and precision.
