mens
nations-championship
Argentina await the outcome of the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) protocol to see if captain Julián Montoya will be fit to lead them into battle against Italy in Genoa this Saturday.
Montoya, who was the captain of the Los Cougars more than any other player, suffered a head injury in Friday night’s 42-12 loss to Ireland in Dublin.
Pablo Matera is most likely to take the armband if Montoya is unavailable, having led the team in his absence in three tests in August and September.
Whores Bautista Bernasconi and Facundo Bosch were called in as cover. Bernasconi has three caps and Bosch 11, but neither has a single Test start between them.
Aided by the returning Juan Cruz Mallia, who faces a potentially long spell on the sidelines with a knee injury he picked up at the Aviva Stadium, Los Pumas brought the untidy Zebras player Tobias Wade, a former star of the sevens circuit.
Wade joins Zebre after impressing for Los Pampas in their 2026 Super Rugby Americas title-winning season.
As a sevens player before that, Wade won 10 tournament titles in a golden period for Los Pumas Sevens between 2022-25.
The quartet of new signings is completed by another potential debutant, Matias Medrano, who replaces Rodrigo Martinez at prop.
Meanwhile, back-line striker Facundo Isa returns to Los Pumas’ training camp after being released to play for Pau in Top 14 this weekend. The 33-year-old won the last of his 53 appearances England in July 2025
Argentina have won their last nine matches against Italy since 2008 and have held a record advantage in each of the last three meetings, the most recent being 50-18 in Udine in 2024.
A repeat of that result would be welcome after they failed to win any of their last five games and Ireland’s defeat was their worst of all.
