Los Pumas assemble this week for two home Tests against Australia — San Salvador de Jujuy on 29 August, Mendoza on 5 September — and once again Felipe Contepomi is doing it without a large slice of his first-choice side.
The headline absence is the captain. Julian Montoya will not face the Wallabies, and nor will Santiago Chocobares, Bautista Delguy or Marcos Kremer. Pablo Matera, who led the side against the Springboks earlier this month, joins the group late for personal reasons, as does loosehead Mayco Vivas. Thomas Gallo, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Juan Cruz Mallia and Pedro Rubiolo are all sidelined injured.
One senior name comes back. Second-rower Franco Molina, hurt in Argentina's July win over Wales, returns in a direct swap with the uncapped Franco Carrera, who goes back to club duty at Zebre Parma. Flanker Agustin Sarelli and hooker Martin Vaca have been called in temporarily, both having featured for the Argentina XV that lost 25-24 to the USA in Fort Lauderdale.
Molina's recall brings a Super Rugby Pacific thread into the squad. He played for the Western Force in 2026 alongside Agustin Moyano and Leonel Oviedo, who are also in the group; Moyano and Oviedo have both re-signed with the Force while Molina has agreed a deal with the Newcastle Red Bulls. Lock Tomas Lavanini remains in the competition with the Highlanders.
Contepomi named a 34-man group for the August and September window that included ten uncapped players, and he was open about the trade-off he was making.
"These three upcoming matches are very important for us," the head coach said when the squad was released. "We'll be hosting the two-time world champions and playing a series against the Wallabies, which always presents very challenging encounters. The goal is to have excellent preparation and be ready for these matches."
He framed the rotation as a health decision rather than a selection one.
"Physical and mental health is crucial for us, and that's why several players will be rested, allowing us to broaden the squad and work with new players. As we always emphasise, our goal is to prepare players to be successful with Los Pumas."
Contepomi also marked the occasion of the fixtures themselves, with Jujuy hosting Australia for the first time. "The next three matches will be our last in Argentina, and we are very happy to say goodbye in Velez, Jujuy, and Mendoza," he said.
The underlying problem is structural. Argentina has no official off-season that lines up with the northern clubs who employ most of its Test players, leaving Contepomi and his staff negotiating releases directly, club by club, for every window — a situation that will not resolve until the sport agrees a global calendar.
Australia arrive in a very different state. Les Kiss has three straight Test wins, having followed a nervous 35-32 escape against Japan in Osaka with a 56-17 rout in Townsville, and his selection problems are the good kind: Max Jorgensen is expected to travel despite sore ribs, while Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii are both firming for returns.
Kiss has spent two Tests moving players around — resting Rob Valetini, Allan Alaalatoa and Josh Canham for Townsville, shifting No.8 Harry Wilson into the second row late, pairing Carlo Tizzano and Fraser McReight as a dual poaching threat. He rejects the word that has followed all of it.
"We're more capable of mixing our team up than we think," Kiss said.
"Are they experiments? I think there's a lot of good men in that team that know they can flex into different positions, so I like to think that it's more than just experimentation," he added. "It's just having a real trust and faith that they can do this in different ways, and that we don't lose momentum about what we are and what we do."
On Suaalii, whose best position remains a permanent talking point in Australia, Kiss was pointed after Townsville. "I've talked often about the need for competitive pressure in all our positions. It's great to see that. What we saw from Su last week is he's prepared to move from the centres to the wing as well. He's also prepared to move from the centres to 15 if we need to."
Australia sit eighth in the world rankings, Argentina seventh. Two Wallabies wins would likely flip that and put pressure on Scotland and England above them.
