Argentine Rugby has announced its squad for the inaugural U20 Rugby Championship in Queensland.
The TRC U20 will be a demanding challenge but an attractive one for the Pumitas [Argentina U20] who have been hard at work and preparing for the tournament for some time. For the national youth team, it is all about effort and dedication when the time comes to compete in the first-ever Rugby Championship U20. Los Pumitas will play against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa across the three match days.
Once the preparation process was completed, head coach Álvaro Galindo, together with his assistants Galo Álvarez Quiñones and Carlos Mohapp, selected the 31 players who will play in the Rugby Championship U20.
The TRC U20 precedes the World Rugby U20 championship that is scheduled between June 29 and July 19 in South Africa (in the cities of Cape Town and Western Cape). In the World Rugby championship, the Pumitas team will face South Africa, England and Fiji in Pool C. In the 2023 tournament, the Pumitas finished in ninth place.
After announcing the squad, Álvaro Galindo offered the following analysis: “Participating in the Rugby Championship is for us the best way to prepare, regardless of what the competition itself is, with the best teams in the Southern Hemisphere. We are going to have to adapt to the same conditions that older players must face, such as the hours of travel and the fact of playing three highly demanding games in a few days. For this reason, I consider that it is the best way for our players to compete at this level, and also have a reference for what we are going to find later in the World Rugby Championship.
“We are very happy - he added - with the amount of activity we had during the preparation process, starting on January 15 with players distributed in the franchises and in the Academies; We compete with franchises, with clubs, and that gave us a good reference. Now, in this last stretch, we are looking for the boys to add as many playing minutes as possible in the different teams in which they are involved, so we arrive with a good rhythm. Then we will see in this first experience in the tournament if we can put into practice the good work that was done, knowing that it is a very demanding competition,” said the coach of the national team.
Los Pumitas U20 Squad: ASEVEDO, Luciano (Liceo RC), BARRIOS, Alejandro (Duendes RC), BERNASCONI, Juan Pedro (La Plata RC), BOCCO, Tomás (Córdoba Athletic), CAMERLINCKX, Marcos (Regatas Bella Vista), CORREA, Diego (Club Atlético Estudiantes), DI BIASE, Tomás (Deportiva Francesa), DI LUCCA, Santino (La Plata RC), ELÍAS, Efraín (Jockey Club de Córdoba), ELIZALDE, Benjamín (Deportiva Francesa / Tigres RC), FERNÁNDEZ DE OLIVEIRA, Santos (SIC), FOSSATI, Mateo (Belgrano Athletic), GALVÁN, Gael (Pucará), GARCÍA IANDOLINO, Álvaro (Los Tordos), GARGALLO BAZÁN, Gonzalo (Córdoba Athletic), MEDINA, Tomás (Cardenales RC), PENOUCOS, Juan (Belgrano Athletic), PÉREZ PARDO, Gregorio (SIC), PODESTÁ, Genaro (Marista RC), RAPETTI, Tomás (Alumni), RODRÍGUEZ, Estanislao (Marista RC), RODRÍGUEZ, Facundo (Jockey Club de Córdoba), ROSSETTO, Franco (Club Atlético Estudiantes), ROSSI, Juan (Liceo RC), SÁNCHEZ VALAROLO, Faustino (Palermo Bajo), SARELLI, Agustín (Marista RC), SILVA, Timoteo (SIC), SOLER FILLOY, Valentín (Tala RC), TORRADO, Ignacio (CASI), VIVAS, Juan Manuel (Los Tordos), WAGENER, Antonio (Alumni).
