Julián Montoya leads the side. Pablo Matera is in. Guido Petti needs one more appearance to reach 100 caps. Matías Alemanno needs one. Those two milestones could both arrive in July, assuming selection holds.

What is missing from Contepomi's 34-man group is just as telling as what is in it. Thomas Gallo — first-choice loosehead prop — ruptured his adductor tendon playing for Benetton against Exeter in the Challenge Cup and went under the knife in April. Out until at least September. Juan Martín González broke his foot. Juan Cruz Mallía, the first-choice fullback, was injured by a late tackle from Tom Curry during the November tour and has not played since. Pedro Rubiolo tore his ACL. Four regulars, four different injuries, none of them available for July.

Into those gaps, Contepomi has pushed five uncapped players. Leonel Oviedo — hooker, Western Force, older brother of established number eight Joaquín — has been in Pumas training camps before and played for the Barbarians against South Africa in June. Still waiting for his first cap. Lock Luciano Asevedo is 2.03m tall and weighs 124kg, has attracted interest from Toulon, and has not been capped. Fullback Mateo Soler comes in from the Dogos. Forwards Juan Penoucos and backs Agustín Fraga are listed as development players — in the squad to train, not necessarily to play in the opener.

One more complication: four players from the Top 14 finalists — Toulouse and Montpellier — are not available for the Scotland match on July 4 because the French final falls on June 28. Santiago Chocobares, Efraín Elías, Domingo Miotti and Justo Piccardo will join the group later in July.

The schedule itself is relentless. Scotland in Córdoba on July 4. Wales in San Juan on July 11. England in Santiago del Estero on July 18. Three Tests in three weeks, three different cities, all of them Nations Championship fixtures. Then South Africa in Buenos Aires in August, followed by two Tests against Australia — Jujuy on August 29, Mendoza on September 5. November brings France, Ireland and Italy away, before the Nations Championship finals weekend at Twickenham.

The Nations Championship is new. It replaces the old format of standalone summer Tests and November internationals with a single, season-long competition that runs across both hemispheres. For Argentina, it is the most structured international calendar they have ever had — and the most demanding.

"We are very happy to be back with the team and to start the year playing at home in front of our fans," Contepomi said at the squad announcement. "A great challenge lies ahead with the start of the Nations Championship, a demanding new competition that will require a lot of preparation. The goal is to pick up where we left off last year and continue to strengthen ourselves as a team."

Twenty-four of the 34 players are based in France or the UK. Six came through the South American domestic competition this year. The balance between European club polish and home-grown talent is something Contepomi has managed carefully since taking the job — and with the 2027 Rugby World Cup now less than 18 months away, every selection is being read as a signal.

Scotland come to Córdoba having had their own injury disruptions. Argentina, even short-handed, are favourites at home. But Contepomi will know better than anyone that a Nations Championship campaign is not won in July.

It can be lost there, though.

Lucía Domínguez

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Los Pumas Name 34-Man Squad for Scotland Opener — Five Uncapped, Four Key Regulars Out Injured