Seven days after game one in Córdoba, Argentina and New Zealand square-off again at the Estadio Vélez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires. The round two clash of the 2025 Rugby Championship sees the now world no 1 New Zealand defending their ranking against a team they lost against in their capital city in 2024.
The match will be Los Pumas’ last home test match until July 2026. The UAR moved the October match against South Africa to London, UK while both 2025 Rugby Championship matches against the Wallabies will be played in Australia.
There will not be a 2026 Rugby Championship. The arrival of the Nations Championship and South Africa vs New Zealand contesting “The Greatest Rugby Rivalry” in 2026 will affect the Rugby Championship with it changing to be played on a biennial basis.
Argentina and Australia will contest two test matches in 2026 and Los Pumas will face South Africa once. None of these will be Rugby Championship fixtures. In fact, after 2025, there will only be one normal Rugby Championship in the following five years. There will be no Rugby Championship in 2026, 2028 or 2030 and reduced Rugby Championships in 2027 and 2031. Only 2029 will feature a normal format with two matches between all competitors.
FORM GUIDE |
Current World Ranking: 7 (81.06 points)
2025-08-16 – Argentina 24-41 New Zealand (Córdoba, AR)
2025-07-19 – Argentina 52-17 Uruguay (Salta, AR)
2025-07-12 – Argentina 17-22 England (San Juan, AR)
2025-07-05 – Argentina 12-35 England (La Plata, AR)
2025-06-20 – British & Irish Lions 24-28 Argentina (Dublin, IE)
Current World Ranking: 1 (92.51 points)
2025-08-16 – Argentina 24-41 New Zealand (Córdoba, AR)
2025-07-19 – New Zealand 29-19 France (Hamilton, NZ)
2025-07-12 – New Zealand 43-12 France (Wellington, NZ)
2025-07-05 – New Zealand 31-27 France (Dunedin, NZ)
|
IN | OUT |
| 7 | Juan Martín González | Marcos Kremer |
| 11 | Mateo Carreras | Bautista Delguy |
| 14 | Bautista Delguy | Rodrigo Isgró |
|
IN | OUT |
| 7 | Ardie Savea | Du’Plessis Kirifi |
| 8 | Simon Parker | Ardie Savea |
– N/A
– Simon Parker (N8)
– P Matera (113), J Montoya (109), G Petti (90), N Tetaz Chaparro (80), P M Kremer (74), S Carreras (56), JM González (43), JC Mallía (43)
– B Barrett (137), C Taylor (99), A Savea (99), R Ioane (84), S Barrett (82), D McKenzie (65), W Jordan (45)
– S Benítez Cruz (4), P Delgado (5), J Piccardo (5), G Garcia (12), F Molina (13), J Oviedo (14)
– F Holland (4), B Proctor (5), J Lord (7), P Tosi (10), C Ratima (15), Q Tupaea (16), T Williams (18)
– Ignacio Calles (LH), Thomas Gallo (LH), Eduardo Bello (TH), Efraín Elías (LO), Tomás Lavanini (LO), Gonzalo Bertranou (SH), Matías Moroni (CE)
– Tyrel Lomax (TH), Ofa Tu’ungafasi (TH), Patrick Tuipulotu (LO), Luke Jacobson (FL), Cam Roigard (SH), Anton Lienert-Brown (CE), Caleb Clarke (WI)
- Argentina is targeting a first-ever home win over New Zealand. Los Pumas defeated the All Blacks in 2020 in Sydney, Australia and in 2022 and 2024 in New Zealand.
- Buenos Aires is where capped international competition between Argentina and New Zealand began. The All Blacks won the inaugural test match 23-20 in 1985. The teams competed to a 25-25 draw in the following week at the Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste.
- The most recent meeting between the teams in Buenos Aires was won 20-16 by New Zealand in 2019. Los Pumas have won three of the eleven test matches against the All Blacks since the 2019 match.
- Argentina’s last match at Vélez Sarsfield was a 33-25 win over France in 2024.
- Argentina’s most capped player of all-time, Pablo Matera will earn his 114th cap.
- Simon Parker makes his test debut for New Zealand.
- Codie Taylor will earn his 100th cap for New Zealand. He becomes the 14th All Black centurion. His great-great-grandfather Walter Pringle was an All Black in 1893.
- Beauden Barrett will earn his 138th cap and a New Zealand record 22nd cap against Argentina.
- All Blacks Patrick Tuipulotu and Anton Lienert-Brown were injured in Córdoba. As a result, Josh Lord and Quinn Tupaea have been named as replacements.
- The fit-again Loose Head Tamaiti Williams and flanker Wallace Sititi return as replacements.
- Seven of the 23 Pumas are from Buenos Aires: S Benítez Cruz, B Delguy, P Matera, J Montoya, G Petti, J Piccardo and I Ruiz.
- Argentina’s 23-man line-up is entirely homegrown.
- New Zealand starts with two non-homegrown players and two others have been selected as replacements.
- Nic Berry will officiate the contest. Los Pumas have struggled and have not been competitive in matches vs New Zealand refereed by Nic Berry. Cases in point are losing 38-0 in 2020 39-0 in 2021, and 53-3 in 2002. The 2020 and 2022 losses both followed Argentina defeating New Zealand.
New Zealand have history on their side in Buenos Aires showdowns against Los Pumas. The 1985 draw prevents a perfect record but they remain unbeaten in the Argentine capital. Form is also in New Zealand’s favor; Argentina need to nullify the All Blacks attack while also scoring tries of their own and greatly improving their discipline to that from Córdoba. Conditions are expected to be excellent for the test match. Light rain on Friday is to be followed by clear skies for the 6pm kick-off. New Zealand are favorites to win in Buenos Aires.
ARGENTINA
| # | PLAYER | FROM | CAPS |
| 1 | Mayco Vivas | Rafaela | 32 |
| 2 | Julián Montoya (capt.) | Buenos Aires | 109 |
| 3 | Pedro Delgado | Santiago del Estero | 5 |
| 4 | Franco Molina | Córdoba | 12 |
| 5 | Pedro Rubiolo | Rafaela | 24 |
| 6 | Pablo Matera (vice-capt.) | Buenos Aires | 113 |
| 7 | Juan Martín Gonzalez | Mendoza | 43 |
| 8 | Joaquín Oviedo | Córdoba | 14 |
| 9 | Gonzalo García | Tucumán | 12 |
| 10 | Tomás Albornoz | Tucumán | 18 |
| 11 | Mateo Carreras | Tucumán | 27 |
| 12 | Santiago Chocobares | Rufino | 28 |
| 13 | Lucio Cinti | La Plata | 35 |
| 14 | Bautista Delguy | Buenos Aires | 34 |
| 15 | Juan Cruz Mallía (vice-capt.) | Córdoba | 43 |
| 16 | Ignacio Ruiz | Buenos Aires | 19 |
| 17 | Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro | General Juan Madariaga | 80 |
| 18 | Joel Sclavi | Mar del Plata | 28 |
| 19 | Guido Petti | Buenos Aires | 90 |
| 20 | Marcos Kremer | Concordia | 74 |
| 21 | Simón Benítez Cruz | Buenos Aires | 4 |
| 22 | Santiago Carreras | Córdoba | 56 |
| 23 | Justo Piccardo | Buenos Aires | 5 |
NEW ZEALAND
| # | PLAYER | HOMEGROWN | CAPS |
| 1 | Ethan de Groot | New Zealand | 33 |
| 2 | Codie Taylor | New Zealand | 99 |
| 3 | Fletcher Newell | New Zealand | 26 |
| 4 | Scott Barrett (Capt.) | New Zealand | 82 |
| 5 | Fabian Holland | Netherlands | 4 |
| 6 | Tupou Vaa’i | New Zealand | 41 |
| 7 | Ardie Savea (vice-capt.) | New Zealand | 98 |
| 8 | Simon Parker | New Zealand | – |
| 9 | Cortez Ratima | New Zealand | 15 |
| 10 | Beauden Barrett | New Zealand | 137 |
| 11 | Rieko Ioane | New Zealand | 84 |
| 12 | Jordie Barrett (vice-capt.) | New Zealand | 72 |
| 13 | Billy Proctor | New Zealand | 5 |
| 14 | Sevu Reece | Fiji | 35 |
| 15 | Will Jordan | New Zealand | 45 |
| 16 | Samisoni Taukei’aho | Tonga | 34 |
| 17 | Tamaiti Williams | Australia | 18 |
| 18 | Pasilio Tosi | New Zealand | 10 |
| 19 | Josh Ford | New Zealand | 7 |
| 20 | Wallace Sititi | New Zealand | 10 |
| 21 | Finlay Christie | New Zealand | 24 |
| 22 | Quinn Tupaea | New Zealand | 16 |
| 23 | Damian McKenzie | New Zealand | 65 |
Date: Saturday, August 23
Venue: Estadio Vélez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires (AR)
Kickoff: 6:10pm (AR); 9:10am (NZ)
Weather Forecast: Clear Skies, 14°C, wind (18 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN; Disney +
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Pierre Brousset (France); Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
FPRO: Damon Murphy (Australia)
| vs HISTORY |
Aug 16, 2025 – Argentina 24-41 New Zealand (Córdoba, AR)
Aug 17, 2024 – New Zealand 42-10 Argentina (Auckland, NZ)
Aug 10, 2024 – New Zealand 30-38 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Oct 20, 2023 – New Zealand 44-06 Argentina (Paris, FR)*
July 08, 2023 – Argentina 12-41 New Zealand (Mendoza, AR)
Sep 03, 2022 – New Zealand 53-3 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Aug 08, 2022 – New Zealand 18-25 Argentina (Christchurch, NZ)
Sep 18, 2021 – New Zealand 36-13 Argentina (Brisbane, AU)
Sep 12, 2021 – New Zealand 39-0 Argentina (Gold Coast, AU)
Nov 28, 2020 – New Zealand 38-0 Argentina (Newcastle, AU)
Nov 14, 2020 – New Zealand 15-25 Argentina (Sydney, AU)
July 20, 2019 – Argentina 16-20 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 29, 2018 – Argentina 17-35 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 08, 2018 – New Zealand 46-24 New Zealand (Nelson, NZ)
Sep 30, 2017 – Argentina 10-36 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 09, 2017 – New Zealand 39-22 Argentina (New Plymouth, NZ)
Oct 01, 2016 – Argentina 17-36 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Sep 10, 2016 – New Zealand 57-22 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Sep 20, 2015 – New Zealand 26-16 Argentina (London, UK) *
July 17, 2015 – New Zealand 39-18 Argentina (Christchurch, NZ)
Sep 27, 2014 – Argentina 13-34 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 06, 2014 – New Zealand 28-09 Argentina (Napier, NZ)
Sep 28, 2013 – Argentina 15-33 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 07, 2013 – New Zealand 28-13 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Sep 29, 2012 – Argentina 15-54 New Zealand (La Plata, AR)
Sep 08, 2012 – New Zealand 21-05 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
Oct 09, 2011 – New Zealand 33-10 Argentina (Auckland, NZ) *
June 24, 2006 – Argentina 19-25 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, NZ)
June 26, 2004 – New Zealand 41-07 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
Dec 01, 2001 – Argentina 20-24 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
June 22, 2001 – New Zealand 67-19 Argentina (Christchurch, NZ)
June 28, 1997 – New Zealand 62-10 Argentina (Hamilton, NZ)
June 21, 1997 – New Zealand 93-08 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
July 13, 1991 – Argentina 06-36 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
July 06, 1991 – Argentina 14-28 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
July 29, 1989 – New Zealand 49-12 Argentina (Wellington, NZ)
July 15, 1989 – New Zealand 60-09 Argentina (Dunedin, NZ)
June 01, 1987 – New Zealand 45-15 Argentina (Wellington, NZ) *
Nov 02, 1985 – Argentina 21-21 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
Oct 26, 1985 – Argentina 20-23 New Zealand (Buenos Aires, AR)
* Rugby World Cup Match
| vs OVERALL RESULTS |
New Zealand Wins 36
Argentina Wins 3
Draws 1
