Argentina’s rugby union team Los Pumas beat New Zealand’s All Blacks 29-23 on Saturday, their first victory against the three-time world champions on Argentine soil. 

The win, part of the 2025 Rugby Championship second round, leaves them tied for third on the tournament’s table. It’s a solid first couple of games for the Pumas, who’ve never won a major tournament before. 

After enduring a steep learning curve against rugby’s elite that saw them win just three games across their first six Rugby Championships, it raises the question: is this the year they finally go all the way?

Several factors point towards 2025’s tournament being a big opportunity for the Pumas, after narrowly missing out on the title in 2024.

There were doubts going into the second game against the All Blacks, who had beaten the Argentine team comfortably in the tournament’s first round of matches. Players and coaching staff pointed towards a lack of discipline and cool heads helping New Zealand to a 41-24 just a week prior.

It was a different story on Saturday. The Pumas gave a far more disciplined presentation with fewer mistakes, as head coach Felipe Contepomi pointed out.

“Playing against the best, it’s always tough, but we attacked them and we were aggressive,” he told press after the game. “We were solid in defense, playing quite neatly.”

Working hard and smart

Although Contepomi said his team lacked the finesse to take an earlier lead in the first half, he lauded his team’s performance and the squad’s preparation.

The ability to recover and adjust swiftly after the drubbing they took in the first match speaks of a team that’s working not just hard, but smart.

Another factor working in favor of the Pumas is their next rival, Australia. The Wallabies are second in the table, after winning one and losing one against South Africa in Johannesburg and Cape Town. They’re ahead of the Pumas with five points, thanks to the bonus point awarded to teams that scored over three tries in a single match.

Australia has been perhaps Argentina’s closest rival in recent years, with the Pumas winning three out of the four last meetings, including one played in Sydney in 2023. If the Pumas can take two wins in the upcoming games, they could enter the last round leading the table, provided New Zealand and South Africa split games.

After this tournament, the Rugby Championship will only be played once every two years because of South Africa and New Zealand splitting off to play extended tours against each other. This will likely hurt the Pumas’ competitiveness, as they’re likely to see less competition against top teams. That piles on the pressure for 2025.

Injuries and away games

Despite all the great work Felipe Contepomi and his players have put in, the Pumas still have their work cut out for them if they’re to take home their first-ever piece of major silverware.

Even if recent results favor the Pumas, Australia remains one of the biggest powers in rugby, currently ranked sixth by the sport’s governing body, World Rugby. The Wallabies came back from 22-0 down against South Africa in their opener game, so it will still take a complete performance by Argentina to win once, let alone twice.

That will be made harder by two factors: injuries and home advantage. 

The Pumas lost 27-year-old fly-half Tomás Albornoz in their second game against New Zealand after he had to be subbed out with a dislocated finger.

The team’s official social media accounts have confirmed he won’t be able to play in either game against Australia. It’s a big hit for the Pumas, who relied on Albornoz heavily: the 27-year-old became the fulcrum of a push against the All Blacks in the first game.

The team will also be without one of its biggest assets: its fans. The Pumas are set to play all remaining games away after the Argentine Rugby Union’s February decision to play the second South Africa match at Twickenham, in the UK, instead of at home.

The announcement proved highly controversial, as the game will be part of the sixth round of matches, and could mean a title-chasing Pumas are giving away what could prove a key advantage.

The rugby union’s president Gabriel Travaglini called the invitation “an honour” — but  admitted the decision was “economically motivated,” with the Pumas set to take a large cut of the ticket sales. 

The Pumas hosted the All Blacks at the José Amalfitani stadium, which in its rugby configuration hosts 32,000 people, while Twickenham, the stadium often known as “rugby’s cathedral,” hosts 82,000.