Argentina’s rugby union national team the Pumas will open their test match season as they take on the British and Irish Lions in Dublin, Ireland this Friday, June 20. The matchup will be the two teams’ first clash since 2005.

The game will be the season opener for head coach Felipe Contepomi’s team in 2025, in the run-up to the July clashes against England and Uruguay.

“The first week after we meet again is a challenge,” said Contepomi in the press conference ahead of the match. “The kids have made a massive effort [to be here]. For many it’s the first time they are with the team and there’s a lot to learn.”

Contempomi highlighted the challenge of looking for ways to make the team click ahead a competitive team. 

“I have some great memories from the clash in 2005,” said Contempomi, who captained the team in that game. “These are invitational games, and if they’re inviting us again it means Argentine rugby has done something well in the past few years. We feel lucky to be the one taking on the challenge and we’ll assume it with responsibility.”

Pumas captain Julián Montoya admitted he’s enticed at the possibility of playing against the Lions, admitting “these kinds of games are very enjoyable.”

“I’ve never lived it personally, but being our first week together and thinking how we want to play, it’s nice to focus on your game and then play it out on the field,” he said at the press conference.

Who are the British and Irish Lions?

The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team, composed of players from the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Traditionally, they only call up players who have already featured for their national team. 

As they represent four different nations, they participate in no international tournaments, and instead focus on the friendly games known in rugby as test matches. They also take part in tours of the southern hemisphere rugby powerhouses, namely Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

For Argentina, it’s a historic matchup. The Lions were the Argentine national team’s first ever rival, before they were even known as the Pumas. Argentina hosted the Lions in their 1910 tour of the country, where the European team played against several local teams. The match was a 28-3 win for the Lions.

Since then, they’ve only played six more times. Four of them came in the 1927 Lions’ tour of Argentina, with another coming in another tour in 1936, all of the games resulting in wins for the Lions. The 2005 match, the last time they met, was the first to be played in the United Kingdom, at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in Wales. It ended as a 25-25 draw.