2. Santiago Carreras (Gloucester)
Despite not being Argentina’s resident goal-kicker, fly half Santiago Carreras can certainly help build a points tally for his country. The Gloucester halfback scored an important try against England in the 2022 Autumn Nations Series, as Argentina recorded their first win at Twickenham since 2006. Carreras also has proven successes from the boot, having provided a handful of valuable points for the Cherry and Whites throughout his three seasons at Kingsholm.
Like the majority of his Pumas teammates, Carreras arrived in the Premiership after being signed as a free agent. Re-wind back to 2020, and the Covid pandemic had a profound impact upon the rugby world, with Buenos Aires based Super Rugby side Jaguares forced into administration. The sole Argentine club in the decorated Super Rugby landscape, Jaguares’ collapse flooded the transfer market with high-quality Argentina internationals, the majority of which found new homes in the Premiership.
Carreras took no time settling into life at Gloucester, with six tries in his first season. As versatile as they come, the 25-year-old has starred at fly half, fullback and on both wings for the West Country side, and has scored a total of 17 tries across all competitions for Gloucester. Another honourable mention is in order for Argentina’s veteran fly half Nicholas Sanchez, who left Jaguares as the club’s all time points scorer, with 392 points in four seasons.
A stalwart of the Argentine national team, Sanchez has since begun to take a back seat on the bench having passed the torch on to Santiago Carreras. With 83 test caps to his name, Sanchez is a living legend amongst Los Pumas’ new breed, with his invaluable experience set to drive his nation forward, and capitalise on a favourable Rugby World Cup draw. The 34-year-old is closing in on the twilight of his career, and currently plies his trade with Brive in the French Top 14.
3. Lucio Cinti (Saracens)
One of the latest arrivals at the StoneX Stadium, electrifying utility back Lucio Cinti will be making his Saracens debut after the Rugby World Cup. An exciting signing for Mark McCall’s side, Cinti will remain in the English capital after breaking onto the scene at his former club of London Irish. Saracens fans will get an early view of Cinti’s talents this weekend, as Argentina look to kick-start their World Cup campaign with a vital win over England.
A well-rounded playmaker, Cinti is another Pumas back who excels in multiple positions along the attacking line. Predominantly a right winger with London Irish, Cinti also starred on the left touchline and at fullback for the Exiles, during his two seasons at the G-tech Community Stadium. However, Head Coach Michael Cheika has often utilised Cinti’s talents in the midfield, with the 23-year-old running out at both inside and outside centre, in the latest Rugby Championship campaign.
Cheika has switched up his previous tactic of using Cinti out wide, as he interchanged the young flyer with Santiago Cordero (also certainly worthy of a mention), on the left wing throughout the 2022 Rugby Championship. Regardless of whether Cinti runs out against England at 11, 12, 13 or 14, he presents an adaptable and unpredictable threat with the ball-in-hand. His resolute defence makes him a key man in Los Pumas’ blue and white wall, with the technical prowess to chop down England’s powerful line runners.
The possible match-ups of Cinti vs Manu Tuilagi or Ollie Lawrence presents some enticing encounters, with all eyes on this Saturday to see who comes out on top. As mentioned, flying Bordeax-Begles winger Santiago Cordero is worth a discussion, as his out-and-out pace has burnt track-marks across the pitches throughout France. Cordero scored nine tries in his latest Top 14 campaign, including a hat-trick against Perpignan, and a brace against Brive.