'It’s a great challenge ahead': Los Pumas squad confirmed for Hong Kong

Argentina Men’s Sevens head coach Santiago Gómez Cora wants to his team to continue their growth this season at the HSBC SVNS World Championship.

Upon announcing the squad that will travel to Hong Kong, the 47-year-old confirmed the returns of Santiago Mare and Joaquín Pellandini from injuries.

For the first World Championship event – ahead of tournaments in Valladolid and Bordeaux in May and June – Argentina have been named in Pool A with HSBC SVNS Series champions South Africa, as well as Spain and Uruguay.

Santiago Gómez Cora, Los Pumas 7s head coach, said: “The final three stages of the Circuit are coming up, with the new addition of the SVNS World Championship, featuring more teams and playing the year in these last three tournaments. Honestly, on one hand, it’s a great challenge; I think it’s an improvement over the previous format of holding it in just one tournament. So, we’ll see the final analysis after it’s over.

“After analysing and considering all of this, what we were looking for this season was to grow, beyond this tournament. We obviously wanted to grow with 2028 in mind, but in the medium term, it was about identifying how we can improve to arrive at these last three tournaments in the best possible shape.

“We have Hong Kong as a challenge, firstly because of the time zone change, which we’re already familiar with and know how to navigate, but it’s always a challenge. Then there’s the challenge of playing against teams we haven’t faced during the year. Also, our debut against Spain, against whom we’ve had several matches this year and who we know quite well, which always makes things difficult for us.

“It’s a great challenge ahead, to solidify everything we’ve accomplished this season in these last three tournaments. Nothing ends and nothing begins; it’s simply a confirmation of what we’ve been doing this year, a way to continue building on that success and growing as a team.”

Los Pumas 7s squad for Hong Kong

Santiago Álvarez
Martiniano Arrieta
Juan Patricio Batac
Pedro de Haro
Sebasstián Dubuc
Luciano González
Matteo Graziano
Santiago Mare
Marcos Moneta
Eliseo Morales
Joaquín Pellandini
Gregorio Pérez Pardo
Santiago Vera Feld
Santino Zangara