Madness over Los Pumas-All Blacks, a match featuring players from Córdoba

The Argentine national rugby team, Los Pumas, will face the All Blacks next Saturday at 6:10 p.m. in Córdoba, where a sort of fever for this match is already being experienced.

This is a historic event, since it is the first time Argentina and New Zealand have faced each other in this province.

The match will be played on the first date of the 2025 Rugby Championship, a tournament that also features Australia and South Africa.

The venue will be the Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium, with a capacity for 57,000 people. It is expected to be packed.

The excitement sparked by Los Pumas is total. Last Saturday, they held an open training session at Kempes, attended by more than 10,000 people.

"It's crazy to experience all this. I get goosebumps," said back Rodrigo Isgró after the open practice.

Cordobese players in Los Pumas

In addition, the national team has a good dose of "Cordobese blood".

Among those drafted are lock  Franco Molina (trained at Jockey Club Córdoba), number eight Joaquín Oviedo (from Córdoba Athletic), scrum-half Agustín Moyano (Athletic), and backs Santiago Carreras (trained at Athletic) and Juan Cruz Mallía (from Jockey CC).

They are joined by prop Boris Wenger (from Jockey Club de Villa María), drafted as a "development player". Meanwhile, there is also the prop from Santiago del Estero, Pedro Delgado, a Dogos XV player.

Matías Alemanno, from La Tablada, is not included due to injury.

Mallía and Carreras are the most experienced, along with Oviedo and Molina, who are on the rise and playing increasingly prominent roles.

Without a doubt, this is a trial by fire not only for these players born in Córdoba, but also for Los Pumas, who have never managed to defeat the New Zealanders when playing at home.

On Saturday the 23rd, one week later, they will face each other again, but this time at the Vélez Sársfield Stadium.

Tourism and gastronomy movement

According to the provincial government's Tourism Department, the match against the All Blacks will generate a movement of around 1,000 million pesos (about 1,000 million pesos) in gastronomy, hospitality, transportation, and more.

The expectation is enormous: it is estimated that between 30,000 and 35,000 visitors will arrive from different parts of the country, generating a tourism movement that will reach not only the capital and Greater Córdoba, but also cities such as Villa Carlos Paz and other nearby destinations.

According to data from the Córdoba Tourism Agency, 3- to 5-star hotels are fully booked, while the rest of the city's accommodations are around 80% occupancy, with projections to reach 100% in the coming hours.

Los Pumas in Córdoba

The last time Los Pumas played in Córdoba was in 2014, when they lost to Scotland 21-19.

Meanwhile,  the All Blacks have a longer history in the city: in addition to their upcoming visit, they played two more matches in the Cordoban capital.

In 1985, they defeated Los Dogos at Estadio Córdoba, and in 1976, during their first visit to the city, they beat a team from the interior.

The current Argentine squad features six Cordobese players, which adds extra value to the match.