Los Jaguares are to play host to Georgia in January. The Argentine Super Rugby franchise is to begin their 2020 year with a match against the Lelos in Mar del Plata.

The pre-season match has been confirmed by Guillermo Volponi on 0223 Radio and will be played at the estadio José María Minella in Mar del Plata on January 17.

The match will mark the first time that Los Jaguares have played a home game outside of the national capital, Buenos Aires. Meanwhile it is to be the second match against a test side, the first having been earlier this year against Uruguay in Montevideo.

Pictured below the estadio José María Minella has previously hosted international rugby but never Los Jaguares. The venue hosted the 2001 Rugby Sevens World Cup and more recently it hosted a test match between Argentina and Scotland as part of the 2010 June Internationals.

For Mar del Plata the opportunity is one that they did not want to let pass by. The city has been unable to secure a home test match since Scotland’s visit nine years ago. This has been the case despite the wide use of stadium’s nationwide by Los Pumas for home matches.

The opportunity to host Los Jaguares vs Georgia is not a test match but will be a high-profile game which is likely to attract a strong attendance. Georgia are well-known to South American rugby players and supporters alike. They faced Uruguay at RWC 2019 and Argentina at RWCs 2015, 2011, and 2007. Argentina’s most recent match against Georgia took place in the June 2017 internationals with a home match between the countries in Jujuy.