Felipe Contepomi

Felipe Contepomi is the head coach of Argentina, appointed in December 2023 to succeed Michael Cheika after the World Cup. He is among the greatest players his country has produced and one of the few to have moved seamlessly into elite coaching.

Born in Buenos Aires in August 1977, he won 87 caps between 1998 and 2013 and scored 651 Test points, a national record. He played fly-half and centre for Bristol, Leinster, Toulon and Stade Francais, winning a Heineken Cup with Leinster in 2009, and qualified as a medical doctor while playing professionally — a detail that says most of what needs saying about him.

Coaching

He began with Argentina’s backs in 2018, took charge of Argentina XV, then spent four seasons as Leinster’s backs coach between 2018 and 2023, a period in which the province won three consecutive Pro14 titles and built the attack that has underpinned Ireland’s rise. He returned home as Los Pumas head coach with a contract to the 2027 World Cup.

Style

Contepomi has pushed Argentina toward a faster, wider game than the forward-led identity they were known for, without giving up the scrum and maul that remain their foundation. Results have swung hard — a first ever away win over New Zealand in Wellington in 2024 sat alongside heavy defeats in the same season — but the direction is clear, and the squad is younger than the one he inherited.