Six Argentina players and two members of staff have been banned from the Rugby Championship in Queensland following an unauthorised trip to Byron Bay.
The tournament is operating under stringent biosecurity protocols and limited travel due to the number of covid-19 cases in Queensland, Australia.
But the staff and group of players, including former Pumas captain Pablo Matera, crossed over into New South Wales to visit tourist hotspot Byron Bay.
Sanzaar, the governing body that oversees the Rugby Championship, revealed on Thursday: "Sanzaar has informed Argentina Rugby that all members of this group are now ineligible to participate further in The Rugby Championship as they have breached tournament rules.
"Sanzaar is very disappointed that such a breach has occurred given the clear rules that are in place to ensure the health and safety of all players and staff, and compliance with all relevant health orders."
The Argentina rugby union (UAR) disclosed that the group also featured Sebastian Cancelliere, Joaquin Diaz Bonilla, Felipe Ezcurra, Santiago Medrano and Santiago Socino, the team manager Lucas Chioccarelli and video analyst Rodrigo Martinez.
After being halted at the state border by police for failing to produce the required documentation, those Argentines who travelled had to stay in a hotel in NSW on Wednesday night.
The players are now prohibited from playing in the team’s final group game against hosts Australia, and will remain in New South Wales until the team are set to leave the country on Sunday.
This incident has compounded what has been a wretched tournament for the Pumas, who have yet to win a game and were drubbed 39-0 by New Zealand.
The two teams met on neutral soil with the remainder of the tournament being played in Queensland, but one would have thought the Rugby Championship leaders were at home after such a confident display.
Luke Jacobson scored twice as New Zealand rarely looked flustered against their South American opponents, who failed to score for the second time in as many meetings with the All Blacks.
They have since falling to similar heavy defeats, losing against to New Zealand a week later 36-16 and having been defeated 27-8 by Australia on the weekend just gone.
