Luciano González Rizzoni, the Pumas 7's "wrecking ball": "Last year we came close, so now we're going for the double."

The Pumas 7's are one of the most powerful teams on the World Sevens Circuit , where a few weeks ago they were crowned champions of the regular phase for the second consecutive season, with three titles, four podium finishes, and highly competitive rugby. For a long time, every time those led by Santiago Gómez Cora take the field, the main protagonist is the team. However, this year there were players who stood out for their performances and individual achievements and were key in another historic campaign. One of those figures was Luciano González Rizzoni , who earned the recognition of teammates and rivals for his physical prowess, to the point that today he is known as "The Bulldog."

"I didn't know some of the rival teams called me that, but now everyone does. It's funny. When I hear some of the things they say about me, sometimes I don't believe them. I think they're exaggerating. But it's nice that they identify with me, because it speaks to the work I've been doing. Still, I try not to dwell on the comments and focus on continuing to evolve," he commented in an interview with Clarín, days before leaving for Los Angeles , where the Argentines will play the Grand Final this weekend and will look to put the finishing touch on 2025.

In the regular season - "the league" - the 28-year-old winger from La Rioja was the top carry player with 137 carries, contributed more off-loads , tackles and steals than any other Argentinian, scored his 100th career try in the unforgettable fourth consecutive crown in Vancouver and was voted MVP of the Perth Finals and the Canadian tournament. And now he is a candidate for the World Rugby Player of the Year award, along with Marcos Moneta and the Spaniard Pol Pla .

On the pitch, González Rizzoni is a steamroller who combines power and speed . When he takes the ball and heads for the in-goal, there's no stopping him. And when he wants to stop an opponent, he (almost) always succeeds. John Manenti , Australia 's coach, once said he's "a wrecking ball; we can hit him with a kitchen sink and he'll still be standing." It's a role he relishes and one he's prepared for thoroughly, because in his early years with the team, he was more of a speed player.

"I feel comfortable being the team's most impactful player," he said. "I joined the team very young, I was much thinner. Then the pandemic happened, other things, a couple of injuries... So I said, 'There are some pretty fast players, what do we need on the team?' We needed more impactful players, and I saw an opportunity to improve that. I started working, with tools from Santi and several physiotherapists. They all knew how to guide me, and I evolved. Today I'm quite heavy, one of the heaviest on the team. And I'm proud and very happy with the results."

Luciano González Rizzoni, the Riojan tractor on the loose in Vancouver! 🏉🇦🇷7️⃣🚜

4️⃣🏆 #LosPumas7s won for the fourth time in a row in Canada.

➕ Watch the entire World Tour on Disney+ Premium. pic.twitter.com/wcuxpCZE83

— ScrumRugby (@ScrumESPN) February 26, 2025

Rugby is a sport that involves a lot of hitting, especially when you're a high-impact player. Do you enjoy the physical aspect of the game?

-Yes. I know that's my main tool, so I try to enjoy it. Sometimes it gets a little more complicated. Other teams study you, they tackle you two or three at a time, and that makes it a little more difficult. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. My game has always been like that, and I've perfected and polished it over time. I do it well, and I enjoy it, unless I'm really banged up (laughs). I suffer afterward. After an intense weekend, which is six games, it's hard for me to recover a little, but thank God we have people who can help us recover pretty quickly.

"We often say that we enjoy hitting each other," he continued. "In the position we're in now, a team that everyone on tour wants to beat, we play with that pressure and that nervousness, and sometimes it's hard to enjoy it. Maybe we have a bad time in some games, but that's part of the game. But when the team has that aura, that energy that shows they're playing and everything is going their way, the games are really enjoyable."

What do you think about when you pick up the ball and start facing opponents? Is it fear or caution that comes with trying not to get hit?

"All I want is to get to the in-goal area without anyone knocking me down. That's all I think about at that moment. The risk of getting hurt is there. Being a fairly intense physical contact sport, we know what can happen. But going in with that fear is worse, because you limit yourself. I've never been afraid, and I never will be. I hope I never get hurt, but if I do, I know it's a consequence of the game. And it doesn't scare me."

-When you're running, dodging opponents, looking for a space to escape, do you play by instinct or is there a plan behind it?

-When I grab the ball alone and start moving around like crazy, I do it a lot by instinct. But we study the opponents a lot before facing them. And I think 90 percent of the decisions in matches are based on all that prior work. There's a certain amount of improvisation. Sometimes, when things are complicated, you have to improvise, like Marcos, Santi ( Mare , the captain), and several other members of the team do, who improvise quite well. But as Santi ( Gómez Cora ) says, we're 14 great players, but if we all improvise, the team won't perform. So the priority is always to stick to the game plan.

González Rizzoni was born in La Rioja , where he began playing rugby at the Club Social as a young boy. When he was eight, his family moved to Villa General Belgrano , from where he traveled 120 kilometers every day to train at La Tablada de Córdoba or with Los Pumitas . Those were years of great sacrifice.

"My family was always involved in rugby, so the connection and fanaticism started when I was very young. I followed my father around and watched him play. And when I was four, I was sent to a club. Of all my brothers, I was the first to get hooked on rugby," he recalled.

"At first, it was a little difficult. My parents made most of the sacrifice, because they drove me from one place to another, fed me, it was quite an effort. The two-hour commute was tough, if there was no traffic, taking I don't know how many buses to get to the club, getting up at dawn to travel. My brothers also gave me a huge hand by taking me to training at 5 a.m. Thank God I had a family that could support me," he said.

And he added: "It's something I like to talk about a lot, so that kids from the interior, who might think they don't have a chance, know that yes, there always is a chance. It's difficult, but not impossible. If you put in a little sacrifice, willpower, and passion, you can do it."

-You started playing XV rugby. How did you get into Sevens and Pumas 7's?

I had only played two or three Sevens matches when the Córdoba national team called me to play in that format. I was on the XV team, but due to a misunderstanding with the coaches, they sort of left me out. So I went with the Sevens and started playing. And with Los Pumas, I never expected it. I woke up one vacation day at 12 noon, in the middle of December, at the end of 2016, and I had a missed call from a number in Buenos Aires. It was to go play for the national team. I couldn't believe it. It was all very unexpected and very fast. Because I had played very few matches in the Sevens, and then I went on to have a great career.

-Did you hesitate to accept Gómez Cora's call-up?

-Our dream when we were kids was to make it to Los Pumas . Sevens wasn't that popular. I thought about saying no so I could continue aiming for the XV. But I also thought it could be a great opportunity. And thank God it was. And I was able to take advantage of it.

The final's 𝗠𝗩𝗣. 💥 #TheyLookLikeNeverBefore pic.twitter.com/lnYVPcfJqJ

— Los Pumas 7s (@lospumas7arg) January 27, 2025

-What do you like most about this form of rugby?

-That the seven players who come onto the pitch can play any role. That it's very dynamic, both to watch and to play. It requires a lot of physical rigor. Many people say, 'Oh, it's just 15 minutes.' But they're the worst 15 minutes you can ever have in your life. And it's fun because in those 15 minutes, you can see like 50 tries, and a thousand things can happen.

-You joined Los Pumas 7's after the Rio Games, and since then the team has been on a steady growth curve. Each season, they raise the bar a little higher. How do you explain this?

I'm old now, I've been here a long time (Laughs). But that's very nice. And seeing the change the team has made is also. The key for me was to keep the group as united as possible, to know the person next to you, to know how they play, when they're doing well, when something's wrong with them and they need you to give a little more... Also, at one point in this process, we were honest, we made it a point to always be clear and transparent with ourselves, and that led the team to enjoy themselves, which is also very important. Being on the national team, you feel a lot of nerves and pressure, and we had reached a point where we weren't enjoying ourselves. But if you enjoy yourself, if you have fun, you travel with enthusiasm. And if you travel with enthusiasm, you play better. It wasn't something that happened overnight; it was an evolution. We talked about it, and a much more mature, more competitive, and more cooperative team was put together.

-Thinking beyond Los Angeles, do you imagine a future in the XV or do you want to continue in the Seven?

-It's something I've been thinking about. I'd like to play for the XV. I think if the opportunity to go to Los Pumas comes to me, like Rodri ( Isgró ) did, I'd grab it. I wouldn't let it pass me by. But if it doesn't come, I don't want to go crazy. I'm very comfortable and very happy with this team. I'm doing what I love, and Sevens is having a pretty interesting trajectory. Before, no one said, 'Hey, I want to play Sevens rugby.' Now kids on the street tell us , 'I want to play for Pumas 7's with you one day.' And that's very nice.

League Champions! 🔝World Tour Regular Season Leaders with 106 points.🥈 Dubai🥇 Cape Town🥇 Perth🥇 Vancouver👉 5th Los Angeles👉 9th Hong Kong👉 5th Singapore

Go Argentina! #TheyLookLikeNeverBefore pic.twitter.com/2QV3uFMisC

— Los Pumas 7s (@lospumas7arg) May 5, 2024

For the second consecutive season , Los Pumas 7's were crowned the best in the regular season of the World Tour , where they were crowned "League Champions" . With three titles ( Perth , Vancouver and Hong Kong , the birthplace of Sevens) and two bronze medals ( Dubai and Singapore , the date on which they secured the title by reaching the semi-finals), they finished first with 104 points, ahead of Fiji (96) and Spain (88). And González Rizzoni is very clear about why the team was able to repeat the celebration in 2024.

"We were left with a bit of a hangover after the Olympic Games , where things didn't go as we'd hoped. We were in with a lot more in store ( Editor's note: They were strong contenders for gold but finished seventh ). After that tournament, we said , 'If we're going to put our backs into this, we want the team to be competitive and aim for 2028 in the best possible way.' As soon as Paris was over, we started working on that process again, and I think coming in with that foundation in place changes your outlook. Also, knowing that you'd already done some serious damage last season and that you can do it again was key in not settling for what we'd already done. And we were also evolving: the first two tournaments didn't give us the results, but we started 2025 with three titles. Seeing that the team was performing as the year went on gave us confidence," reflected the Riojan.

-Which title did you enjoy the most?

Last year, being our first, we were so happy. But I enjoyed the second one much more. This year was a little calmer; we weren't worried about whether we were champions until the last minute. I remember that after the victory against Great Britain in Singapore, Santiago came and asked if anyone knew that with that win we were champions of the regular season, and we all answered no. And that speaks well of the team because we don't play for results, but to win and improve. This year was incredible, and that's why, for me, the title was even more enjoyable.

This weekend, Los Pumas 7's will go for the icing on the cake. They'll be playing in the Grand Final in Los Angeles , a tournament that brings together the best eight teams from the regular season. There will be two groups of four. The Argentines will debut in Group A on Saturday at 4:34 PM against Great Britain . They will then face France at 7:35 PM and South Africa at 10:46 PM. In Group B, they will face Fiji , Spain , Australia , and New Zealand . The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, which will be played on Sunday at 5:24 PM. The final will be at 9:41 PM.

By decision of World Rugby, this tournament recognizes the winner as "Champion of the Year." Last season, Argentina missed out on that title after losing the decisive duel to France , who had finished fifth in the regular season with 26 points less than Los Pumas.

"We're going for revenge," said González Rizzoni. "We're still bitter about last year, because we feel it's not fair that the winner of that tournament is the one who wins the year's championship. If Fiji wins, for example, which could change the overall result, that would be fine. But for a team that finished seventh or eighth to win the championship and be named the best of the year, I don't think it's fair. Last year we were close, so now we're going for double the score."

And he concluded: "It's a kill or die contest. There are two four-team groups; it's going to be a battle royale. It's the last tournament of the year, so beyond focusing on team growth, this time we're going for the result because we want to win."