Montero must decide future
He is the "Panther" in the Pumas' midst, the home-grown Argentinian star who grew up idolising Lote Tuqiri and is being chased by the Western Force.
Manuel "Pantera" Montero is Argentina's next big thing, a 194-centimetre, 105-kilogram winger who has scored 13 tries in 15 Test appearances, including one each against France, England, Ireland and South Africa.
This is his first Rugby Championship after a knee injury ended his season in June last year, but the 22-year-old announced his return with a try against the Springboks in Salta three weeks ago.
His performances in the June window this year – four tries against Uruguay and a pearler against Ireland in which Montero left Johnny Sexton and Andrew Trimble for dead – put him on the radar of clubs across Europe, and the Force.
Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade said the Perth-based Super Rugby franchise were chasing his star pupil to join them next year as a replacement for Wallaby Nick Cummins.
It is a dilemma and a half for the young winger, who would risk being out of sight and out of mind of the national coach in a world cup year. On the flip side, a solid contribution in the toughest competition in the world would do nothing but help his selection chances.
Montero said he was undecided, but leaning towards staying in Argentina.
"I really don't know, it may be a good idea to play in Argentina until the world cup," he said. "Of course it is tempting but I think my place may be in Argentina until after the world cup, and then I can think about which is the best option after that."
Montero is by no means the finished product, with some work to do on defence. He was left out of the 23 against the All Blacks last week, but Hourcade believes the Buenos Aires-born winger will be a crucial part of the side's campaign in England next year.
"He is a player that is very good in attack with not a lot of experience internationally, so the idea is to give him some more minutes on the field," Hourcade said of his selection in the starting side this weekend.
Montero represents an important transition in Argentina's development as a rugby nation.
Where his wing partner Juan Imhoff, 26, has spent the past three seasons playing for French Top 14 club Racing Metro, Montero is among the first generation of players who will, in all likelihood, not be forced to leave Argentina to play in professional competitions.
The entrance of an Argentinian team in Super Rugby from 2016 will radically alter the prospects of the country's home-grown talents.
The national union [UAR] will struggle to compete with the lucrative markets in Europe and, to a lesser extent, even Australia and New Zealand, but Hourcade hopes "heart" will come into the equation.
The prospect of not only being able to earn a living from rugby in Argentina, or compete in the strongest professional competition in the world, but to contribute to the growth of their chosen game on home soil.
"Many players will come home [from Europe]," Hourcade predicted. "They are big life decisions but we are confident many will come back."
Change is afoot now. Only nine of Hourcade's current squad of 30 are based in Europe. The rest are from the UAR's high performance program. Of those, only the top 15 or so are on full-time contracts, with the remainder on scholarships.
Montero is from the top four or five in that group. The Pumas' Panther has some decisions to make, not to mention a maiden Rugby Championship victory to chase.
But for a young man who called former Wallaby Lote Tuqiri his hero – "he played on the wing and physically we were similar. And he had dreadlocks, I used to have dreadlocks as well" – the future is bright.
"It is a very good opportunity to play against [some of the Wallabies players]. They are recognised throughout the world, and it is also a good measure for me to see if I can tackle them or evade them," he said.
"It will test me."
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