Argentina national rugby union team

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Argentina
Nickname (s) Los Pumas
Association Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR)
Trainer ArgentinaArgentina Mario Ledesma (since 2018)
captain Pablo Matera
WR abbreviation ARG
WR rank 9. (80.31 points) (as of March 29, 2021)
home
Away
Most international matches
Agustín Creevy (89)
Most points scored
Nicolás Sánchez (791)
Most attempts scored
José María Núñez Piossek (29)
British Lions first international 28-3 Argentina (June 12, 1910)
Free Use British and Irish Lions flag.PNG ArgentinaArgentina
Biggest win Paraguay 0: 152 Argentina (May 1, 2002)
ParaguayParaguay ArgentinaArgentina
Biggest defeat New Zealand 93-8 Argentina (June 21, 1997)
New ZealandNew Zealand ArgentinaArgentina
World Championship
participations: 9/9
Best result: 3rd place 2007

The Argentine National Rugby Union Team ( Spanish Selección nacional de rugby de Argentina ) is the official Argentine national team in rugby union and represents the country in all international matches ( test matches ) of the men. It is usually referred to as Los Pumas (German: The Pumas ) and is considered the best team on the American continent . The Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) is responsible for the organization .

Immigrants from the British Isles introduced rugby to Argentina in the late 19th century. The first test match took place in 1910 against the British selection team British Lions . The World Rugby Federation regards Argentina as a first class rugby nation (tier one) . The team makes its most important international appearances at the world championships that take place every four years . It has participated in every tournament since its inception in 1987. The Pumas achieved their best result at the 2007 World Cup in France with third place.

Argentina has remained undefeated against almost all of America's other national teams, the only defeats being against Canada (most recently in 2005). Accordingly, the dominance in South American and Pan American championships is. For a long time Argentina was the only first class team that did not take part in an annual tournament. This changed in 2012 when the Tri Nations tournament was expanded to include the Pumas as a rugby championship . Since then, they have been playing every year against the Wallabies from Australia , the All Blacks from New Zealand and the Springboks from South Africa for the title of the best team in the southern hemisphere. So far, three Argentine national players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame .

organization

The Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) is responsible for the organization of rugby union in Argentina . The UAR was founded on April 10, 1899 as River Plate Rugby Union and joined the International Rugby Board (IRB), now World Rugby, in 1987 . The Unión Argentina de Rugby consists of 25 regional associations, which largely coincide with the provinces of Argentina . The highest rugby union league in Argentina is the Nacional de Clubes , in which teams from Buenos Aires and half from the provinces take part.

In addition to the actual national team, the UAR convenes other selection teams. The Pumitas form the U-20 national team and take part in the corresponding world championships. Children and young people are introduced to the sport of rugby at school and then, depending on their interests and talent, the training begins. The second national team of Argentina is the Argentina XV (where XV stands for the number of players in rugby union). From 2010, there was the Pampas XV team , which was composed entirely of Argentine players, but took part in the Vodacom Cup in South Africa (then until it was disbanded in 2015 in the World Rugby Pacific Challenge ).

The national championship is superordinated to the international championship Super Rugby , which is held together with teams from Australia , New Zealand and South Africa . Argentina has been represented in this competition with the Jaguares since 2016 . Most of those national players who do not work for European clubs are under contract with this professional team, which is run by the UAR. Since the seasons of the national championship and super rugby overlap only a little, numerous players are used in both leagues.

story

The beginnings

Reginald Cooper, team captain 1928
The first Argentine team before the game against the British Lions , 1910

Much like football , British immigrants who worked for banks and railroad companies under British control brought rugby with them to Argentina. The British were also the founders of the first rugby clubs and largely kept to themselves for the first few decades. Local players were not allowed at all at the beginning of numerous clubs and were only accepted gradually and only in exceptional cases. The first game took place in 1873 on the grounds of the Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club , which was a mix of rugby and soccer. The first game according to the standardized rules of the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) followed on May 14, 1874 . Six clubs from Buenos Aires and Rosario founded the River Plate Rugby Union in 1899 , later the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR). It took another five years for the first purely Argentinean club to come into being. Among other things, the aviation pioneer Jorge Newbery belonged to it.

To mark the centenary of the May Revolution , a selection of English and Scottish players traveled to Argentina in 1910 . The Argentine newspapers referred to the touring team as Combinado Británico ; today she is considered the reserve selection of the British Lions who toured South Africa at the same time . The team won all six games. Among them was the first test match against a selection of the Argentine federation, which took place on June 12, 1910 on the sports field of Sociedad Sportiva Argentina and ended with a 28: 3 victory for the guests. The Argentinians were almost exclusively descendants of British immigrants. The only exception was Barry Heatlie , who had previously played for South Africa and played a leading role in the further spread of rugby in Argentina.

At the invitation of the River Plate Rugby Union , the British Lions traveled to Argentina for the second time in July and August 1927. The guest team was led by James Baxter , the then RFU President. The British played nine games in Buenos Aires and were undefeated. These included four test matches, all of which Argentina lost by more than 30 points. Despite the clear inferiority of the hosts, the tour turned out to be a great financial success. The Junior Springboks , the junior selection of South Africa, visited in July 1932; they went to two unofficial internationals and won both clearly. In August 1936 the British Lions visited Argentina for the third (and so far last) time, winning all ten games for themselves. This included a game against the Argentine national team, which, despite the approval of the tour by the International Rugby Board (IRB), did not count as a test match. A month later, the national team went abroad for the first time. She clearly won both test matches against Chile in Valparaíso . The Chileans paid a return visit in August 1938, with the Argentines winning their first home.

Post-war years

The Argentine team at the 1951 South American Championship
Argentina versus France, cover picture by El Grafico , 1954

Because of the Second World War , there was an eleven-year interruption in international gaming operations. In August and September 1949, France was the first European national team to visit Argentina. The two test matches against the French at the end of the nine-game tour were lost, but the result was much closer than expected. One of the main obstacles to the advancement of Argentine rugby has been the country's geographical isolation from other major rugby nations. Although rugby was also played in Chile, Uruguay and Brazil , the level of play in Argentina has always been a class better, which is why the national team in South America is largely unrivaled. This was exemplified by the rugby South American Championship , which was held for the first time in 1951 , in which the Argentines did not give the other participants the slightest chance. Until their last participation in 2013, they did not lose a single game.

The Irish national team traveled through South America in August and September 1952 , but the implementation of this tour initially seemed uncertain. Shortly after the departure of the Irish, the Argentine first wife Eva Perón died , which led to national mourning. All nine games scheduled in Buenos Aires took place anyway, including both encounters with the Argentine national team. These ended in a draw and a win for Ireland, but were not given test match status. Still, the Argentines had shown that they could keep up with European teams, which the association saw as encouraging. Two years later, the French traveled to Argentina for the second time and won both test matches in Buenos Aires relatively clearly.

After several attempts to bring the universities of Oxford and Cambridge to Argentina for a prestigious visit failed, this finally succeeded in 1956. The joint selection of both universities, which also included several English internationals, remained victorious in both matches with the Argentine national team also won the other games. The Argentines were able to keep up even better with the international competition in September 1959, when the Junior Springboks toured South America for the first time in over a quarter of a century. In the two encounters with the South African youth team, the defeats were narrow in each case. The French national team visited Argentina for the third time in July and August 1960. During their South American tour, the guests won all 13 games, including three test matches. Nevertheless, they were very impressed by the hosts' performance.

Increasing international contacts

The Argentine team during the 1965 tour to Rhodesia and South Africa
Marcelo Pascual scores the decisive attempt against the Junior Springboks (1965)

In 1964, the South African Rugby Union invited the UAR to tour South Africa and Rhodesia . In order to prepare for it in a targeted manner, the UAR signed the South African Izak van Heerden, the first foreign national coach. The first visit to the other side of the Atlantic was in May and June 1965 and included 16 games. There were no test matches on the program, but the opponents were consistently serious selection teams at a high level of play. During this tour the nickname "Pumas" established itself for the Argentines. After two defeats at the beginning (including against the selection of Rhodesia) they got used to the conditions and celebrated a total of eleven wins. Particularly noteworthy was the 11: 6 victory over the Junior Springboks on June 19 in front of over 40,000 spectators at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg . On their return, the pumas were greeted enthusiastically by a large crowd. This tour marks the birth of the modern age of rugby in Argentina and has resulted in a noticeable surge in popularity. It also resulted in more international teams becoming interested in competing against the Pumas. Argentina then played at home against touring French champions Section Paloise ; the game was remembered more because of the uproar and misconduct of both teams than because of the Argentine victory. The eventful year 1965 came to an end with the Argentina tour of the joint selection of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; the three games against the national team ended with one win, one draw and one defeat.

In September 1968, the Welsh national team traveled to Buenos Aires and played, among other things, two games against Argentina, which did not count as test matches. Completely surprisingly, the Welsh had to admit defeat in the first game and in the second they couldn't get past a draw. For the first time ever, the Pumas managed to win a series against an established rugby nation. A year later, the Scots visited for the first time , and their tour also included two unofficial encounters with the pumas. Argentina won the first clearly, but narrowly lost the second, which ended the series in a draw. In the 1970s, Argentina continued to rise to a top team. Hugo Porta , who played for the Pumas from 1971 to 1990 and was one of the world's best players in the position of liaison half during this time, played a key role in this . In June and July 1971 Argentina made another tour to South Africa and performed as well as six years earlier. Among other things , there was one win and one defeat against the Gazelles , the South African U23 selection. A game in Rhodesia was originally planned, but it had to be canceled due to pressure from the Argentine government. In October and November 1973, the Pumas toured Ireland and Scotland, where they played eight games. Both unofficial encounters with the respective national teams were lost, the one against the Scots, however, with only one point difference.

The Pumas who defeated Australia in 1979 at home in Buenos Aires

The unbeaten state since 1961 in official test matches ended in June 1974 when the Pumas suffered two narrow defeats at home against the French. Two more test match defeats followed in October 1975 away as part of a seven-game tour of France. A year later, the Argentines visited Wales and England on a six-game tour. In the unofficial encounter with the Welsh national team on October 16, 1976 in Cardiff , the Pumas faced a historic success against the then dominant team in the Northern Hemisphere. Only a penalty by Phil Bennett after a foul by Gabriel Travaglini shortly before the end of the game secured the Welsh a 20:19 win. A month later, the Pumas received the All Blacks from New Zealand for the first time for two unofficial home games, both of which were clearly lost. On July 2, 1977, the Pumas drew against France for the first time at home. In September and October 1978 they toured Europe again and played nine games. The first encounter with the English national team (without test match status) ended on October 14, 1978 with a surprising 13:13 draw. Ten days later the first test match against Italy was lost 6:19.

Establishment and recognition

The Pumas in the historic tie against the All Blacks (1985)

At the invitation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union , the Pumas toured New Zealand for the first time in August and September 1979, where they won six of seven games against regional selection teams. On the other hand, they both lost unofficial encounters with the All Blacks, albeit narrowly. Almost two months later, Argentina hosted the Wallabies , Australia's national team, for the first time . In the first test match between the two national teams, the Pumas prevailed on October 27th with 24:13, on November 3rd the Wallabies retaliated with a 17:12 victory. From now on, all members of the then still rather exclusive IRB recognized all encounters with the Pumas with test match status. As in the other leading rugby nations, Argentine relations with the apartheid regime in South Africa were ambivalent. To circumvent the government's ban on all games against South African teams, a "shadow team" called Sudamérica XV was formed in 1980 . It included players from five South American countries, with the Argentines (including numerous national players) clearly in the majority. It was not officially recognized by the UAR, but it was tacitly tolerated. Over the next four years, the Sudamérica XV faced the Springboks eight times, but could only decide one game for themselves (on April 3, 1982 in Bloemfontein ).

Hugo Porta played for the Pumas for 19 years

The Pumas first received Fiji in November 1980 and won both test matches. In May and June 1981, the English were guests for the first time ever for test matches in Argentina, with the Pumas winning a draw in their first game. As a result of the Falklands War , there was not a single encounter with any of the four British Home Nations in the next nine years . Since this conflict ended after only two and a half months and had largely occurred outside of the rugby season, there was little impact on the game. In November 1982 the Pumas toured Europe again; they faced France twice and Spain for the first time . During the Australian tour in July and August 1983, the Pumas managed to win an away win over the Wallabies for the first time. 1985 is considered one of the best in the history of Argentine rugby. France went on a South American tour and played, among other things, twice against the Pumas. In the first test match on June 22nd, Argentina achieved their first victory over this team. Five months later, the almost indomitable All Blacks were also guests. While the first test match was lost at 20:33, as expected, the Pumas were able to improve significantly in the second game and wrest the New Zealanders a 21:21 draw; even victory seemed within reach. The outstanding Hugo Porta scored all points for the Pumas. This game is still considered a milestone today. In 1986 Argentina received France and celebrated a victory in the first of the two test matches. In the same year they toured Australia, where they lost both test matches against the Wallabies.

In May 1985 the IRB decided to introduce the Rugby Union World Cup . The new event was originally intended to be reserved for the member associations, but the French association president Albert Ferrasse made his approval dependent on the fact that non-members must also be eligible to participate. So it came about that Argentina, among others, received an invitation. In 1987 the Argentine Association was accepted into the IRB. A year later, the UAR was one of the founding members of the continental association CONSUR (today Sudamérica Rugby ). At the start of the first World Cup in 1987 , the Argentines were full of confidence and confident that they would at least reach the quarter-finals. However, they surprisingly lost in the first group game against Fiji with 9:28. This was followed by a 25:16 victory over Italy and the expected defeat (15:46) against New Zealand, with Argentina taking the last place in the group behind the Fijians and Italians tied on points. The decisive factor was the number of attempts made instead of the difference in the game points achieved, as is usual in later events; otherwise Argentina would have finished second and qualified for the knockout round.

Time of transition

In 1988 Argentina played four times against France (twice at home and twice) and won one home. In 1989, the Pumas returned the favor at home for the World Cup defeat against Italy and then undertook a nine-game tour to New Zealand, with the two test matches against the All Blacks ending with significant defeats. In the 1989/90 World Cup qualification , the Pumas had a hard time: They won both games against the USA , but lost twice against Canada . In July and August 1990, England was a guest in Argentina. It was the first tour by a British team since the Falklands War; accordingly it was marked by venom among the players and among the spectators. England mostly competed with inexperienced newbies and the Pumas narrowly won the second of the two test matches. The pumas' Great Britain tour in October and November of the same year was less successful. The first official test match against Ireland resulted in a narrow defeat. The game against England (0:51) and the first encounter with Scotland (3:49) each ended in a debacle .

The Pumas fared not much better on the All Blacks tour through Argentina in July 1991, because both test matches ended in clear defeats. The reason for the weak phase at the beginning of the 1990s was a significant restructuring of the team after numerous regular players had ended their careers. Therefore, mainly players with little experience competed for the national team. This was exemplified by the 1991 World Cup . Argentina had no chance in all three group games against Australia, Wales and Western Samoa and was eliminated in last place. After two clear home defeats against France in July 1992, the Pumas toured Europe in the autumn. They won twice against Spain and once against Romania . The outstanding result was a 24:20 win over France in Nantes , the first away win against these opponents. In 1993 there were two premieres: in May they received Japan for the first time and in November the first official test matches against South Africa took place in Buenos Aires after the apartheid boycott had come to an end. While there were two wins against the Japanese, the Pumas had to admit defeat to the Springboks twice.

In May 1994 the Pumas secured the only starting place on the American continent in the World Cup qualification against the USA. A month later, Scotland toured Argentina and was defeated in both test matches. In contrast, the tour through South Africa ended in October with two test match defeats against the Springboks, followed by two more defeats against the Wallabies on the Australian tour in April and May 1995. The 1995 World Cup in South Africa ended, like four years earlier, in disappointment. The Pumas were defeated by England, Western Samoa and Italy by just six points each and again finished last in their group of the preliminary round. In August 1995, the IRB lifted all restrictions on player payment, heralding the professional era of rugby union. Regardless, rugby has remained largely an amateur sport in Argentina to this day. The best players aiming for a professional career therefore move to foreign clubs (especially in England and France). In contrast to several other traditional rugby nations, such players remain eligible to play for the national team and make up a large part of the squad. Some players of Italian descent prefer to compete for the land of their ancestors; well-known examples are Martin Castrogiovanni , Diego Domínguez and Sergio Parisse .

Gonzalo Quesada

Since the Argentine association was not yet part of the SANZAR consortium , the Pumas were initially not involved in the newly introduced Tri Nations competition. For a long time they remained the only first tier national team that was not involved in an annual tournament. The Pumas continued to take part in the South American Championship and also in the short-lived Pan American Championship . They also took part in the Copa Latina (together with Italy, France and Romania), which was discontinued after only two matches . Victories over first-tier teams on the usual tours were rare: In 1997, the Pumas won once at home against England and Australia and in 1999 against Scotland. The 1998 Pan American Championship was part of the World Cup qualification. In this Argentina achieved clear victories over the USA, Canada and Uruguay. In contrast to previous tournaments, Argentina was very successful at the 1999 World Cup . After the narrow start defeat against hosts Wales, victories over Samoa and Japan followed. As the best third in the group, the Pumas moved into the hope round, in which they managed to beat Ireland for the first time. Finally, they failed in the quarter-finals to France. Over the entire tournament, the Gonzalo Quesada half- liaison was the player with the most points.

The new millennium

The Pumas defeated England at London's Twickenham Stadium in November 2006

In April 2000 Marcelo Loffreda took up the post of national coach; he was to become the first to lead the team for more than two years. In the meantime, so many players were under contract in Europe that he carried out the pre-season preparation for the national team in France for the first time. Under his leadership the pumas celebrated some remarkable successes. In November 2001 they achieved their first victory over Wales in Cardiff. A month later they were very narrowly defeated by the New Zealanders in Buenos Aires with 20:24, after they had led shortly before the end of the game. In the context of the South American Championship in 2005 , they celebrated their highest victory to date: 152-0 against Paraguay. In 2002/03 they triumphed over France three times in a row. At the 2003 World Cup in Australia, the defeat at the start against the hosts was followed by two clear victories over Namibia and Romania. Before the last group game in Adelaide , both Argentina and Ireland had the chance to advance to the quarter-finals, but the Pumas were defeated by just 15:16.

Despite this disappointment, the good results continued. For example, in November 2004 the Pumas defeated France, the then leading Six Nations team, 24:14 in Marseille , where the French had never lost before. In preparation for their New Zealand tour, the British and Irish Lions played against the Pumas in Cardiff in May 2005. Since many regular players had not received clearance from their clubs, the Argentines had to fall back on players of second or third choice. A listless demeanor by the Lions almost led to a sensational victory for the South Americans. Only a penalty from Jonny Wilkinson in stoppage time sealed the 25:25 draw. In 2005/06 the Pumas won victories over Italy and Scotland. The 2006 Mid-year Internationals were memorable in several ways when the Welsh hosted Argentina. For the first time, the Pumas managed to win a series of two test matches against this opponent. The first game on June 11th was also the first test match that ever took place in Patagonia . The guests were warmly welcomed by the people of Puerto Madryn , one of the places where large numbers of Welsh people settled in the 1860s and where the Welsh language is still practiced today. A week after their second win over Wales, the Pumas brought the All Blacks to the brink of defeat again in Buenos Aires, but ultimately had to admit defeat at 19:25.

In July 2006 , the Pumas easily qualified for the next World Cup with victories over Chile and Uruguay. Another historic milestone was achieved at the End-of-Year Internationals 2006 in November with the first away win over England. The London Sunday Times reported in February 2007 that the IRB was already negotiating with the SANZAR consortium about the possible entry of Argentina and thus participation in the Tri-Nations tournament in 2008. Due to logistical considerations (especially the great distance between Argentina and Europe) the Six Nations were not ready to accept Argentina. The IRR was therefore convinced that Tri Nations was a more suitable tournament for a team from the southern hemisphere and was supported by South Africa. Australia and New Zealand didn't seem averse either. The biggest obstacle for the time being was the UAR itself, as a number of association members depended on the amateur status of rugby in Argentina.

Connection to the top of the world

Ignacio Corleto scored an attempt against France in the opening game of the 2007 World Cup
The Pumas warming up before a game against England Manchester (2009)
The Pumas will play against England during the 2011 World Cup

The Mid-year Internationals 2007 served as preparation for the next World Cup in France. In the two home games against Ireland, both teams did not appear in the best line-up; both times the hosts were able to prevail. This was followed by a home win over Italy and an away defeat against Wales. For the 2007 World Cup , the pumas were drawn into the so-called “group of deaths” with two of the best-placed teams in the world rankings: Ireland and France. For the third time in a row they played the opening game against the World Cup hosts. Against all odds, the Argentines achieved a 17:12 surprise victory. Then they won 33-3 against Georgia and 63-3 against Namibia. With the 30:15 win over Ireland in Paris , they finished the group stage as first in the table. In the quarterfinals, the Pumas prevailed against Scotland 19:13. The winning streak ended in the semi-finals with a 13:37 defeat against the eventual world champions from South Africa. In the game for third place in the Parc des Princes in Paris , the Pumas met France again and clearly beat the hosts with 34:10.

Third place was Argentina's best ever world championship result. For the first time ever, a team that wasn't involved in either Six Nations or Tri Nations had made it to the semi-finals. The Pumas enjoyed so much support in the otherwise football-mad Argentina that even the Superclásico , the derby between the football clubs Boca Juniors and River Plate , was postponed so that it did not take place at the same time as the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup. Under the impression of the Argentine achievements during the World Cup, the IRB decided at a meeting on various measures to promote the sport of rugby worldwide. Among other things, the number of annual test matches of the pumas, which were third in the world rankings at the time , should be increased from six to ten by 2010. Likewise, a local professional infrastructure should be set up in Argentina between 2008 and 2010 so that most Argentine players can play rugby professionally in their homeland. By 2012, the pumas should then "be fully integrated into the high-class structure of the southern hemisphere".

In March 2008 Marcelo Loffreda resigned as national coach and was followed by Santiago Phelan . Under his leadership, the team began a long period of weakness. The Mid-year Internationals 2008 lost to Scotland, Italy and South Africa, and the End-of-year Internationals 2008 also defeated France and Ireland. In June 2009 the British press reported that the UAR had offered the British and Irish Lions to play test matches and games against regional selections in Argentina during the tour to Australia planned for 2013, but this ultimately did not happen. In 2009, contrary to the declaration of intent of the IRB, the Pumas only completed five test matches, with one victory each over England and Scotland. From the following year, however, the number of games against teams in the first class began to increase. The pumas showed very different performances. They lost to the Scots twice in a row at the Mid-year Internationals 2010 before they managed an outstanding 41:13 win against Six Nations winners France (the clearest victory so far over this opponent).

After a mixed World Cup preparation with games against selection teams and Ireland, the Pumas were not among the favorites before the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. The group stage started for the Pumas with a 9-13 loss to England, despite having been in the lead for 60 minutes. After the 43: 8 win over Romania, the third group game against Scotland should be decisive for the further course of the tournament for both teams. A late attempt by substitute goalkeeper Lucas González Amorosino and the raise secured the Pumas a narrow 13:12 win. With a 25: 9 over Georgia, the Pumas secured second place in the group. In the quarter-finals against the hosts and eventual world champions New Zealand, the Pumas led somewhat surprisingly 7: 6 after 30 minutes. But then the All Blacks brought the game under their control and ultimately prevailed clearly with 33:10. Despite this defeat, Argentina's performance was seen as a success as the Pumas had made it through the group stage for the second year in a row.

Entry into the Rugby Championship

Argentina versus Italy in Rome, 2013
The Pumas against the All Blacks during the 2015 World Cup at Wembley Stadium

In November 2011, the SANZAR consortium announced that the Argentine federation had joined and that the cougars would take part in the tournament in the southern hemisphere from the following year (together with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa). It should no longer be called Tri Nations, but now The Rugby Championship . Thus, for the first time, the Pumas had the opportunity to regularly compete against top international teams. On August 18, 2012, Argentina played their first game in the 2012 Rugby Championship against South Africa in Cape Town . It was lost with 6:27, but only a week later the Pumas were able to wrest a draw from the Springboks in Mendoza . Argentina also kept up against the Wallabies and narrowly lost both games, while the defeats against the All Blacks were more pronounced. Despite the last place in the table, the Pumas had proven that they were quite competitive.

In April and May 2013, Argentina took part in a South American Championship for the last time so far and maintained its unbeaten performance in this competition for decades. Otherwise the year was not very successful. After two clear defeats against England at the Mid-year Internationals 2013 , a 13:73 record defeat against South Africa followed in Johannesburg at the start of the Rugby Championship 2013 . In the further course of the tournament, the Pumas remained without a win. In the last round they suffered another record defeat with 17:54 in Rosario against Australia. Given the series of poor results, Santiago Phelan resigned as national coach in October 2013. A week later, the UAR presented Daniel Hourcade as his successor. But even he was initially unable to break the negative spiral. In the first six months under his leadership, the Pumas were defeated by all four British national teams. In the Rugby Championship 2014 , however, they showed significantly improved performance compared to the previous year and only narrowly lost three times. In the end, they won over the Wallabies in Mendoza, synonymous with the first victory in this competition and the first victory over this opponent since 1997.

At the End-of-Year Internationals 2014 , the Pumas confirmed their upward trend with away wins over Italy and France. At the end of the Rugby Championship 2015 they managed a 37:25 away win over South Africa in Durban , beating these opponents for the first time ever. Also, for the first time, they did not come last in this competition. Argentina also impressed at the subsequent World Cup in England in 2015 . The first group game against New Zealand remained fiercely contested for a long time and at the break the Pumas were leading 13:12, but were then defeated at 16:26. Then came sovereign victories over Georgia (54: 9), Tonga (45:16) and Namibia (64:19). The Pumas finished second in the group behind New Zealand and moved into the knockout round. Characteristic was their fluid, entertaining and aggressive style of play, which allowed 22 attempts in the four group games. Argentina led 17-0 in the quarter-finals against Ireland. Although the Irish came up to 20:17 at the beginning of the second half, the Pumas pulled away and ultimately won with a clear 43:20. In the semifinals they met Australia, but showed great difficulty with the opposing defense and lost at 15:29. In the game for third place, the Pumas South Africa had to admit defeat 13:24. Still, fourth place was her second-best World Cup result ever.

In 2016 there were three home wins over Italy, France and South Africa, otherwise there were hardly any reports of success in the following years. The Pumas lost three times in a row against England and at the Rugby Championship 2017 they were without a win. After further defeats against all four British teams, Daniel Hourcade announced his resignation as national coach in June 2018. Former national player Mario Ledesma took over this position at the beginning of August . In the subsequent Rugby Championship 2018 , the Pumas won over Australia and South Africa, making them the first time they were successful in this tournament twice. At the 2019 World Cup in Japan, Argentina belonged to the "death group" along with England and France. The first group game against the French was just lost 21:23. This was followed by a 28:12 victory over Tonga. With rivals France also doing well, the third group match against England was all or nothing. A red card against Tomás Lavanini in the 17th minute dashed all hopes and the English celebrated an undisputed 39-10 victory. The remaining game against the USA ended 47:17 in favor of the Pumas, but the team did not get beyond third place and was eliminated early, but secured qualification for the next World Cup.

Current development

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated travel restrictions, Argentina only played four test matches in 2020. Since South Africa decided not to take part in the annual tournament, it was called Tri Nations 2020 . All games took place several months late in Australia and a two-week quarantine severely impaired the preparation of the pumas. Nevertheless, they caused a big surprise in the first game when they beat New Zealand at 25:15 and celebrated their first ever win against this team. In addition, there were two hard-fought draws against the Wallabies and one defeat against New Zealand, so that Argentina finished second. Due to their unexpected success under adverse circumstances, the Pumas were nominated in the “Team of the Year” category at the Laureus World Sports Awards .

The death of Diego Maradona overshadowed the success in Australia. In the second game against New Zealand on November 28th, the Argentine rugby players wore a barely visible black ribbon on their jerseys, which the public found inadequate. Two days later, Captain Pablo Matera apologized for the "lukewarm tribute". At the same time, dozens of old tweets were circulated on social networks and in the media , in which Matera and two other players had expressed racist, misogynistic and right-wing extremist views. In the face of numerous outraged reactions and calls for resignation, the association immediately suspended the three players, but lifted the sanctions on December 1 under pressure from Argentine rugby clubs and personalities.

Jersey, logo and nickname

The Argentine team on July 31, 1927, who wore the white and blue jerseys for the first time in the game against the British Lions

Argentina wore alternating blue and white jerseys during the first test matches in 1910. In 1927, Abelardo Gutiérrez of the Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires club suggested that the team should play the game against the British Lions in a sky-blue and white striped jersey. The association accepted the proposal and Argentina played in the striped jersey for the first time.

Since then, the Pumas have been playing their test matches in the colors of the flag of Argentina (and sports colors) sky blue and white, with white pants and socks in sky blue and white. In 2011, the UAR signed a contract with Nike , which subsequently became the sole manufacturer of the jerseys for the men's and youth teams, including the selection team Pampas XV . The first kit made by Nike did away with the traditional sky blue and white stripe pattern and instead featured sky blue with white shoulders, but the Pumas announced that the traditional shirt will be worn again during the 2012 Rugby Championship.

In September 1941, Abelardo Gutiérrez proposed a logo with a lion as a symbol. The logo was in blue (like the Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club , on whose premises the first rugby match in Argentina had taken place). A little later, however, the association wanted an animal native to Argentina. The choice fell on the Jaguar because of its "agility" and "courage". The nickname Puma for the national team arose from a misjudgment of the South African journalist Carl Köhler, who accompanied the team on their tour through southern Africa for the newspaper Die Transvaler in 1965 . He tried to give it a catchy name like All Blacks , Springboks or Wallabies . He asked Izak van Heerden , the then coach of the Natal rugby team, for suggestions. They saw an image of a lion-like animal with spots on the UAR logo. Köhler was aware that both jaguars and pumas occur in South America. Under time pressure to submit his article, he ventured a guess and mistakenly called the team pumas . The nickname quickly established itself, including among the Argentines. Argentine player Agustín Silvera recalls a slightly different anecdote:

«Veníamos caminando tras bajar del avión y un periodista se me acerca a preguntarme por el yaguareté. Como yo no hablaba muy bien inglés, le dije que era un puma. "

“We were walking after we got off the plane and a journalist came up to me and asked about the jaguar. Since I didn't speak English very well, I told him it was a cougar. "

- Agustín Silvera

Shirt suppliers and sponsors

The following jersey suppliers and sponsors have appeared since 1978:

Period Outfitter sponsor
1978-1998 Adidas No shirt sponsor
1999-2000 Visa
2000-2003 Topper
2004-2011 Adidas
2012 – present Nike

Home stadiums

The Sociedad Sportiva Argentina was the first home stadium for the national team in 1910
The Estadio José Amalfitani is one of the stadiums in Buenos Aires where the Pumas play their home games

As in the rugby nations of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, there is no official “national stadium” in Argentina, but rather the Pumas play their home games in different places in Argentina. One of the most popular stadiums for test matches is the Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires , home of the CA Vélez Sarsfield football club . When the British Lions first visited in 1910, the national team played their first game on the Sociedad Sportiva Argentina sports field in the Palermo district .

When the British returned to Argentina in 1927, the national team played their home games for the first time in the Estadio GEBA and on the sports field of the Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club (BACC), both located in Palermo. The GEBA regularly served as home stadium in the following decades. Since the 1960s, only three test matches have taken place there (the last time in 1993), as the Pumas started to play their home games in larger stadiums. Several test matches were also played on the sports field of the BACC until 1948, until it was destroyed by fire. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Pumas played regularly at the Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste in the Caballito district , including against Ireland, New Zealand, France and Australia. In 1997, the BACC opened the first pure rugby stadium in Argentina in Los Polvorines ( Gran Buenos Aires ). Nine test matches were held there until 2005.

The first home games outside the capital region were a long time coming until the South American Championship in 1977 . At that time Argentina competed against Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile in the Estadio Monumental José Fierro in San Miguel de Tucumán . Since the mid-1990s, the UAR has been careful to distribute the national team's home games as evenly as possible across the regions and to avoid concentration in the capital region. In addition to San Miguel de Tucumán, the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza , the Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena in Salta , the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba and the Estadio del Bicentenario in San Juan have established themselves as popular venues (more than five home games) .

Besides Italy, Argentina is the only country in the first class that has not yet hosted a game during a World Cup. The UAR applied for the 2027 World Cup , but withdrew the application in favor of Australia.

Test matches

Argentina's position in the world rugby rankings since October 10, 2003

Argentina has won 215 of its 413 test matches to date, which corresponds to a win rate of 52.06%. The statistics of the test matches of Argentina against all nations, in alphabetical order, are as follows (as of December 11, 2020):

country Games Won undecided
eliminated
Lost % Victories
AustraliaAustralia Australia 34 6th 3 25th 17.65
BrazilBrazil Brazil 11 11 0 0 100
British and Irish Lions British and Irish Lions 7th 0 1 6th 0.00
ChileChile Chile 35 35 0 0 100
EnglandEngland England 24 4th 1 19th 16.67
FijiFiji Fiji 4th 3 0 1 75.00
FranceFrance France 52 14th 1 37 26.92
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia 5 5 0 0 100
IrelandIreland Ireland 18th 6th 0 12th 33.33
ItalyItaly Italy 22nd 16 1 5 72.72
JapanJapan Japan 6th 5 0 1 83.33
CanadaCanada Canada 9 6th 0 3 66.67
NamibiaNamibia Namibia 3 3 0 0 100
New ZealandNew Zealand New Zealand 31 1 1 29 3.26
ParaguayParaguay Paraguay 18th 18th 0 0 100
PeruPeru Peru 1 1 0 0 100
RomaniaRomania Romania 8th 8th 0 0 100
SamoaSamoa Samoa 4th 1 0 3 25.00
ScotlandScotland Scotland 18th 9 0 9 50.00
SpainSpain Spain 4th 4th 0 0 100
South AfricaSouth Africa South Africa 30th 3 1 26 10.00
TongaTonga Tonga 2 2 0 0 100
United StatesUnited States United States 9 9 0 0 100
UruguayUruguay Uruguay 37 37 0 0 100
VenezuelaVenezuela Venezuela 1 1 0 0 100
Wales Wales 18th 5 0 13 27.78
World XV 2 2 0 0 100
total 413 215 9 189 52.06

Since the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) did not belong to the International Rugby Board for a long time , its members did not recognize the matches with Argentina with full status as a test match. Likewise, the only international match against Rhodesia is not considered a test match, as this state was not recognized internationally. In contrast to several other associations, the UAR does not recognize the encounters with the Barbarians as test matches.

successes

World championships

Argentina has participated in all World Cups so far and reached the semi-finals in two tournaments, but lost each to South Africa (2007) and Australia (2015). At the 2007 tournament, the team won the game for third place against hosts France. This makes Argentina the most successful rugby team in the southern hemisphere after the three multiple world champions Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Argentina made it to the quarterfinals two more times, but lost to France (1999) and New Zealand (2011). In all other world championships, the Pumas were eliminated in the preliminary round.

The Rugby Championship

The only annual tournament of the Pumas is the Rugby Championship , which has been held since 2012, against the Wallabies from Australia , the All Blacks from New Zealand and the Springboks from South Africa . Prior to the admission of Argentina in 2012, the tournament was known as the Tri Nations . The Argentines have not yet won a tournament. As part of the Rugby Championship, Argentina will play against the Wallabies for the Puma Trophy , which was introduced in 2000.

Team statistics at the Rugby Championship (since 2012)
country Games Victories Unent. Ndlg. Game
points
Diff. Bonus
points
Table
points
title
New ZealandNew Zealand New Zealand 42 36 2 4th 1423: 751 + 672 26 174 06th
South AfricaSouth Africa South Africa 42 19th 4th 19th 1048: 974 + 74 19th 103 01
AustraliaAustralia Australia 42 19th 3 20th 952: 1088 - 136 9 91 01
ArgentinaArgentina Argentina 42 5 1 36 766: 1376 - 610 11 33 00


More test matches and tournaments

During the amateur era, the Pumas toured abroad for months in order to compete against other national teams as well as against regional selections and club teams. They have also hosted national teams touring Argentina. The tours according to old tradition came to a standstill around the year 2000. Today there are two time slots available every year for test matches against teams from the northern hemisphere: At the Mid-year Internationals in June, teams from Europe come to Argentina, at the End-of-year Internationals in November the Argentinians travel to Europe. The Pumas have been playing against Ireland for the Admiral Brown Cup since 2012 .

From 1951 to 2013 Argentina took part in the Rugby South American Championship . Of the 35 tournaments in this period, the Pumas won 34, and they went off as winners in all games. Only in 1981, when Argentina decided not to participate, another team, Uruguay, won the title. The Pumas have not participated in this continental championship since 2014 and are represented by the reserve team Argentina XV .

The Pumas took part in all five events of the Rugby Pan American Championship from 1995 to 2003 and decided the tournament for themselves each time.

The reserves are also used in the Americas Rugby Championship (informally known as the "American Six Nations"), which has been held since 2009, and meet other South and North American teams there. Of the nine tournaments played so far, they won seven; only in 2017 and 2018 did they have to give way to the United States .

player

Current squad

The following players make up the roster during the 2021 Rugby Championship :

Back team (zagueros)

player position society International matches
Gonzalo Bertranou Half of the crowd Dragons 30th
Tomás Cubelli Half of the crowd Western Force 77
Felipe Ezcurra Half of the crowd Jaguares 11
Joaquín Díaz Bonilla Interconnects Leicester Tigers 04th
Santiago Mare Interconnects Argentina Sevens 00
Domingo Miotti Interconnects Western Force 02
Nicolás Sánchez Interconnects Stade Français 85
Santiago Chocobares Inner three-quarters Toulouse 03
Lucio Cinti Inner three-quarters Argentina Sevens 00
Jerónimo de la Fuente Inner three-quarters Perpignan 57
Juan Cruz Mallía Inner three-quarters Toulouse 07th
Matias Moroni Inner three-quarters Leicester Tigers 48
Matías Orlando Inner three-quarters Newcastle Falcons 43
Sebastian Cancelliere Outer three quarters Jaguares 10
Mateo Carreras Outer three quarters Newcastle Falcons 00
Santiago Cordero Outer three quarters Bordeaux 39
Bautista Delguy Outer three quarters Bordeaux 18th
Marcos Moneta Outer three quarters Argentina Sevens 00
Emiliano Boffelli Goalkeeper Racing 92 32
Santiago Carreras Goalkeeper Gloucester 09
Ignacio Mendy Goalkeeper Argentina Sevens 00

Striker (delanteros)

player position society International matches
Facundo Bosch hooker La Rochelle 03
Julián Montoya (C)Captain of the crew hooker Leicester Tigers 63
Ignacio Ruiz hooker Jaguares 00
Santiago Socino hooker Gloucester 04th
Thomas Gallo pier Benetton 00
Facundo Gigena pier London Irish 03
Francisco Gomez Kodela pier Lyon 14th
Rodrigo Martínez pier Olímpia Lions 00
Santiago Medrano pier Western Force 23
Carlos Muzzio pier Mont-de-Marsan 00
Enrique Pieretto pier Glasgow Warriors 23
Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro pier Bristol 63
Joel Sclavi pier Jaguares 00
Juan Pablo Zeiss pier Jaguares 07th
Matias Alemanno Second row striker Gloucester 65
Rodrigo Fernández Criado Second row striker Jaguares 00
Marcos Kremer Second row striker Stade Français 33
Tomás Lavanini Second row striker Leicester Tigers 53
Guido Petti Second row striker Bordeaux 56
Rodrigo Bruni Winger Vannes 08th
Juan Martín González Winger Jaguares 01
Francisco Gorrissen Winger Jaguares 02
Facundo Isa Winger Toulon 31
Tomás Lezana Winger Western Force 36
Pablo Matera Winger Stade Français 70
Joaquín Oviedo Winger Jaguares 00

Known players

Hugo Porta (2007)
Agustín Pichot (2007)
Felipe Contepomi (2012)

Three former Argentine players were inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame for their outstanding achievements :

player position recording
Felipe Contepomi Connection half , inner three quarters 2017
Agustin Pichot Half of the crowd 2011
Hugo Porta Connection half 2008

Three rugby players have been named Argentina's Sportsman of the Year and received the Olimpia de Oro : Bernardo Otaño (1965), Hugo Porta (1985) and Gonzalo Quesada (1999).

Player statistics

Below are the main stats affecting Italy's players. The players marked with * are still active and can continue to improve.

(Status: end of 2020)

Most of the games in the national team
rank Surname Period Games
01 Agustin Creevy 2005-2019 89
02 Felipe Contepomi 1998-2013 87
03 Juan Manuel Leguizamón 2005-2019 87
04th Lisandro Arbizu 1990-2005 86
05 Rolando Martín 1994-2003 86
06th Martin Landajo 2008-2019 84
07th Mario Ledesma 1996-2011 84
08th Nicolás Sánchez * 2010-2020 84
09 Pedro Sporleder 1990-2003 78
10 Tomás Cubelli * 2010-2020 76
Most games as captain
rank Surname Period Games
01 Agustin Creevy 2014-2018 51
02 Lisandro Arbizu 1992-2003 48
03 Hugo Porta 1977-1990 38
04th Agustin Pichot 2000-2007 30th
05 Felipe Contepomi 2007-2013 25th
06th Juan M. Fernández Lobbe 2008-2014 20th
07th Pedro Sporleder 1996-1999 20th
08th Héctor Silva 1967-1971 15th
09 Pablo Matera * since 2018 14th
10 Sebastian Salvat 1995 13
Most points scored
rank Surname Period Points
01 Nicolás Sánchez * 2010-2020 791
02 Felipe Contepomi 1998-2013 651
03 Hugo Porta 1971-1990 590
04th Gonzalo Quesada 1996-2003 486
05 Santiago Mesón 1987-1997 365
06th Federico Todeschini 1998-2008 256
07th Lisandro Arbizu 1990-2005 188
08th Juan Martín Hernández 2003-2017 176
09 Juan Fernández Miranda 1997-2007 158
10 José María Núñez Piossek 2001-2008 145
Most attempts made
rank Surname Period tries
01 José María Núñez Piossek 2001-2008 29
02 Diego Cuesta Silva 1983-1995 28
03 Gustavo Jorge 1989-1994 24
04th Rolando Martín 1994-2003 18th
05 Facundo Soler 1996-2002 18th
06th Joaquín Tuculet * 2012-2020 18th
07th Hernán Senillosa 2002-2007 17th
08th Lisandro Arbizu 1990-2005 16
09 Felipe Contepomi 1998-2013 16
10 Juan Imhoff * 2009-2020 16

Trainer

Marcelo Loffreda (1994)
Mario Ledesma (2009)

The following people were coaches of the Argentina national team:

  • 1932: Edmundo Stanfield
  • 1936: Luis Cilley, Edmundo Stanfield, C. Huntley Robertson
  • 1954: Juan C. Wells
  • 1956: Dermot Cavanagh and Horacio Savino
  • 1959: Jorge Merelle
  • 1960: Robert Galarga
  • 1960: Saturnino Racimo
  • 1965: Izak van Heerden , Alberto Camardón, Ángel Guastella
  • 1965–66: Alberto Camardón, Ángel Guastella
  • 1967–70: Alberto Camardón, Ángel Guastella and Jorge Merelle
  • 1971: Ángel Guastella, Eduardo Poggi
  • 1972–73: Ángel Guastella, Eduardo Poggi, Oscar Martínez
  • 1974: Carlos Villegas, Emilio Perasso, Jorge Merelle
  • 1975: Eduardo Poggi, Eduardo Scharenberg
  • 1976–77: Carlos Villegas, Emilio Perasso
  • 1978: Ángel Guastella, Aitor Otaño, José Imhoff
  • 1979–80: Luis Gradín and Aitor Otaño
  • 1981-83: Rodolfo O'Reilly
  • 1984: Héctor Silva , Aitor Otaño
  • 1985–86: Héctor Silva, Aitor Otaño, Ángel Guastella
  • 1987: Héctor Silva, Ángel Guastella
  • 1988-90: Rodolfo O'Reilly, Raúl Sanz
  • 1990-91: Luis Gradín, Guillermo Lamarca
  • 1992: Luis Gradín, John Hart
  • 1993–94: Héctor Méndez, José Fernández
  • 1995: Alejandro Petra, Ricardo Paganini
  • 1995: Alejandro Petra and Emilio Perasso
  • 1996: José Luis Imhoff, José J. Fernández, Héctor Méndez, Alex Wyllie
  • 1997: José Luis Imhoff, Héctor Méndez, Alex Wyllie
  • 1998: José Luis Imhoff, Alex Wyllie
  • 1999: José Luis Imhoff, Alex Wyllie; later Héctor Méndez and Wyllie, then Wyllie alone
  • 2000–2007: Marcelo Loffreda , Daniel Baetti
  • 2008–13: Santiago Phelan , Fabián Turnes
  • 2013–18: Daniel Hourcade
  • since 2018: Mario Ledesma

literature

  • Horacio J. Spinetto: Ciento veinte años de rugby argentino . In: Todo es Historia . tape XXV , no. 295 , 1992, ISSN  0040-8611 .
  • Henri Garcia: La fabuleuse histoire du rugby . Éditions de La Martinière, Paris 2011, ISBN 978-2-7324-4528-1 .

Web links

Commons : Argentina National Rugby Union Team  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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