Argentina national rugby union team

Argentina

Union	Unión Argentina de Rugby
Nickname(s)	Los Pumas
Emblem(s)	Jaguar
Coach(es)	Santiago Phelan [1]
Captain(s)	Felipe Contepomi
Most caps	Lisandro Arbizu (87)
Top scorer	Hugo Porta (593)
Most tries	José María Núñez Piossek (30)
Team kit Change kit
First international
Argentina  3 – 28  British Isles (12 June 1910)
Largest win
Argentina 152–0  Paraguay (1 May 2002)
Largest defeat
New Zealand  93 – 8  Argentina (21 June 1997)
World Cup
Appearances	7/7 (First in 1987)
Best result	Third, 2007

The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR, from the Spanish: Unión Argentina de Rugby).

Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British Isles team. As of October 2011 they are ranked 7th in the world by the IRB, making them the highest-ranked nation in the Americas. They have competed at every Rugby World Cup staged since the inaugural tournament of 1987, and the country is undefeated against all American nations, with the exception of Canada, against whom they have suffered two losses out of eight test matches.

Although rugby union is nowhere near as popular as football in Argentina, Los Pumas' impressive results since the 1999 World Cup have seen the sport's popularity grow significantly. Argentina has achieved several upset victories, are tough contenders when playing in Buenos Aires, and are fully capable of regularly defeating Six Nations sides. A surprise victory over the hosts France in the first game of the 2007 World Cup took Argentina to fourth in the IRB World Rankings. The team were undefeated in their pool, and reached the semi-finals for the first time, beating Scotland 19–13 in their quarter-final. They were defeated 37–13 by eventual winners South Africa in the semi-finals, but followed this up with a second win over France to claim third place overall.

In March 2008 the team reached an all-time high of third in the IRB World Rankings. As of 23 March 2009 Argentina ranked fifth in the world behind Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, but have since slipped to 8th place.

After their advances in competitiveness and performance during the 2000s, coupled with their location in the Southern Hemisphere, Argentina has been invited to play in the 2012 The Rugby Championship tournament against the national teams of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.^[2]

After Marcelo Loffreda left following the 2007 Rugby World Cup to take up the head coaching job at Guinness Premiership club Leicester Tigers, the UAR spent nearly five months searching for a successor until opting for a two-coach setup, with former Pumas Santiago Phelan and Fabián Turnes taking over.^[1]

History

Early years

The first rugby union match in Argentina was played in 1873, the game having been brought to Argentina by British immigrants. In 1899, four clubs in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, joined together to form the River Plate Rugby Football Union. In 1910 a side managed by Oxford University — supposedly the England national team, but including three Scottish players — toured Argentina: the people of Argentina termed it the "Combined British", also known as "Great Britain XV". Argentina made their international debut against this team, losing 28–3 on 12 July in Flores, Buenos Aires.

In 1927 the British Isles Lions toured Argentina, with the Lions winning all nine encounters; the tour did however become a financial success for Argentine rugby. Of the nine encounters, four tests were played, which Argentina lost by over 30 points in all. All the games took place in Buenos Aires. Five years passed until another international team would return to Argentina, which would be the Junior Springboks in 1932, playing a two match series. Argentina lost both.

In 1936 the British Isles visited Argentina again, winning all ten of their matches and only conceding nine points in the whole tour. Only one test was played on the tour, with Argentina losing 23–0. The following month Argentina left the country to play their first away tests – against Chile in Valparaiso. Argentina won the first test (and their first game), 29–0. The second match was won by a similar margin. Two years later Argentina hosted Chile, which resulted in Argentina winning by 30 points.

Post war

Marcelo Pascual diving into the ingoal of Junior Springboaks in 1965, the first great international victory of Los Pumas.

In the late 1940s Argentina hosted a combined Oxford & Cambridge side, which defeated them in both games of a two match series. In 1949 Argentina hosted the French, and although they lost both tests, the scorelines were very close on both occasions. To mark the 1951 Pan-American Games, Argentina organised the first South American tournament in Buenos Aires with Chile, Uruguay and Brazil taking part. Argentina dominated the inaugural tournament with Chile putting up the only challenge before losing 13–3 to the Pumas, whose thrashing of Uruguay 62–0 and the Brazilian team 72–0 highlighted their dominance in South America.

In 1952, Argentina played an Ireland XV in a non-cap international held in Buenos Aires. Argentina lost the first Test by six points but raised the bar in the second meeting in Buenos Aires to draw 3–3. Although not a win, it was the first time Argentina had avoided defeat against a major European team and it was celebrated as a victory. As a result of the Irish tour, the UAR could not afford to host a visit from the Oxford & Cambridge team the following year. In 1954, they played host to France. The result was much the same as in 1949 with France proving far superior, winning 22–8 in the first Test before a 30–3 thrashing in the second, both of which were played in Buenos Aires.

In 1956, Argentina hosted Oxford & Cambridge again, but lost both of the fixtures 25–6 and 11–3. This was followed by a 4–0 win over Peru, and a 50–3 win over Uruguay, though Argentina then lost to Chile for the first time. At the second South American tournament, in 1958, Argentina accounted for Uruguay 50–3 and Peru 44–0. And despite some drinking before their game against the hosts Chile in Santiago, Argentina's players still emerged victorious 14–0. In 1959 the Junior Springboks returned to Buenos Aires, winning both fixtures 14–6, and 20–5.

1960s: "Los Pumas"

The forward line of 1970: García Yáñez, Handley and Foster

.

In 1960, France visited Buenos Aires for a three match series with Argentina. The hosts still could not get their first win over the French, with France winning all three tests 37–3, 12–3 and 29–6. The following year Argentina again showed their dominance on a continental level, winning the South American tournament held in Montevideo, by beating Brazil 60–0, Uruguay 36–3 and Chile 11–3. In 1964 a new version of the South American tournament was played in San Pablo and Argentina again demonstrated their dominance with victories over Uruguay 25–6, Brazil 30–5 and Chile 30–8.

In the late 1960s the four home unions began tours to Argentina, and after Wales struggled in both Tests in Buenos Aires in 1967 it became clear that Argentina would be a difficult place to win a series. Scotland lost the first test in 1968, but won a close second test two weeks later.

The first trip of the Argentina national rugby team to the other side of the Atlantic was to Rhodesia and South Africa in 1965. The team acquired the nickname "Pumas", from a local journalist after their first tour match, a defeat to Salisbury. The book "Be Pumas" recalls the Wackley Farmer of Rhodesia magazine commenting on the emblem embroidered on the tourists' jerseys was like a puma – rather than a jaguar. After defeats to Salisbury and Northern Transvaal, the first win came against Western Transvaal, another against South West Africa Country Districts and finally against the Southern Universities. The Pumas' landmark win against the Junior Springboks, by 11–6. They were welcomed home to Buenos Aires by a huge crowd; the tour had harvested 11 victories, one draw and four defeats over two months.

Hugo Porta, Argentina all-time top scorer with 530 points.

A match was then organised against the French champions Section Paloise, although the match was remembered for the uproar and misconduct of both teams rather than the Argentine victory. Then Oxford & Cambridge arrived, a team that the Pumas had never beaten. The first match finished level at 19–19 and the second saw the University students triumph 9–3. 1965 ended with a match against Chile, which the Pumas won 23–11.

In 1966, the Gazelles arrived, a kind of a Junior Springboks B team. The visitors took two victories 9–3 and 20–15. In September 1967, Argentina played in Buenos Aires in the South American Championship with victories over Uruguay 38–6 and Chile 18–0. Wales arrived in Buenos Aires in 1968 and for the first time in their history the Pumas were able to triumph in a series, winning the first match 9–5 and drawing the second 9–9. The first great decade in Argentine rugby came to a close with the arrival of Scotland in 1969. The first match saw a big Argentine victory 20–3, but in the second game the visitors narrowly won 6–3.

1970s and 1980s

Through the 1970s, Argentina confirmed its steady rise towards top-tier status under the influence of its first truly world-class player, fly-half Hugo Porta. During their European tour in 1976, the Pumas came tantalizingly close to a historic victory at Cardiff Arms Park over Wales, then the dominant force in the Northern Hemisphere. Only a Phil Bennett penalty on a foul by Gabriel Travaglini at the death allowed the Welsh to escape with a 20–19 victory. Two years later Argentina returned for their 1978 European tour and held a virtually full-strength England XV to a 13–13 draw before losing 6–19 to Italy.

Late 20th century

From the late seventies to the early nineties, Argentina never lost the two matches of a series held in Buenos Aires, in a period that included victories against France, England, Australia and a 21–21 tie to the All Blacks, which is probably the most important result ever obtained by the Pumas, thanks to an outstanding performance by Hugo Porta who scored all of Argentina's points.

Los Pumas during the historical 21-21 vs. the All Blacks, in 1985.

By the time the first Rugby World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand, in 1987, Argentines were confident their national team would at least make it to quarter-finals. However, an unexpected loss to Fiji prevented the team from clinching the first round. Argentina won their first ever World Cup game when they defeated Italy in Christchurch.

Over the following years, the retirement of many of Argentina's most experienced players, and the defection of many others to professional leagues (rugby union is still an amateur sport in Argentina and UAR's regulations of the time prevented any player who played professionally from playing for the national team) left Argentina with an inexperienced side.

This led to disappointing performances in the 1991 and 1995 World Cups, although in the latter Argentina presented a powerful pack which was praised by the international media. Argentina's tighthead prop, Patricio Noriega and hooker, Federico Méndez, went to play in Australia and South Africa respectively after their performance. Noriega even played for the Wallabies.

In 1999, a more experienced and somewhat under-rated Argentina made it to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. They had finished second in their group to Wales, and went onto the quarter-final play-offs. After a vibrant 28–24 win against Ireland, they were eliminated by France, 28–47, in the quarter-final. Gonzalo Quesada was the highest overall points scorer in the tournament with 102.

The new millennium

In April 2000, Marcelo Loffreda was appointed coach of Argentina. Argentina missed out on progressing to the 2003 World Cup quarter-finals due to a 15–16 loss to Ireland. It was noted that because of the fixture list, Argentina had to play four games in a fortnight, whereas Ireland played the same number of games in four weeks. It was suggested that Ireland, as a major nation, would not accept a similar fixture list, and that this may have played a role in the outcome of the game.

Since then they have shown good form, splitting a two-test home series with Wales in June 2004; handing defending Six Nations champion France a 24–14 loss in November 2004 at Marseille, where France had never lost before; and, later in the same tour, losing 21–19 to Ireland on a last-minute drop goal. After returning to Argentina, the Pumas lost 39–7 to the visiting Springboks of South Africa; however, the Pumas were without 10 regular starters who had returned to their club teams in Europe.

The team that beat France in 1985.

Perhaps one of the Pumas' best matches in recent years came on 23 May 2005 in Cardiff, when they played the British and Irish Lions in the Lions' send-off match for their tour to New Zealand. The Pumas were forced to choose a side of second- and even third-choice players (prop Mauricio Reggiardo, later voted man of the match, came out of retirement for the game) as 25 players from their selection pool were unavailable due to club commitments. However, a Pumas performance widely hailed as inspired, combined with lacklustre play by a mostly second-choice Lions side, put Argentina on the verge of one of the greatest upsets in recent rugby history. It took a Jonny Wilkinson penalty at the death—and arguably the decision by Australian referee Stuart Dickinson to allow eight minutes of added time at the end of the match—for the Lions to salvage a 25–25 draw and avoid a humiliating defeat.

When the Springboks returned to Argentina in November of that year, they faced a much stronger Pumas side, with most of their European-based players present. The Pumas took a 20–16 lead into the half-time break at Vélez Sársfield. While they faded in the second half, they were not embarrassed, losing 34–23. The following week, the Pumas travelled to Murrayfield to take on Scotland and won a closely fought match 23–19. This marked the fifth consecutive time since 1990 that Los Pumas had defeated Scotland. They claimed another Six Nations scalp a week later, defeating Italy 39–22 in Genoa.

The Pumas during their November 2006 win over England at Twickenham.

In the 2006 mid-year Tests, Argentina welcomed a Wales side for a two-Test tour. Los Pumas swept the series, marking their first Test series win over Wales. The first test, on 11 June, was a closely fought affair, won 27–25. It was historically significant as the first Argentina Test ever to be held in Patagonia. The visitors were welcomed very warmly, as the match was held in Puerto Madryn, one of the major towns in an area that was settled by Welsh in the 1860s and where Welsh is still frequently spoken. The second Test at Vélez Sársfield on 17 June saw the Pumas take a 45–13 lead before two late Welsh tries cut the final margin to 45–27. This did, however, mark Argentina's largest win ever over Wales. Los Pumas next entertained the world's top team, the All Blacks, at Vélez Sársfield the following week. The All Blacks won 25–19, but not until surviving an all-out Pumas assault on their try line in the final minutes.

On 9 July, Argentina defeated Uruguay 26–0 in a Round 3a match during the Americas qualifying for the 2007 World Cup. Being their second win during that stage, Argentina moved directly into the 2007 World Cup, taking the Americas 1 position. They joined Pool D, along with hosts France, and Ireland.

The 2006 end-of-year Tests began with a bang for Los Pumas, as they went into Twickenham and handed England a 25–18 defeat. The error-riddled England side were booed off the Twickenham pitch after they crashed to their seventh consecutive Test defeat, equalling their worst ever run.^[3] Further success followed for the Pumas, going on to defeat Italy in Rome and then coming within one point of achieving a similar result against France in Paris.

Los Pumas had been invited by the Belgian Rugby Federation to play their local games there in case of being accepted in an annual competition.^[4] Soon after they also received invitations from Spain, Switzerland, France and Portugal.^[5]

In the meantime, The Sunday Times of London reported in February 2007 that the IRB was brokering a deal with SANZAR, the body that organises the Tri Nations, to admit Los Pumas to the competition as early as 2008. The story noted that logistical issues, specifically the distance between Argentina and Europe plus fixture congestion in Northern Hemisphere rugby, caused the Six Nations to baulk at admitting Argentina. The IRB was apparently convinced that the Tri Nations was the proper place for a Southern Hemisphere team, and has reportedly found South Africa strongly supporting the move and Australia not opposed. However, The Sunday Times indicated that the biggest stumbling block may well be the UAR itself, "some of whose members are deeply attached to amateurism."^[6] Eventually, by August of that year, it became clear that the competition would not be expanded until the key SANZAR media contract with News Corporation expires in 2010. An IRB spokesman, in revealing this news, not only noted the contract, but also Southern Hemisphere fixture congestion and the lack of a professional structure in Argentina as reasons that Los Pumas could not be admitted any sooner.^[7]

2007 World Cup

Los Pumas began their final preparation for the 2007 World Cup with a two-test series against visiting Ireland, who was grouped against them in France. In the first test on 26 May at Santa Fe, they scored a 22–20 win on a last-minute drop goal by Felipe Contepomi. Both teams were heavily experimental, especially the Irish, with stars such as Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Paul O'Connell and Gordon D'Arcy missing from the touring squad. The Pumas were themselves missing many stars who were playing that weekend in the final round of the 2006-07 Top 14 season in France.^[8][9] The second test against Ireland was a 16–0 Pumas win at Vélez Sársfield on 2 June.^[10] On 9 June, Los Pumas completed a clean sweep of their mid-year tests with a 24–6 win over Italy in Mendoza. They split their final warmup tests, defeating neighbours Chile 70–14 at CASI in Buenos Aires on 4 August and losing to Wales at Millennium Stadium 27–20 on 18 August.

At the World Cup, Los Pumas were drawn into the so-called pool of death, featuring two other teams ranked in the top six in the IRB rankings—Ireland and the hosts France. On top of this, they opened the World Cup at Stade de France against the French, marking the third consecutive World Cup in which they played against the host nation in the World Cup opener. In possibly one of their finest hours,^[11] the Pumas took a 17–9 lead into the half, and held on for a surprising 17–12 win. The Pumas subsequently beat Georgia 33–3 on 11 September at the Stade de Gerland, Lyon. Argentina then went on to beat Namibia 63–3 in Marseille, the biggest winning margin in Argentine World Cup history. They then went on to secure a 30–15 victory against Ireland which ensured that they topped the group. They then defeated Scotland 19–13 in the quarter-final at the Stade de France. The Pumas' improbable run towards the Webb Ellis trophy ended in a comprehensive 37–13 defeat by the Springboks in the semi-final at Stade de France. However, the Pumas recovered to beat France for the second time in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, a 34–10 win in the 3rd/4th place playoff. The 3rd place showing for the Pumas in the 2007 World Cup was Argentina's best ever result in Rugby World Cup history, equal or better to the best showing by IRB founding nations Wales (who were 3rd in the 1987 Rugby World Cup), Scotland (who were 4th in the 1991 Rugby World Cup) and Ireland (which has never qualified for the Rugby World Cup semi-finals).

During their World Cup run, the normally football-crazed Argentines embraced the Pumas so much that El Superclásico, the Buenos Aires football derby between Boca Juniors and River Plate that is normally the biggest event in Argentine sport, was rescheduled so that it would not conflict with the Pumas' quarter-final match.^[12] As the only major Spanish language country in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the Pumas also had considerable support from rugby fans in Spain, Uruguay, and other Latin American countries during their impressive five game winning streak.

After the 2007 World Cup

In November 2007, in the wake of Argentina's World Cup run, the future status of Los Pumas was a key topic of discussion at an IRB conference on the future worldwide growth of the sport. The decisions made at the conference regarding Argentina were:^[13]

• Starting in 2008, the Pumas will play more annual Tests, increasing from the previous six Tests per year to nine by 2010.
• By 2010, the team will play four Tests in the June Test window, three in November, and two during the Six Nations window in February and March.
• Between 2008 and 2010, Argentina will develop a professional structure within the country, with the goal of having the majority of Argentine professionals playing at home. Sometime around 2012, Los Pumas will then be "fully integrated into the Southern top-flight Rugby playing structure" (read "Tri Nations").

However, New Zealand Rugby Football Union deputy chief executive Steve Tew subsequently expressed doubts that a professional domestic competition in Argentina would be sufficiently viable within the following 10 years to retain elite players in South America, despite all the good intentions and funding of the IRB.^[14]

On 7 June 2008, the Pumas beat Scotland in Rosario, Argentina 21–15, thus maintaining their position as the 3rd highest ranked team in the IRB rankings. They have since dropped to fourth due to Australia wins.

In June 2009 the British media reported that Argentina were lobbying for the 2013 British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia to incorporate a series of games in Argentina. The proposed format would be three provincial games in Argentina followed by two international tests, followed by three provincial games in Australia followed by three international tests.^[15]

2011 World Cup

World Cup preparations for Los Pumas began with a drawn 1-1 series against the French Barbarians, which took place in June. They followed this up with a comprehensive 78-15 win against a South American Invitational XV in early August. Their only warm-up international match came soon afterwards, when Los Pumas took on Wales in Cardiff. Despite a strong first-half showing, Argentina were convincingly beaten 28-13. Their final warm-up game came against the Aviva Premiership club Worcester Warriors, which they won 21-15.

Los Pumas kicked off their 2011 World Cup with a tightly-fought 13-9 loss against England, a match which they led for over 60 minutes. They carried on to convincgly beat Romania 43-8. The match that followed was a match which decided the outcome of the pool and the quarter finalists, as Argentina faced Scotland. Despite Scotland leading for the majority of the match, a very late try by replacement fullback Lucas González Amorosino and a successful conversion meant Los Pumas won 13-12. They finished the pool stages in a less than convincing fashion, winning 25-9 against Georgia.

Argentina went on to play what would be their final match of the tournament, a quarter final against eventual champions All Blacks. In a match which was much closer than anticipated, Argentina opened the scoring with a try by Julio Farias Cabello, and led before conceding several penalties. As the game went on, the All Blacks began to dominate large periods of possession, resulting in two tries and several further penalties, leading to a final score of 33-10.

While not as glamorous as the 2007 tournament for the Pumas, their campaign was considered relatively successful as they qualified for the Quarter-Finals from a gritty pool group which featured an equally competitive England and Scotland, and put up a valiant display against the All Blacks for the majority of their final match. Many pundits also believed that the Pumas' lack of their star fly-half, Juan Martin Hernandez, who was injured prior to the announcement of the World Cup squad prevented the Pumas from winning the fateful kicking battle during the England match, which would have led the Pumas to top their group and face the lower ranked and more familiar teams of France and then Ireland or Wales in the lead-up to the final.

Colours and name

Los Pumas play in a shirt in the country's flag (and sporting) colours of light blue and white, white shorts, and socks in light blue and white. The emblem on the shirts features a jaguar, notwithstanding the team's nickname. The Pumas nickname is the result of an error made by Carl Kohler, a journalist for the then Die Transvaler newspaper in South Africa, while following the team during their first overseas tour ever — to Southern Africa in 1965. He tried to devise a catchy nickname for the team similar to existing international team nicknames such as All Blacks, Springboks, and Wallabies. He asked Isak van Heerden, the then coach of the Natal Rugby team who was asked by the SARB to assist with the tour, for ideas. They saw a picture of a type of lion with spots on the UAR crest. Kohler was aware that the Americas had Jaguars and Pumas, and as he was under pressure to submit his article, made a guess and called them the Pumas, instead of the actual Jaguar. The mistake stuck, and was eventually adopted by the Argentines themselves (although the UAR crest still depicts a jaguar).^[16] As of 2007 the strip is manufactured by Adidas and VISA is the shirt sponsor.

Home grounds

The Pumas use a variety of stadiums when playing at home. One of the most frequently used for Tests is Vélez Sársfield in Buenos Aires. When Great Britain first came to Argentina in the tour of 1910, the first Argentina Test was played in Buenos Aires. During the mid year Tests in 2007, as well as Vélez Sársfield, Argentina played games at venues including Estadio B.G. Estanislao López in Santa Fe and Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza. Argentina have also used the River Plate Stadium in the past, and in 2006 hosted Wales at Estadio Raúl Conti in Puerto Madryn.

Record

Overall

Argentina have won 194 of their 345 Test matches, a win record of 57.53%.^[17][18] When the world rankings were introduced by the IRB in October 2003, Argentina were ranked seventh. They fell to eighth in the rankings in June 2004, before rising back to seventh by November that year. They fell back to eighth in February 2005, and stayed there until falling to their lowest ranking of ninth in February 2006. Since then, Argentina rose to eighth in July 2006, then sixth in November of that year. They had a one week fall to seventh, then one week later rose to fifth to start the World Cup 2007.

Los Pumas twice surpassed their highest ranking at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.^[19] Defeating number three France, the first opening game loss for a World Cup hosting nation, moved them into fourth place, their highest position since the IRB World Rankings were established. They lost to eventual champions South Africa in the semi-final but beat France yet again in the bronze medal round to set another highest ranking, third, behind South Africa and New Zealand. They are currently ranked 8th in the world (as of 25 September 2011).

Their Test record against all nations, updated 23rd May 2012:^[17]

IRB World Rankings v t e
Top 25 Rankings as of 19 March 2012[20]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		New Zealand	91.43
2		Australia	87.99
3		South Africa	84.34
4		England	83.62
5		Wales	83.32
6		France	81.91
7		Argentina	80.28
8		Ireland	79.85
9		Tonga	76.63
10		Samoa	75.81
11		Italy	74.17
12		Scotland	73.86
13		Canada	72.92
14		Japan	70.45
15		Georgia	70.26
16		Fiji	68.78
17		United States	65.63
18		Romania	63.81
19		Spain	62.57
20		Namibia	61.24
21		Uruguay	60.47
22		Russia	60.12
23		Chile	59.52
24		Belgium	58.88
25		Portugal	57.75
*Change from the previous week
Argentina's Historical Rankings
Source: IRB - Graph updated to 23/01/2012[20]

Against	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	% Won
Australia	17	4	12	1	26.47%
Brazil	12	12	0	0	100%
British and Irish Lions	7	0	6	1	7.14%
Canada	8	6	2	0	75%
Chile	33	33	0	0	100%
England	17	4	11	2	29.41%
Fiji	4	3	1	0	75%
France	44	11	32	1	26.13%
Georgia	2	2	0	0	100%
Ireland	17	7	9	1	44.11%
Italy	17	11	5	1	67.64%
Japan	5	4	1	0	80%
Junior Springboks	5	1	4	0	20%
Namibia	2	2	0	0	100%
New Zealand	18	0	17	1	2.77%
Oxford and Cambridge	8	2	5	1	31.25%
Paraguay	16	16	0	0	100%
Peru	1	1	0	0	100%
Romania	8	8	0	0	100%
Samoa	4	1	3	0	25%
Scotland	16	10	6	0	62.5%
South Africa	13	0	13	0	0%
South Africa Gazelles	6	2	4	0	33.33%
Spain	4	4	0	0	100%
United States	8	8	0	0	100%
Uruguay	36	36	0	0	100%
Venezuela	1	1	0	0	100%
Wales	16	5	10	1	34.37%
World XV	2	2	0	0	100%
Zimbabwe	1	0	1	0	0%
Total	345	194	142	9	57.53

World Cup

Wikinews has related news: 2007 Rugby World Cup: France 10 – 34 Argentina

• 1987 – Pool stage
• 1991 – Pool stage
• 1995 – Pool stage
• 1999 – Quarter-finals
• 2003 – Pool stage
• 2007 – Semi-finals, (3rd place)
• 2011 – Quarter-finals

Players

Current squad

29-man Argentina squad for their summer tests against Italy and France. None of the players involved in the Top 14 play-offs were included. ^[21]

• Head Coach: Santiago Phelan

Backs Player Position Club Tomas Cubelli Scrum-half Belgrano Martin Landajo Scrum-half CASI Felipe Contepomi (c) Fly-half Stade Français Ignacio Mieres Fly-half Exeter Chiefs Gabriel Ascarate Centre Natación Matias Orlando Centre Huirapuca Benjamín Urdapilleta Centre Harlequins Belisario Agulla Wing Agen Facundo Barrea Wing Córdoba Agustín Gosio Wing London Scottish Manuel Montero Wing Pucará Roman Miralles Fullback Duendes Joaquín Tuculet Fullback Sale Sharks

Forwards Player Position Club Andrés Bordoy Hooker Pau Eusebio Guiñazú Hooker Biarritz Francisco Gómez Kodela Prop Biarritz Pablo Henn Prop Brive Bruno Postiglioni Prop La Plata Rodrigo Roncero Prop Stade Français Francisco Tetaz Chaparro Prop Stade Français Rodrigo Bruno Lock Villa María Santiago Guzmán Lock Tucumán Benjamin Macome Lock Tucumán Rodrigo Baez Flanker Liceo Tomas De la Vega Flanker CUBA Julio Farías Cabello Flanker Tucumán Genaro Fessia Flanker Córdoba Tomás Leonardi Number eight SIC Leonardo Senatore Number eight Toulon

Coaches

Coaches:^[22]

• 1932: Edmundo Cundo Stanfield
• 1936: Luis Cilley, Edmundo Stanfield and C. Huntley Robertson.
• 1954: Juan C. Wells.
• 1956: Dermot Cavanagh and Horacio Savino.
• 1959: Jorge Merelle.
• 1960: Saturnino Racimo.
• 1965: Izaak Van Heerden, Alberto Camardón and Ángel Guastella.
• 1965–1966: Alberto Camardón and Ángel Guastella.
• 1967–1970: Alberto Camardón, Ángel Guastella and Jorge Merelle.
• 1971: Ángel Guastella and Eduardo Poggi.
• 1972–1973: Ángel Guastella, Eduardo Poggi and Oscar Martínez Basante.
• 1974: Carlos Villegas, Emilio Perasso and Jorge Merelle.
• 1975: Eduardo Poggi and Eduardo Scahrenberg.
• 1976–1977: Carlos Villegas and Emilio Perasso.
• 1978: Ángel Guastella, Aitor Otaño and José L. Imhoff.
• 1979–1980: Luis Gradín and Aitor Otaño.
• 1981–1983: Rodolfo O'Reilly.
• 1984: Héctor Silva and Aitor Otaño.
• 1985–1986: Héctor Silva, Aitor Otaño and Ángel Guastella.
• 1987: Héctor Silva and Ángel Guastella.
• 1988–1990: Rodolfo O'Reilly and Raúl Sanz.
• 1990–1991: Luis Gradín and Guillermo Lamarca.
• 1992: Luis Gradín and John Hart.
• 1993–1994: Héctor Méndez and José J. Fernández.
• 1995: Alejandro Petra and Ricardo Paganini.
• 1995: Alejandro Petra and Juancho Dabusti.
• 1996: José L. Imhoff, José J. Fernández, Héctor Méndez and Alex Wyllie.
• 1997: José Luis Imhoff, Héctor Méndez and Alex Wyllie.
• 1998: José Luis Imhoff and Alex Wyllie.
• 1999: José Luis Imhoff and Alex Wyllie, next Héctor Méndez and Wyllie, next Wyllie alone.
• 2000 – 2007 : Marcelo Loffreda and Daniel Baetti.
• 2008–present: Santiago Phelan and Fabián Turnes^[1]

See also

• Argentina national rugby union team (sevens) Argentina sevens team
• Churchill Cup
• English Argentine
• Puma Trophy
• South American Jaguars

References

External links

Wikinews has related news: 2007 Rugby World Cup: Argentina shock France in tournament opener

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Argentina national rugby union team

• Argentina's time in the sun (from the BBC)
• Puma power (from the BBC)
• Planet Rugby (news about Argentine rugby)
• (Spanish) Official Argentina Rugby Union website
• (Spanish) Rugby Fun (news, statistics and results)
• (Spanish) Rugby Time (news, statistics and results)
• (Spanish) El Rugbier (news, statistics and results)