Los Pumas
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | Los Pumas |
|---|---|
| Emblem | Yaguarete |
| Union | Unión Argentina de Rugby |
| Head coach | Daniel Hourcade |
| Captain | Agustín Creevy |
| Most caps | Felipe Contepomi (87) |
| Top scorer | Felipe Contepomi (651) |
| Top try scorer | José María Núñez Piossek (30) |
| Home stadium | Estadio José Amalfitani |
| World Rugby ranking | |
| Current | 9 (as of 21 November 2016) |
| Highest | 3 (2008) |
| Lowest | 12 (2014) |
| First international | |
|
Argentina 3–28 British Isles (12 June 1910) |
|
| Biggest win | |
|
Argentina 152–0 Paraguay (1 May 2002) |
|
| Biggest defeat | |
|
New Zealand 93–8 Argentina (21 June 1997) |
|
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 8 (First in 1987) |
| Best result | Third place, 2007 |
| Website | www.uar.com.ar |
The Argentina national rugby team, officially nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The Pumas play in sky blue and white jerseys and they are 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 November 2015 they are ranked 5th 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 may be considered the strongest within the Americas in all-time World Cup competition, undefeated against all but Canada, against whom they have suffered three losses.
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.
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