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Argentina vs Scotland
Match scheduled:
Date: 19-06-2010
Time: 20:45 until 22:45
June Internationals
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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.
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.[2] 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.
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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.[3] Soon after they also received invitations from Spain, Switzerland, France and Portugal.[4]
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."[5] 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.[6]
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.[7][8] The second test against Ireland was a 16-0 Pumas win at Vélez Sársfield on 2 June.[9] 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,[10] 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.[11] 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.
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:[12]
- 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").
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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.[13]
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.
Los Pumas play in a shirt in the country's flag (and sporting) colours of blue and white with blue sleeves, white shorts, and socks in blue and white. The emblem on the shirts features a yaguareté (Argentine jaguar), notwithstanding the team's nickname. The Pumas nickname is generally believed to be the result of an error made by a journalist who followed the team during their first overseas tour ever — to Southern Africa in 1965. Reporters were trying to devise a catchy nickname for the team similar to existing international team nicknames such as All Blacks, Springboks, and Wallabies. One of them saw the picture of an animal on the UAR crest; however, he thought it was a puma instead of the actual jaguar. The mistake stuck, and was eventually adopted by the Argentines themselves (although the UAR crest still depicts a jaguar).[14] As of 2007 the strip is manufactured by Adidas and VISA is the shirt sponsor.
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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.
Argentina have won 161 of their 270 Test matches, a win record of 59.63%.[15][16] 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[17]. 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 4th in the world (as of 9 August) behind the Springboks, the All Blacks and Australia.
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