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Felipe Contepomi is to be inducted in the World Rugby Hall of Fame. The Argentine legend joins four others in the class of 2017. They are to be Canadian Al Charron, Englishman Rob Andrew, Frenchman Fabien Pelous and American Phaidra Knight.
The five new inductees were chosen by the World Rugby Hall of Fame panel of experts. Their inclusion means that the total number of members is now to be 137.
Felipe Contepomi was a Puma for an amazing 15 years. He international career came to a close against Australia in Rosario at the age of 36. In starting against the Wallabies he earned his 87th and final cap. It remains a record for Argentina.
Contepomi’s career had it all. He began playing for Buenos Aires club Newman. At the age of 21 he debuted for Argentina. His first cap was against Chile in Santiago. One year later he was playing in a Rugby World Cup Quarter Final.
He is one of the select few to have played in four Rugby World Cups: 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. He earned a total of 17 caps in Rugby World Cup matches. The return was 11 wins and 6 losses. In these matches he scored 125 points.
In 2007 Contepomi was a driving force behind Los Pumas’ campaign. He was Man of the Match in the tournament opener, scoring 12 points.
In 2008 he began Argentine captain. Incoming Head Coach Santiago Phelan named him as the successor to Agustín Pichot. Contepomi would go on to take Argentina to Rugby World Cup 2011. In total he would lead his country on 25 occasions. The first of these was under Marcelo Loffreda against Ireland in Santa Fé in 2007. Contepomi scored 17 points.
His highest personal score was 31. It was against France in Buenos Aires in June 2010. With Contepomi playing in France at the time the performance was all the more significant.
He had joined Toulon in 2009, doing so after six years at Leinster where he had been a Pro 14 Champion. Prior to playing in Ireland, Contepomi left his mark in England. He helped Bristol to a Premiership Final, doing so in combination with Agustín Pichot in the halves. From Ireland he moved to France where he would play for four seasons.
Of his 87 caps, 75 were in the starting line-up. Capable of playing both fly half and inside center, Contepomi was invaluable for his country. At times he was the regular goal-kicker, including at Rugby World Cups 2007 and 2011.
Had Contepomi have been the full-time first-choice goal-kicker then it is possible that he could have scored far more points. Regardless Contepomi is Argentina’s record point scorer. He ended his career with 651 points. He passed none other than Hall of Famer Hugo Porta’s record of 590.
With the boot Contepomi landed 139 penalties, 74 conversions and two drop-goals. He also crossed for an impressive 16 tries.
There is no doubt of Contepomi’s excellence. His place in the World Rugby Hall of Fame will be undisputed. His inspiration continues now as he is Head Coach of the Argentina XV. The potential exists for him to one day coach Argentina. Could he take Los Pumas to a Rugby World Cup one day?
