Jaguares Fly Half Candidates for 2019

Who are the Jaguares fly half candidates for 2019? This question has been asked by many and debated on social media. The end of the Daniel Hourcade regime and the departure of Nicolás Sánchez from Los Jaguares to Stade Français have combined to change the landscape entirely.

In the days leading up to Argentina’s first June International this year against Wales, Hourcade answered the question himself. In his eyes the options for Argentina at fly half were:

“There are a variety of players in distinct teams. There is Rete (González Iglesias), I am trying Emi Boffelli at 10, which seems to be a very good option. There is Tito (Joaquín) Dìaz Bonilla, (Domingo) Miotti who is from the system is coming back, (Juan Bautista) Daireaux is a great player and a big project.”

Hourcade Hierarchy
The Hourcade hierarchy was one which excluded European-Based players. This was not based on merit as Hourcade, himself would have fielded players based in Europe had the UAR permitted him to do so.

The November 2013 to June 2018 period did, nonetheless, not see Hourcade utilizing European-Based players in a comparative manner to that of his predecessors. Hourcade preferred to use those based at home when they were of a comparable or, arguably, slightly less ability than those based abroad.

His test fly halves were Nicolás Sánchez, Juan Martín Hernández, and Santiago González Iglesias. All three went to RWC 2019 with Hourcade determining Top 14 players Patricio Fernández and Benjamín Urdapilleta to not be required.

Raúl Pérez replicated Hourcade’s hierarchy in Super Rugby’s 2016 and 2017 seasons. He did so with the uncapped Joaquín Díaz Bonilla also receiving game time.

Ledesma Refining
The Hourcade script was not adhered to by Mario Ledesma. In the 2018 Super Rugby season González Iglesias was not utilized as a fly half. He was considered to be an inside center but Ledesma did so with Bautista Ezcurra as the understudy to Jerónimo de la Fuente.

The retirement of Hernández also did not lead to González Iglesias covering Sánchez. Instead Ledesma trained with Boffelli covering fly half while being the starting fullback. He would not go on to play a match in the position with Ledesma opting to give Díaz Bonilla a start against the Sharks in a rotated line-up.

Against this back-drop is the final stage of negotiations between Ledesma and the UAR as well as Gonzalo Quesada and the UAR.

The big announcement at 11am on Wednesday Mario Ledesma will be announced as Argentina’s New Head Coach. Also confirmed will be the possibility of Europeans being selected for the Rugby Championship. This is not only a high possibility, rather it is absolute.

Quesada New Order?
Also set for confirmation is the future Head Coach of Los Jaguares. Former Stade Français and Biarritz Head Coach Gonzalo Quesada is to be named as the Jaguares successor to Ledesma.

The team that Quesada inherits will officially be without a signed fly half. 29-year-old Díaz Bonilla is the one specialist though his official status is that of a part-time Jaguar. There full-time González Iglesias may be retained though realistically may well be released.

For Argentina French-based players are in the drivers seat for international duty. Expect Sánchez, Fernández and Urdapilleta to feature heavily as opposed to those listed by Hourcade in June.

The question of Jaguares fly half candidates for 2019 will be answered throughout the remainder of 2018 and into January 2019. While it is true that a fit-again Joaquín Tuculet at fullback would free-up Boffelli for fly half duty there will need to be no fewer than three additional players.

Díaz Bonilla can lay claim to one of these spots, with the two others to be determined. The names Domingo Miotti and Juan Bautista Daireaux are entirely plausible. Aged 22 and 20 they are viable options with Los Pumas 7’s captain Gastón Revol being an outsider who merits a genuine opportunity. The 31-year-old could be the experience required to bring together the play-making options.