Argentina’s 10 Greatest Wins

Los Pumas have a long history in the sport of rugby. From the Americas, only Argentina and Canada have played in every Rugby World Cup. Argentina is a two-time Semi Finalist in the competition and the only Semi Finalists never to have hosted a RWC match. Argentina is one of seven countries to have beaten New Zealand in a test match.

Saturday’s win over New Zealand is a natural starting point for ranking the 10 best wins in Argentine history. It was Argentina’s 228th victory from 451 capped test matches. This leaves an abundant field of options to choose from when determining which wins belong in the greatest 10.

How does Saturday’s win over New Zealand rank in Argentina’s victories. Is it the greatest? What are Argentina’s best victories? These and other questions have been on the minds of many a Pumas follower. In considering the above I have compiled my list of Argentina’s 10 Greatest Wins. Many variables have been considered. Of them team (a) performance, (b) historical significance and (c) difficulty are the crucial categories.

 

10. ARGENTINA vs FRANCE, Buenos Aires, 2010
Los Pumas were under fire in mid-2010. Performances and results had fallen from RWC 2007. Santiago Phelan’s team had lost at home to Italy and Scotland and secured one win in each of their November tours in 2008 and 2009. The team lost a home series 2-0 against Scotland in June 2010. Scotland were 5th in the 2010 Six Nations. Argentina’s next opponent, France, were the Grand Slam winners. In arguably the best performance of the Phelan years, Argentina humbled France, winning by 28 points. Captain Felipe Contepomi scored 31 points.

ARGENTINA
1 Rodrigo Roncero, 2 Mario Ledesma, 3 Martín Scelzo, 4 Manuel Carizza, 5 Patricio Albacete, 6 Genaro Fessia, 7 Alejandro Campos, 8 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 10 Felipe Contepomi (capt.), 11 Lucas González Amorosino, 12 Santiago Fernández, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 14 Rafael Carballo, 15 Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga

Replacements: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 21, Agustín Figuerola, 22 Horacio Agulla

 

9. IRELAND vs ARGENTINA, Cardiff, 2015
Argentina’s RWC rivalry with Ireland is legendary. Argentina eliminated Ireland from RWCs 1999 and 2007. Ireland eliminated Argentina from RWC 2003. Ireland went into their RWC 2015 Quarter Final match undefeated. The Irish had beaten Canada, Italy, France, and Romania. Could they reach an historic RWC Semi Final? With five consecutive wins over Argentina the signs were positive for Ireland. It was not to be. Daniel Hourcade’s team won by 23 points. Nicolás Sánchez kicked 23 points, Juan Imhoff scored two tries, Matías Moroni and Joaquín Tuculet one each and Santiago Cordero had two try assists. The backs scored the points, while the forwards had the better of Ireland. Marcos Ayerza was a standout.

ARGENTINA
1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Agustín Creevy (capt.), 3 Ramiro Herrera, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 8 Leonardo Senatore, Martín Landajo, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 13 Matías Moroni, 14 Santiago Cordero, 15 Joaquín Tuculet

Replacements: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Jerónimo De La Fuente, 23 Lucas González Amorosino

 

8. ARGENTINA vs AUSTRALIA, Buenos Aires, 1987
Argentina had a disappointing RWC 1987. Los Pumas lost two of their three matches at the inaugural Rugby World Cup. Australia impressed in the tournament, reaching the Semi Finals. The team then went on to win RWC 1991. Early preparations for the tournament saw the Wallabies touring Argentina five months after RWC 1987. The teams competed to a draw in game one. This meant the winner of game two would win the series. World Rugby Hall of Famer Hugo Porta delivered a masterclass performance. He scored 22 points, three more than that of the opposition. He was at his clinical best, landing two drop goals, converting Cristian Mendy’s try and also slotting five penalties.

ARGENTINA
1 Diego Cash, 2 Andrés Soares Gache, 3 Serafin Dengra, 4 Eliseo Branca, 5 Alejandro Iachetti, 6 Pablo Garreton, 7 Jorge Allen, 8 Gustavo Milano, 9 Alfredo Soares Gache, 10 Hugo Porta (capt.), 11 Alejandro Scolni, 12 Marcelo Loffreda, 13 Fabian Turnes, 14 Diego Cuesta Silva, 15 Rafael Madero

Replacements: 16 Juan Jose Angelillo, 17 Cristian Mendy, 18 Gabriel Teran Nougues, 19 Daniel Baetti Sabah, 20 Mario Carreras, 21 Dardo Gonzalez

 

7. ARGENTINA vs SOUTH AFRICA, Mendoza, 2018 
Los Pumas went from crisis point to euphoria in quick time in 2018. Daniel Hourcade departed after poor performances in 2017 which culminated in big home losses against Wales and Scotland in June 2018. Mario Ledesma replaced Hourcade, trading Jaguares for Pumas. In his second match in charge he took Los Pumas to victory. It was an emphatic win over South Africa in Mendoza. Argentina put in one of their greatest performances to control play. They established a commanding advantage of four tries to one; Bautista Delguy scored twice in the opening half. The win was followed up another notable win: an away victory over Australia two rounds later.

ARGENTINA
1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustín Creevy (capt.), 3 Juan Figallo, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 13 Matías Moroni, 14 Bautista Delguy, 15 Emiliano Boffelli

Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 23 Juan Cruz Mallía

 

6. IRELAND vs ARGENTINA, Lens 1999 
RWC 1999 was Argentina’s first successful RWC campaign. Unlike, the prior tournaments Los Pumas reached the Quarter Finals. There were two vital wins to reach that far. First, Gonzalo Quesada scored 27 points in a comeback win over Samoa in Llanelli. Second, Argentina faced Ireland in a Quarter Final Play-off in France. Quesada was again prominent, scoring 23 points. A try from Diego Albanese shaped the outcome. Argentina’s win was ground-breaking. Organizers expected Ireland to win. They had planned it out for Ireland to have a Home RWC Quarter Final. The horse-trading that went into planning RWC 1999 meant that Argentina faced France in Dublin.

ARGENTINA
1 Mauricio Reggiardo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 3 Omar Hasan, 4 Ignacio Fernández Lobbe, 5 Alejandro Allub, 6 Santiago Phelan, 7 Rolando Martín, 8 Gonzalo Longo, 9 Agutín Pichot, 10 Gonzalo Quesada, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (capt.), 13 Eduardo Simone, 14 Gonzalo Camardon, 15 Ignacio Corleto

Replacements: 16 Felipe Contepomi, 17 Martín Scelzo, 18 Manuel Contepomi, 19 Nicolás Fernández Miranda, 20 Miguel Ruíz, 21 Lucas Ostiglia, 22 Agustín Canalda

 

5. ENGLAND vs ARGENTINA, London, 2006
The importance of winning this match cannot be understated. Italy joined the Five Nations in 2000. Argentina had no such opportunity; the Tri Nations was opposed to expansion. Argentina was eliminated at the pool stage of RWC 2003. The UAR was looking at financial armageddon; bankruptcy was on the cards in 2005. There were no moves to domestic professionalism. It was a low point, yet there was a light at the end of the tunnel; Pumas were in high demand in Europe. A Pumas side with 14 starters based abroad made history. Los Pumas defeated England with Federico Todeschini scoring 22 points. The result was crucial for RWC 2007 preparations. It also ultimately cost England’s Andy Robinson his job.

ARGENTINA
1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Mario Ledesma, 3 Omar Hasan, 4 Ignacio Fernández Lobbe, 5 Patricio Albacete, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 8 Gonzalo Longo, 9 Agustín Pichot (capt.), 10 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Pablo Gómez Cora, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 14 José Maria Nuñez Piossek, 15 Juan Martín Hernández

Replacements: 16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Martín Scelzo, 18 Esteban Lozada, 19 Martín Schusterman, 20 Nicolás Fernández Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Horacio Agulla

 

4. AUSTRALIA vs ARGENTINA, Brisbane, 1983
Politics shaped a lot of Argentina’s matches in the 1980s. Some rivalries had to wait, but the rivalry between Los Pumas and the Wallabies was able to thrive. Argentina defeated in Buenos Aires in 1979.  In 1983 it was Australia’s turn to host Argentina. Los Pumas had claimed a win in 1979 and they would gain another in 1983. The win in Brisbane was Argentina’s first significant victory away from home. Argentina would not win again in Australia until 2018. The 1983 match was one that genuinely put Argentine rugby on the map. Argentina were deserved winners by two tries to zero. Hugo Porta’s tactical play fit-in well with the forwards.

ARGENTINA
1 Topo Rodríguez, 2 Andrés Courrges, 3 Serafin Dengra, 4 Gustavo Milano, 5 Eliseo Branca, 6 Ernesto Ure, 7 Tomás Petersen, 8 Buenaventura Minguez, 9 Alfredo Soares Gache, 10 Hugo Porta (capt.), 11 Marcelo Campo, 12 Rafael Madero, 13 Marcelo Loffreda, 14 José Palma, 15 Bernardo Miguens

 

3. FRANCE vs ARGENTINA, Paris, 2007
Argentina’s win over France to open RWC 2007 was not an upset. Los Pumas had defeated France in four consecutive matches from 2002-2004. This included a 24-14 win in Marseilles. France were 27-26 winners in Paris in 2006. Unlike the aforementioned results, the one in 2007 was make or break. Argentina struggled to secure matches; there was no place for them in the Tri Nations or Six Nations. Could RWC 2007 change this? The players thought so and they played like their lives depends on it. The win tore up the script. It culminated in sending France to Cardiff for their Quarter Final. Many Pumas impressed against France. Felipe Contepomi scored 12 points, tackled endlessly and was tactically excellent. The win caught the public’s imagination, contributing to Argentina’s Rugby Championship inclusion in 2012. Argentina went on to beat Georgia, Namibia, Ireland and Scotland. A Semi Final loss against South Africa was followed by a second win over France to claim the historic Bronze Medal.

ARGENTINA
1 Rodrigo Roncero, 2 Mario Ledesma, 3 Martín Scelzo, 4 Ignacio Fernández Lobbe, 5 Patricio Albacete, 6 Lucas Ostiglia, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 9 Agustín Pichot (capt.), 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Horacio Agulla, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 13 Manuel Contepomi, 14 Lucas Borges, 15 Ignacio Corleto

Replacements: 16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Santiago González Bonorino, 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 19 Martín Durand, 20 Nicolás Fernández Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Hernán Senillosa

 

2. SOUTH AFRICA vs ARGENTINA, Durban, 2015
Number two goes to a result that was a long time coming. The South American Jaguares defeated South Africa in 1982. All the players were Argentine, but it did not officially count. Los Pumas came close to beating the Springboks in 2016. In the end it was a draw in Mendoza. The wait concluded in 2015. Argentina put on an outstanding performance to win 37-25 in Durban. The better side won the contest, doing so in front-of the 1965 Pumas who were in attendance. Juan Imhoff became the first player to score a hat-trick against South Africa.

ARGENTINA
1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Agustín Creevy (capt.), 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Tomás Lavanini,  6 Pablo Matera, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Juan Imhoff, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 14 Horacio Agulla, 15 Joaquín Tuculet

Replacements: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Matías Díaz, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Lucas González Amorosino

 

1. NEW ZEALAND vs ARGENTINA, Sydney, 2020
The top spot can only go to one match. All Pumas players and supporters had dreamed of the moment. Many matches saw the All Blacks winning by big margins. On Saturday, November 14 Argentina controlled play to win for the first time in thirty matches against New Zealand. The only other non-defeat came in 1985. On that occasion Hugo Porta scored all 21 points. Nicolás Sánchez out-scored Porta 35 years later. Sánchez scored all 25 points for Argentina. Pumas pressure gave Sánchez opportunities. Captain Pablo Matera was outstanding as a player and a leader. His teammates gave it their all; Argentina were brilliant.

ARGENTINA
1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Julián Montoya, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Matías Alemanno, 6 Pablo Matera (capt.), 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Matías Orlando, 14 Bautista Delguy, 15 Santiago Carreras

Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Lucio Cinti, 23 Santiago Cordero