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Bordeaux made history on Saturday. With Guido Petti involved, Bordeaux booked their place in the 2024 Top 14 Final. Bordeaux were 22-20 winners, holding on with time-up as Joris Segonds missed a conversion that would have sent the Semi Final into extra time.
Petti played 30 minutes in the Semi Final. He came on in the 50th minute. In winning, Bordeaux will now face Toulouse in the final on Friday, June 28. Due to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the 2024 Top 14 Final will be played in Marseilles.
Victory for Bordeaux means that there will be at least one Puma as a 2024 Top 14 Champion. Either Guido Petti for Bordeaux or Santiago Chocobares and Juan Cruz Mallía for Toulouse. This also means that Buenos Aires, Rufino and Córdoba are to be represented in the French Final.
| BORDEAUX EYEING HISTORY-MAKING TOP 14 TITLE |
Toulouse are the reigning Top 14 Champions. The club is also the most successful club in the history of French rugby. In addition, Toulouse has more European Champions Cup titles than any other team.
Bordeaux is in to the Top 14 Final for the first time. However, before the founding of Union Bordeaux Bègles, as a merger between Stade Bordelais and CA Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde, in 2006, Bordeaux had been French champions on two occasions, winning in 1969 and 1991.
The 1991 title Final was contested between Bordeaux and Toulouse. Bordeaux were 19-10 winners in Paris. It came in the final years of the amateur era. It was played in June, four months before the Rugby World Cup.
| TOP 14 SEMI FINAL – BORDEAUX VS SF PARIS – VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS |
| LOS PUMAS – GUIDO PETTI |
Guido Petti Pagadizábal is a household name in Americas rugby. He has been playing test match rugby for Argentina for a decade. He made his debut for Argentina as a teenager in 2014. He earned his first cap against Italy in Genoa while still aged 19. Los Pumas were 20-18 winners that day. Now aged 29, Petti is has 82 test caps to his name.
| CAREER – GUIDO PETTI |
Guido Petti is a product of San Isidro Club (SIC), a traditional rugby club from the northern suburbs of Buenos Aires. He was identified at a young age and progressed through the national High Performance system.
He was selected for Argentina u20’s to compete at the 2013 and 2014 World Rugby u20 Championships. He played flanker and second-row as a teenager but has been second-row as an adult, specializing in lineouts. He played for Los Pampas in 2014 before being thrust in to the senior roster and debuting for Argentina in November 2014 against Italy.
The following year saw Petti as one-half of the undisputed first-choice second-row. Petti and Tomás Lavanini were the starting combination that played at the World Cup. In fact, Petti was starting against the best in the world while still aged just 20. He defeated South Africa at the age of 20 and scored in the narrow loss against New Zealand in London.
Petti was one of many names who signed for Los Jaguares to play Super Rugby. Beginning in 2016, Petti was a regular for the Argentine franchise. He and Lavanini were the starting second-row combination in the 2019 Super Rugby Final against the Crusaders and at the World Cup that year. He scored in Argentina’s opening match of the tournament against France in Tokyo.
Rugby World Cup 2019 was disappointing for Petti and Los Pumas. The South Americans claimed wins over Tonga and the USA but were eliminated early after falling to France and England.
Interruptions due to the pandemic saw Pumas Head Coach Mario Ledesma encouraging players to continue their careers abroad. Petti was signed by Bordeaux in 2020 and remains at the club until today.
2020 also saw Petti making history with Argentina. He started alongside Matías Alemanno in the winning second-row combination against New Zealand. The win in Sydney was historic; never before had Argentina defeated the All Blacks. Petti was also involved in Argentina’s historic win over the All Blacks in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2022.
Petti appears in his third Rugby World Cup in 2023. Argentina rebounded from the lows of 2019 to reach the Semi Finals. It marked a second World Cup Semi Final appearance for Petti. He was a part of the team that won the 2015 Quarter Final against Ireland and the 2023 Quarter Final against Wales.
Petti’s international career is far from over. He will sit out the 2024 July Internationals to rest ahead of the Rugby Championship. He is well placed to add to his 82 test caps and target ending the year close to 90 caps. 100 test caps are also within range in 2025 and a fourth Rugby World Cup in 2027.
