What Would a Second Argentine Super Rugby Team Look Like?

Given the success of Los Jaguares in 2019 it does not come as a surprise to see talk over having two Argentine teams. So what would a second Argentine Super Rugby team look like?

Before answering the above question it must be pointed out that a second Argentine Super Rugby team is still a number of years away. The earliest projected addition will in the later half of the RWC 2019-2023 cycle.

What can be deemed to be a safe assumption is that with a second Argentine Super Rugby team Los Jaguares would remain in Buenos Aires. The base for the second team could be a range of places with Córdoba, Rosario, and Tucumán being cases in point. The decision on where would require strategic long-term planning.

A crucial factor to establishing a new team will be the players. A roster of 40 players would be required, all of whom must be playing for the new side and not for Los Jaguares.

In 2019 a total of 46 players were listed on the team’s official website as being Jaguares’ players. Not all of them played with six players not receiving game time in 2019. They are Santiago Chocobares, Javier Díaz, Diego Fortuny, Santiago Grondona, Ignacio Mendy, and Franco Molina.

Putting together a second Super Rugby franchise would thereby require expanding the player base, to effectively double it. This would be complex though it could be achieved. There would firstly be the means of attracting some players back from Europe and secondly building upon the existing domestic player base.

Argentina is competitive at the u20 Championship, certainly more so than are Italy, and Scotland who both have two professional teams. Moreover the Argentina XV has a far higher winning than losing ratio and excess players at Jaguares has also seen talent playing for Los Pumas 7’s.

Expanding the player pool has, in actuality already begun. This coming weekend will see the newly established Jaguares XV debuting in the first division of the Currie Cup. It is the same pathway that preceded Argentina joining Super Rugby with the Pampas XV previously playing in the Vodacom Cup.

The Jaguares XV roster includes Díaz, Grondona, Molina as well as players who did receive game time for Los Jaguares this year. They are forwards Rodrigo Bruni, Francisco Gorrissen, and Lucio Sordoni; and backs Gonzalo Bertranou, Santiago Carreras, Juan Cruz Mallía, Bautista Delguy, Bautista Ezcurra, and Domingo Miotti.

Not all of them will play with the needs of Los Jaguares, and Los Pumas taking priority. Indeed Gonzalo Quesada has taken four players – Carreras, Cruz Mallía, Miotti, and Sordoni with him to Christchurch for the Super Rugby final on Saturday.

Argentina will also have additional opportunities for players in the Súper Liga Sudamericana. Starting in March 2020 the competition will initially involve six teams with Argentine players to play not only for local team(s) but also for those from Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Would a second Argentine franchise mean that Los Jaguares be less competitive? This cannot be answered simply as there are factors that must not be forgotten such as whether the 80 players would be divided relatively equally or Los Jaguares would take priority over a second side?

The following rosters are a sample to attempt to best answer the question to this article. For the sake of answering it as most objectively as possible a 2020 Jaguares and second Super Rugby roster have been identified. Those tied to Jaguares are on contracts. Retiring and departing players to Europe have been excluded.

 

*** JAGUARES ROSTER *** (40 players)

FORWARDS
Agustín Creevy, Julián Montoya, Santiago Socino, Santiago Medrano, Enrique Pieretto, Lucio Sordoni, Nicolás Solveyra, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Mayco Vivas, Juan Pablo Zeiss, Matías Alemanno, Guido Petti, Franco Molina, Lucas Paulos, Rodrigo Bruni, Francisco Gorrissen, Santiago Grondona, Marcos Kremer, Tomás Lezana, Santiago Montagner, Javier Ortega Desio, Bautista Pedemonte

BACKS
Gonzalo Bertranou, Tomás Cubelli, Felipe Ezcurra, Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, Santiago González Iglesias, Domingo Miotti, Jerónimo de la Fuente, Bautista Ezcurra, Matías Moroni, Matías Orlando, Juan Cruz Mallía, Sebastián Cancelliere, Santiago Carreras, Bautista Delguy, Manuel Montero, Ramiro Moyano, Emiliano Boffelli, Joaquín Tuculet

 

*** NEW FRANCHISE *** (40 players)

FORWARDS
Gaspar Baldunciel, José Luis González, Leonel Oviedo, Marco Ciccioli, Javier Corvalán, Javier Díaz, Martín Fernández Segurotti, Thomas Gallo, Joaquín Lerche, Rodrigo Martínez, Luciano Ortiz, Manuel Bernstein, Lucas Bur, Ignacio Calas, Federico Lavanini, Carlos Repetto, Lucas Santa Cruz, Jerónimo Ureta, Lautaro Bavaro, Benito Ortíz de Rosas, Juan Martín González, Santiago Portillo, Nicolás Sbrocco

BACKS
Gregorio del Prete, Gonzalo García, Manuel Nogues, Juan Bautista Daireaux, Martín Elías, Martín Roger, Teo Castiglioni, Juan Pablo Castro, Santiago Chocobares, Tomás Cubilla, Lucas Mensa, Agustín Segura, Mateo Carreras, Facundo Cordero, Julián Domínguez, Matías Osadczuk, Ignacio Mendy