In July 2016 Daniel Hourcade announced his roster for the Rugby Championship. The 33-man roster saw the South Americans leaving out European-based players for the first time since joining the tournament. Gone were both established names and also potential newcomers. Based on the status of players at the time the following …

Argentina’s play-makers have struggled in 2017. The bad news for Los Pumas is that the problem is not going to go away. Rather it is an unsolvable fly half conundrum in which there are no players to be called upon to steady the ship. No Man’s Land Nicolás Sánchez was …

The Rugby Championship is just ten days away. Los Pumas have a number of positional doubts ahead of their first match against South Africa. Certainties 1 – Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro  Playing out of position will be Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro. Naturally a Tight head prop, he has proved to be highly effective …

Super Rugby is downsizing. The 2018 season will have 15 teams, down three from 18. There are a variety of motives driving the change, one of which is performance. This raises the question – would two Argentine teams be competitive in Super Rugby? Comparative Performance Los Jaguares completed their second …

Dark clouds are looming for Zebre Rugby. In the midst of the Guinness Pro 12 expanding, the Parma-based side may not be involved. It has been confirmed from sources within Italy that Zebre’s players are owed two months pay and that training for the 2017-2018 season is yet to begin. …

With Tonga qualifying for Japan 2019 this past weekend Pool C is complete. The Oceania side officially joined Argentina, England, France and the USA in the Pool of Death. This serves as a reminder of the need to book Rugby World Cup 2019 appropriately. Inappropriate Booking The existing model of …

It is time for Argentina to play in Georgia. Los Pumas’ recent home match against the Lelos was the second occasion in which the teams have played a test match in Argentina. They have never played in Georgia, a fact which will hopefully not last for much longer. Argentina vs …

A dominant scrum with mobile props. This is what Daniel Hourcade is seeking. Yet the traditional strength of Argentine rugby was exposed by Georgia. In San Salvador de Jujuy the Eastern Europeans dominated the battle, shoving Los Pumas backwards with regularity, winning penalties and even a penalty try. Mission Hourcade …

With the completion of the June Internationals, Argentine attention returns to Los Jaguares. The Buenos Aires based Super Rugby franchise will play at home next Friday. The fixture is to be against the Kings, a dead rubber for the Jaguares given their run of losses prior to pausing for June’s …

The Rugby World Cup needs global repechage. Wait, what? There already is one is there not? In actuality no. While it is true that Pool B of Japan 2019 will have the Repechage Winner and Pool A the Play-Off Winner the system favors particular regions over others. The Repechage Winner could, in …