Jaguares (Super Rugby)

The Jaguares was an Argentine professional rugby union team based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were founded in 2015 and are the first Argentine team to play in SANZAAR's Super Rugby competition, participating from the 2016 Super Rugby season onwards. They were the runners up during the 2019 Super Rugby season, losing to the Crusaders 19–3 in the Super Rugby Final, played on July 6, 2019. They participated in Super Rugby until the end of the 2020 Super Rugby season, before they departed the competition having not been named in any of the regionalised formats for the 2021 Super Rugby season.
With no competition in sight, players moved to different clubs in Europe and the national group disintegrated.

History

Following on from impressive performances by in international rugby union competitions, such as a third-placed finish in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the governing body of rugby in Argentina, the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR), campaigned for inclusion in SANZAR's Tri Nations competition. In 2011, it was announced that the competition would be expanded to include Argentina, which resulted in the competition being rebranded as The Rugby Championship and Argentina competed in the competition for the first time in 2012.

However, there was no professional league in Argentina per rules of the Argentine Rugby Union. The UAR launched a team called the that participated in the South African Vodacom Cup competition from 2010 to 2013, winning the competition in 2011 with an 11-match unbeaten run. The team withdrew from the competition at the end of 2013 due to financial considerations, but was relaunched to participate in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2014 onwards. They won the competition in 2014 and 2015 (as the rebranded World Rugby Pacific Challenge).

Despite the performances of the , the UAR still campaigned to have teams included in the Super Rugby competition. Since SANZAR sold the existing Super Rugby package to its broadcasters for the period 2011–15, it meant that no changes to the format would be permitted until the 2016 season.

Super Rugby

In 2013, SANZAR CEO Greg Peters announced that Super Rugby would be expanded in the 2016 season, adding that South African franchise the would be one of the expansion teams. In early 2014, SANZAR confirmed that Super Rugby would be increased from 15 to 18 teams starting from the 2016 season, with an Argentine team getting one of the additional spots. The team would be based in Buenos Aires and that they would participate in the South African Conference. Japan was granted the license for the 18th franchise in October 2014 and the new expanded format and three new teams were formally approved by the SANZAR Executive Committee in November 2014.
In 2018 the team recorded 7 wins in a row. In 2019 the team played their first ever Super Rugby final against the Crusaders in Christchurch where the Jaguares were defeated 19-3.

Team results by season

Player scoring records

Honours

Super Rugby

* Runners-up (1)
2019
* South African Conference winners (1)
2019

Name and colours

The name was initially scheduled to be revealed at the end of July 2015, before being postponed to after the 2015 Rugby World Cup. On 16 December 2015, it was announced that the team would be known as the Jaguares.
The name ''Jaguares'' was chosen to represent cunning, skill and power. According to the Jaguares official website, "Their sharp instinct and their intelligence make the Jaguares the ideal symbol for our team." The name is also a tribute to the crest of the Argentine Rugby Union, which appears on the jerseys of all Argentina national teams, and as a Spanish translation to the nation side Jaguars.

The name ''Jaguares'' is cognate with the English 'jaguars', which originates in the South American languages Tupi, Guaraní, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Spanish version ''yaguares'' or ''yaguaretés'' is always written with an initial ''y'', and the first appearances of the word written with a ''j'' were after transliterations into English.

Stadium

The Jaguares are based in Buenos Aires and their home ground is the 49,540-capacity José Amalfitani Stadium.

2020 squad

The squad for the 2020 Super Rugby season was:

Current coaching staff

The following coaching team was announced by the Argentine Rugby Union for the 2020 Super Rugby season:

Previous coaches

Jaguares XV

In June 2019, it was confirmed that a Jaguares' development team called Jaguares XV would participate in the First Division of the Currie Cup, South Africa's premier domestic championship. Following the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Currie Cup was delayed and the first division of the competition cancelled, meaning the Jaguares XV didn't compete in 2020. For the 2021 season, the Jaguares XV will compete in Súper Liga Americana de Rugby, replacing Ceibos as Argentina's franchise in the competition. On 23 January, it was confirmed that Ignacio Fernández Lobbe would coach the side in the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season. Fernández Lobbe had previously coached Ceibos in the 2020 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season.

The Jaguares XV squad for the 2022 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season is:

* Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
* * denotes players qualified to play for on dual nationality or residency grounds.

Honours

* Currie Cup First Division (1)
2019

* Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (1)
2021

* Challenge Cup of the Americas (1)
2022

See also

* Super Rugby
* Pampas XV

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