The Argentina national rugby union team ( Spanish: ''Selección de rugby de Argentina'') represents Argentina in men's international rugby union; it is organised by the

Argentine Rugby Union The Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby, abbreviated "UAR") is the governing body for rugby union in Argentina. It is a member of World Rugby, with a seat on that body's Executive Council, and a founding member of Sudamérica Rug ...

( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby). Nicknamed the Pumas (''Los Pumas'' in Spanish), they play in sky blue and white jerseys. They are ranked 6th in the world by World Rugby, making them the highest-ranked nation in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. Argentina played its first international rugby match in

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

against a touring British Isles team. Argentina has competed at every Rugby World Cup since the first tournament of 1987, and the country are considered the strongest team within the Americas, being undefeated against all but Canada, against whom they have suffered three losses. The Pumas' impressive results since the 1999 World Cup have seen rugby's popularity in Argentina grow significantly. Argentina has achieved several upset victories, and are capable of regularly defeating Six Nations sides. In the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

Argentina were undefeated in their pool and reached the semi-finals for the first time; they were defeated by South Africa in the semi-finals, but followed up with a win over France to claim third place overall. By the end of the competition, the team had reached an all-time high of third in the World Rankings. After their advances in competitiveness and performance during the 2000s, coupled with their location in the Southern Hemisphere, Argentina was the only tier 1 nation that had no regular competition."Six Nations would be magnificent seven with us, pleads Pichot"
'' Western Mail'', 19 June 2006. Argentina officially joined

The Rugby Championship The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a s ...

on 23 November 2011. In their first tournament in 2012, Argentina secured a 16–16 draw with The Springboks in only their second game. The

2014 Rugby Championship The 2014 Rugby Championship was the third edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The tournament was won by New Zealand, with South Africa second, Aus ...

saw the first Championship-match win for Argentina who defeated Australia 21–17. 2015 proved to be a successful year for Argentine rugby, including their first ever win over South Africa in the Rugby Championship, and they reached another semi-final at the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. In the

2016 Rugby Championship The 2016 Rugby Championship was the fifth edition of the annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The competition is operated by SANZAAR, a joint venture of the four countries' n ...

, the Pumas again defeated the Springboks. Although winless during the

2017 Rugby Championship The 2017 Rugby Championship was the sixth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The competition is operated by SANZAAR, a joint venture of the four c ...

, the Pumas achieved two wins in their 2018 campaign, defeating both South Africa and Australia. On 14 November 2020, the Pumas beat New Zealand 25–15 to record their first win over the All Blacks, and on August 27, 2022, they defeated the All Blacks for the first time in New Zealand.

History

The History of the Argentina national team starts with the first international played by an Argentine side against the British Isles in

when they toured on South America. Argentina gained recognition in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, when the team toured South Africa playing a series of friendly matches there. In that tour the national team was nicknamed ''Los Pumas'', a name that became an identity mark for Argentina, remaining to present days. Argentina has taken part in all the Rugby World Cups since the first edition in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, their best performance being the third place achieved in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. Argentina followed their growing competitiveness in the Rugby Championship with a strong showing in the 2015 World Cup, reaching the semi-finals for the second time. The national side has also played in the Rugby Championship since the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

edition, after joining the competition one year before.

Colours, symbol and name

Argentina alternated blue and white jerseys during its first international matches in

. In

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

Mr. Abelardo Gutiérrez of Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires proposed that Argentina should play against the British Lions wearing a striped light blue and white jersey. That request was accepted and Argentina wore the striped uniform for the first time in its history."La pasión cumple 100 años"
''La Nación'', 10 April 1999 ''Los Pumas'' play in a shirt in the country's flag (and sporting) colours of light blue and white, white shorts, and socks in light blue and white. In 2011, the UAR signed a deal with Nike which became the exclusive kit provider for all its national senior and youth teams, including

Pampas XV Pampas XV is an Argentine professional rugby union team that currently competes in Super Rugby Americas. In September 1941, Abelardo Gutiérrez (who had proposed the use of a white and blue jersey for the team 14 years prior) suggested a badge with the figure of a lion. The color of the crest was blue (due to

Buenos Aires Cricket Club Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club, sometimes known simply as Buenos Aires, is an Argentine sports club based in San Fernando, Buenos Aires. Having set its official date of foundation on 8 December 1864, the club claims to be the oldest club stil ...

, where the first rugby match in Argentina had been played). The animal was later replaced by a native to Argentine species, so the

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

was chosen due to his "agility and courage", according to their words. The ''Pumas'' nickname is the result of an error made by Carl Kohler, a journalist for the then ''Die Transvaler'' newspaper in South Africa, while following the team during their first overseas tour ever – to Southern Africa (to Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and South Africa) in 1965. He tried to devise a catchy nickname for the team similar to existing international team nicknames such as ''All Blacks'', ''Springboks'', and ''Wallabies''. He asked Isak van Heerden, the then coach of the Natal Rugby team who was asked by the SARB to assist with the tour, for ideas. They saw a picture of a type of lion with spots on the UAR crest. Kohler was aware that the Americas had jaguars and pumas, and as he was under pressure to submit his article, made a guess and called them the Pumas, instead of the actual jaguar. The mistake stuck, and was eventually adopted by the Argentines themselves (although the UAR crest still depicts a jaguar).

Kit suppliers

Home grounds

The Pumas use a variety of stadiums when playing at home. One of the most frequently used for tests is José Amalfitani Stadium, home of Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield and sited in Buenos Aires. When Great Britain made their first tour to Argentina in 1910, the national team played them at Sociedad Sportiva Argentina of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

. That test was also notable for being the first Argentina match ever. When the British combined returned to Argentina in

, the national side started to use GEBA and

as their home venues. GEBA was a frequent venue during the next decades, but hosted only three matches after the 1960s, as the Pumas started using larger stadiums; the ''Pumas last match at GEBA was in 1993."Argentina at ground: GEBA"
ESPN Scrum.com On the other side, the Buenos Aires Cricket was also used for a large number of matches until 1948 when it was destroyed by fire."El club de rugby más antiguo de la Argentina" at Rugbytime.com
, 19 September 2008"Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club" at Centro de Documentación, Investigación y Referencia Histórica-Deportiva
June 2009 In 1997 BACRC inaugurated the first purpose-built rugby union stadium in Argentina, erected in Los Polvorines,

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...

. A total of nine international games were played there by the national team until 2005 when it was sold. ''Los Pumas'' played in Ferro Carril Oeste stadium between 1970 and 1986, when Argentina moved to Vélez Sarsfield Stadium. Some of the teams that visited those venues were Ireland, New Zealand, France, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

among others. During the mid year tests in 2007, as well as Vélez Sársfield, Argentina played games at venues including Brigadier Estanislao López in Santa Fe,

Malvinas Argentinas Malvinas Argentinas Partido is a '' partido'' in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the Gran Buenos Aires urban area. It has an area of and according to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the population was 321,833 inhabitants. (). ...

in Mendoza, and Gigante de Arroyito, in

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

. Argentina have also used the

River Plate Stadium Estadio Monumental (), officially Estadio Mâs Monumental for sponsorship reasons,Wales at

Estadio Raúl Conti Estadio Raúl Conti is a stadium in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Inaugurated on May 25, 1967,Puerto Madryn. Other venues that have hosted Argentina rugby team were José M. Minella in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

(2008), Monumental José Fierro in Tucumán (2012, 2014),

Mario Kempes Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi (; born 15 July 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as La Liga's top goalscorer twice with Valencia and amassed 11 ...

in Córdoba (2012), Centenario in Resistencia (2014), Padre Martearena in

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

(venue for

, 2016–2019 editions), Estadio del Bicentenario in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

–where the team played tests v England and Wales (2017–18), and Estanislao López in Santa Fe (2017).

Records

Overall

Argentina have won 241 of their 476 Test matches. When the

world rankings A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...

were introduced by the IRB in October 2003, Argentina were ranked seventh. They fell to eighth in the rankings in June 2004, before rising back to seventh by November that year. They fell back to eighth in February 2005, and stayed there until falling to their lowest ranking of ninth in February 2006. Since then, Argentina rose to eighth in July 2006, then sixth in November of that year. They had a one-week fall to seventh, then one week later rose to fifth to start the World Cup 2007. ''Los Pumas'' twice surpassed their highest ranking at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Defeating number three France, the second opening game loss for a World Cup hosting nation, moved them into fourth place, their highest position since the IRB World Rankings were established. They lost to eventual champions South Africa in the semi-final but beat France yet again in the bronze medal round to set another highest ranking, third, behind South Africa and New Zealand. Argentina has won every match against South American national teams, including 41 against Uruguay, 38 against Chile, 17 against Paraguay and 13 against Brazil. On 14 November 2020, they registered their first win against New Zealand, meaning that they have recorded a victory over every Tier 1 nation. Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by an Argentina national XV at test level up until 19 November 2022.Argentina statistics

Rugby World Cup

The Rugby Championship

Updated: 7 November 2022

Players

Current squad

On 28 October, Michael Cheika named a 33-man squad for Argentina's 2022 End-of-year matches against England, Wales and Scotland. Head Coach:

Michael Cheika Michael Cheika (born 4 March 1967) is an Australian rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby union player. He is currently head coach of Argentina in rugby union and Lebanon in rugby league. Cheika was the coach of the Australia r ...

* Caps Updated: 19 November 2022

Coaches

Coaches: UAR
Entrenadores de Los Pumas de todos los Tiempos

Player records (career)