rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
and
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
club located in the
Munro
A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...
district of
Vicente López Partido
Vicente López is a partido in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is one of the country´s most affluent municipalities.
Vicente López is located 20 kilometers north of downtown Buenos Aires and 80 kilome ...
. The rugby team is member of the
Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires
The Buenos Aires Rugby Union ( es, "Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires"), usually referred as URBA, is the Argentine governing body that organises and controls the rugby union in the Buenos Aires Province (including the main district, Buenos Aires a ...
(URBA), having won its only URBA championship in 1940. Olivos currently competes in Primera División A, the second division of the URBA league system. Olivos is regarded as one of the most representative clubs of rugby union in Buenos Aires Province.
Olivos' hockey teams are affiliated to Buenos Aires Hockey Association (AHBA), competing in championships organised by the body.
History
The sporting institution was founded on September 4, 1927 as a rugby club by 20 young men joined at a land located on Avenida del Libertador 2200 in the neighborhood of
Olivos, Buenos Aires
Olivos is a neighborhood in Vicente López Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is bordered to the south by Vicente López neighborhood and Florida; to the east by the River Plate; to the north by La Lucila and Martínez, and to the ...
.Olivos quiere revancha y el ascenso al Top 12 on Rugby Champagne They took inspiration from the British side that toured on Argentina in 1927 to create their own club. Salvador Pineda, Julio J. Salas, José Mosé, Leopoldo Houssay, and Emilio Izasmendi (son) were the founding members.
As the club still had not an own field, they first played at Banco Hipotecario's field in
San Fernando Partido
San Fernando is a '' partido'' of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the north of Greater Buenos Aires. Its capital is San Fernando. It is twenty-eight kilometers from the city of Buenos Aires.
Population distribution (2010)
Of the 163,240 i ...
. Olivos played their first official match v
Club Atlético del Rosario
Club Atlético del Rosario is an Argentine sports club from Rosario, Santa Fe. One of the oldest clubs still in existence in the country, Atlético del Rosario was a pioneer of football in Rosario, being the first team from that city to play in P ...
at
Plaza Jewell
Plaza Jewell is the name given to Club Atlético del Rosario headquarters and sports ground. It is located in the city of Rosario in Argentina, close to Mariano Moreno bus station and Rosario Norte railway station.
Having been opened in 1889, Pl ...
in 1932. The first colors used were light blue and yellow, then adopting the green. The definitive orange and black colors came later, taken from some pillows in Carlos Bowers' house. Bowers was also president of the club in the 1930s. During his tenure, he insisted on forming teams with players from the neighborhood, with no external players added.Los 80 años del Olivos Rugby Club ''La Nación'', 4 Sep 2007
In 1933, Olivos promoted to Primera División (current
Torneo de la URBA
The URBA Top 13 (formerly "Torneo de la URBA", named "Top 13" since the 2022 season)Obras Sanitarias
Club Atlético Obras Sanitarias de la Nación (mostly known simply as Obras Sanitarias or Obras) is an Argentine professional sports club that is located in the district of Núñez, Buenos Aires. Although originally conceived as a rugby union cl ...
17–3. Years later the club inaugurated its own field (1935), located in
Munro, Buenos Aires
Munro is a city of the Vicente López Partido in northern Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, best known for its jeans and apparel stores and outlets. It is located some 20 km from the downtown of the city.
It is bordered by the neighborhoods of ...
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
section. In
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
, Olivos was one of the clubs that played Great Britain during the ''Lions'' third tour on Argentina.
Olivos finally set its headquarters on Mariano Pelliza street in Munro in 1940. The club has remained there since then. That same year the club won their only URBA title to date. In 1942, the field hockey team promoted to Primera División. In
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, Olivos played the
Junior Springboks
The South Africa national under-20 rugby union team (nicknamed the Junior Boks or the Baby Boks) are South Africa's junior team at national level. They have been competing in the World Rugby Under 20 Championship (formerly the IRB Junior World Cha ...
when the South African side toured Argentina.''Memoria y Balance 1959'' on the UAR website
After some years in the second division, in 1984 Olivos returned to Primera División after winning the championship unbeaten. The team earned 14 points above the team placed second, having scored 80 tries. Since then, the club has been a constant feature in the league, fielding teams at all levels.