Pablo Nicolás Matera (born 18 July 1993) is an Argentine professional rugby union player who plays as a
flanker
Flanker may refer to:
* Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one
* Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league)
* ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...
for
Japan Rugby League One
Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...
Stade Français
Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
Pampas XV
Pampas XV is an Argentine professional rugby union team that currently competes in Super Rugby Americas.South African Vodacom Cup, and the Jaguares of
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
. Matera has been a regular starter for Argentina since his debut in 2013, having played over 50 tests for his national team.
Club career
In October 2013, five months after his international debut, English Premiership side
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
signed 20-year-old Matera until the end of the 2013–14 season. He initially signed as an injury replacement for Tom Croft. Matera scored his first try for the club in round 16 of the 2013–14 season against the Newcastle Falcons in an 18–41 victory at Kingston Park, Newcastle.
Matera signed for the Jaguares Argentina players, ahead of the
2016 Super Rugby season
The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...
, after their inclusion in the competition. Matera received a yellow card thirty three minutes into the game against the Sharks at Kings Park Stadium in Durban. Matera scored his first and only try of the season in their fifth home game in round 15 against the
Bulls
Bulls may refer to:
*The plural of bull, an adult male bovine
*Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District
Sports
*Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding
*Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
Matera was named as captain of the Jaguares ahead of the 2018 season.
Matera joined Stade in 2019.
International career
Matera represented
Argentina U20
The Argentina national under-20 football team is the representative of Argentina in FIFA-sponsored tournaments that pertain to that age level.
Argentina is the most successful nation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, winning the competition a record ...
in 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 ...
Los Pumas
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 ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby). Nicknamed the Pumas ...
against Chile in May 2013 and was subsequently named in the squad for the
2013 Rugby Championship
The 2013 Rugby Championship, known as ''The Castle Rugby Championship'' in South Africa, ''The Investec Rugby Championship'' in New Zealand, ''The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship'' in Australia and ''The Personal Rugby Championship'' in Argentin ...
, where he featured in all the games of that campaign. Matera was a big feature for Argentina in 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 ...
, playing six of seven games for
Los Pumas
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 ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby). Nicknamed the Pumas ...
and helping them finish fourth overall.
Matera played his 50th test for Los Pumas on 18 August 2018 against South Africa during round one on the
2018 Rugby Championship
The 2018 Rugby Championship was the seventh 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 ...
. The test was a 21–34 loss for Los Pumas, who bounced back to beat South Africa the following week. Despite Matera's good performances against South Africa, new head coach Mario Ledesma went on to bench Matera for the 8 September clash against New Zealand.
Matera was the Captain of the national team, which on 14 November 2020 had their first ever win against the All Blacks.
On 30 November 2020, Matera was temporarily stripped of his captaincy and suspended from the national team.
Personal life
Controversies
In November 2020, Los Pumas were criticised for not properly honouring the death of Diego Maradona in the game against the All Blacks, three days after his death. In the following days, several Twitter users found and shared racist messages published by Matera in his account. Matera's Twitter posts were made between seven and nine years earlier, when he was a teenager. In response, Matera deleted his social media accounts. He has since publicly apologised.
Both the Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas (DAIA) and the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) heavily condemned Matera’s tweets.