The Argentina national rugby league team (formerly nicknamed the Penguins but now the Jabalis) represent
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in the sport of
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
football.
History
Argentina first played rugby league in 2005 when the Australian Police Rugby League Association organised a tour to
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. The Australian Police team played two games against Argentina. The first was a 40-4 win for the Australian Police, with a crowd of 87 people attending. The second game was a 60–6 win for the Australian Police with a crowd attendance of 71.
The sport then remained dormant in the country for over 10 years before being revived in 2016 amidst a number of other South and Central American nations taking up the sport. Argentina saw its first domestic activity for a decade in November 2016 when it hosted the Primer Torneo Sudamericano de Rugby League, a slightly modified
9-a-side tournament in
Miramar involving the national teams of Argentina and
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, as well as a number of select sides from around the region which were bolstered by the
Latin Heat
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
organization. The final of the event was between the Argentinian and Chilean national teams, with Argentina winning 16-0.
In 2017, with great effort from the players and coaching staff, Argentina traveled to Chile by bus, to be in the inaugural Latinoamericano Championship. This was the first time that a Latin American championship was played with 13 players a side, three referees and full RLIF tournament rules. This event gave Argentina their first chance to earn World Ranking points and debut in the International Rankings. Argentina's first match of the tournament was a 36-6 win over
Colombia. This win earned a spot in the Final against Chile with Argentina losing 32-12 to a team sporting a number of heritage players from
Australia. The Argentinian team for the tournament was wholly made up of players from development and social leagues and no heritage players.
2018 saw Argentina playing in the Confederação Brasileira de Rugby League Festival in
Sao Paulo
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U ...
, beating Colombia 28-16 before losing to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in the final by 22-20 despite leading 14-20 at one point.
In March 2024, Argentina was granted Observer Member status by the
International Rugby League.
Current squad
Squad selected for
2018 South American Rugby League Cup
The 2018 South American Rugby League Championship will be held in São Paulo, Brazil and is going to be held on the 23rd to the 25th of November 2018. The tournament is the inaugural South American Championship. The teams participating in the tour ...
;
[https://www.asiapacificrl.com/2018/11/22/argentina-announce-squad-for-south-american-cup/ Argentina squad South American Cup]
*Juan Ignacio Canepa
*Marcelo Villalba
*Emiliano Rodriguez
*Ares Martinez
*Ariel Cosso
*Facundo Lizarzuay
*Lucas Escobar
*Gaston Barrera
*Dario Moyano
*Ulises Silva
*Nahuel Lajmanovich
*Leandro Donato
*Sergio Espinola
*Dylan Moreira
*Juan Carlos Blumetti
*Ernesto Di Nucci
*Leandro Kwiczor
*Brian Avejera
See also
*
Rugby league in Argentina
References
External links
*
{{International Rugby League
Rugby League
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
National rugby league teams
Rugby league in Argentina
South American national rugby league teams