Argentina National Rugby Union Team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR, from the Spanish: Unión Argentina de Rugby).
Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British Isles team. As of October 2011 they are ranked 7th in the world by the IRB, making them the highest-ranked nation in the Americas. They have competed at every Rugby World Cup staged since the inaugural tournament of 1987, and the country is undefeated against all American nations, with the exception of Canada, against whom they have suffered two losses out of eight test matches.
Although rugby union is nowhere near as popular as football in Argentina, Los Pumas' impressive results since the 1999 World Cup have seen the sport's popularity grow significantly. Argentina has achieved several upset victories, are tough contenders when playing in Buenos Aires, and are fully capable of regularly defeating Six Nations sides. A surprise victory over the hosts France in the first game of the 2007 World Cup took Argentina to fourth in the IRB World Rankings. The team were undefeated in their pool, and reached the semi-finals for the first time, beating Scotland 19–13 in their quarter-final. They were defeated 37–13 by eventual winners South Africa in the semi-finals, but followed this up with a second win over France to claim third place overall.
In March 2008 the team reached an all-time high of third in the IRB World Rankings. As of 23 March 2001 Argentina ranked fifth in the world behind Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, but have since slipped to 8th place.
After their advances in competitiveness and performance during the 2000s, coupled with their location in the Southern Hemisphere, Argentina has been invited to play in the 2012 The Rugby Championship tournament against the national teams of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
After Marcelo Loffreda left following the 2007 Rugby World Cup to take up the head coaching job at Guinness Premiership club Leicester Tigers, the UAR spent nearly five months searching for a successor until opting for a two-coach setup, with former Pumas Santiago Phelan and Fabián Turnes taking over.
Read more about Argentina National Rugby Union Team: Colours, Symbol and Name, Home Grounds, Recent Call Ups, Coaches
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