The Rugby Championship Players to Watch - Santiago Fernández

November 22, 2008 was a date that no Pumas fan had wished for. It was Argentina facing Ireland at Croke Park without both its flyhalves and its third choice player too. Having been named to start, Juan Martín Hernández had to withdraw from playing one hour before kickoff. Felipe Contepomi had been ruled out of the match with an infection in his arm, while Marcelo Bosch had undergone shoulder reconstruction surgery and was unavaliable. In place of these three European professionals Argentina gave a first ever test start to 22 year old Santiago Fernández. He was a promising player, based in Buenos Aires playing for the Hindú club. He had made his international debut one week earlier vs Italy in Los Pumas´ 22-14 win in Torino. Headcoach Santiago Phelan had brought in on in the late stages to get some game time and he played on the wing. 

Fernández was a part of the PladAR system at the time of his debut for Los Pumas. He had been identified as a player of the future and in May 2009 he played in Los Jaguares´ home series matches vs Namibia. It was not his first time playing for the Argentina A side, however, as he had made his first appearance in 2007 playing in the IRB Nations Cup in Romania where he took on Italy A, Namibia and South Africa A. Around the same time that Los Jaguares were playing Namibia, Felipe Contepomi was playing for Leinster vs Munster in the Heineken Cup Semi Final. Contepomi started the match strongly but injured his knee badly and was forced to undergo surgery. As such, Argentina would not be able to field the 10-12 combination of Hernández and Contepomi at all in 2009. Phelan selected Miguel Avramovic at 12 to face England in Manchester with Fernández on the bench. The following week, Phelan made changes after Argentina had been badly beaten, and he went for the 10-12 combination of Hernández and Fernández. Los Pumas´s win in Salta that day was a defining moment in the transition from Rugby World Cup 2007 to 2011. From the 2007 team only Hernández and Horacio Agulla remained in the backline. Gonzalo Camacho and Lucas González Amorosino were new comers to the team with Agulla playing at fullback. It was also the final test for Rimas Alvarez Kairellis.

Fernández vs Wales, 2009

The changes for the June series proved to be beneficial for November 2009 when Argentina faced an nothing less than an injury crisis in the backs. Contepomi had not recovered from injury yet while Bosch had returned to play fullback for Biarritz only to badly injury his knee and require reconstruction surgery. Hernández was also forced out, with a back injury he picked up playing in South Africa that required surgery. This saw Santiago Fernández moving from 12 to 10 where he started in a new combination with the uncapped Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga for Argentina´s tour of England, Wales and Scotland. The pair played the full 80 minutes of the three tests despite both being amateur players. The lack of international experience didn´t stop Argentina collecting a narrow in at Murrayfield. The match underlined both players as ones for the future. 

The following year saw the creation of Los Pampas XV and the teams involvement in South Africa´s Vodacom Cup. Before the season had started Fernández had been rumoured to being offered a deal to play Super Rugby for either the Stormers in South Africa or the Western Force in Australia. Neither rumour proved to be true but following his involvement in the Vodacom Cup he was signed on a two year deal for Montpellier to play in the French Top 14 in May 2010. The following month he was starting at inside centre for Los Pumas with Felipe Contepomi back from injury playing flyhalf and Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga playing fullback. Signs were positive as Argentina scored its biggest ever win over France. The same combination would go on to be used for Argentina´s November tour of Europe with Fernández starting vs Italy and France at inside centre. He was rested, however, for the test vs Ireland.

Fernández scores for Montpellier

In the meantime Fernández was a starter for a team making plenty of headlines in France, Montpellier. Fernández´s arrival for the 2010-2011 season had been to give the club depth as François Trinh-Duc needed a solid deputy. Within no time, however, Fernández was the clubs starting inside centre and his constant game time has seen him improve as a player. He has been used at flyhalf on occassion, when Trinh-Duc has not been avaliable and has proven to be a solid option for the club. Fernández at 12 was a tryscorer in Montpellier´s history making Semi Final triumph over Racing Métro last season. The teams success involved Fernández and two other Pumas - Martín Bustos Moyano and Juan Figallo. The 2011-2012 season has been just as good for Fernández with him again playing plenty of rugby, usually in the 12 shirt but also playing 10 and doing a good job in place of Trinh-Duc.

Following Rugby World Cup 2011 the team´s Argentine players has doubled from three to six with Agustín Creevy, Maximilano Bustos and Lucas González Amorosino all joining and playing regularly. The six players are all likely to feature in The Rugby Championship with Santiago Fernández looking a certainty for the match day 22 to, in the least, be wearing the teams number 21 shirt. The most logical scenario is for Fernández to play 12 outside Juan Martín Fernández but the form of Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga at 12 for Stade Français gives Santiago Phelan the luxury of having more quality options than ever before.

Week One: Juan Manuel Leguizamón

Week Two: Lucas González Amorosino

Week Three: Marcelo Bosch

Week Four: Agustín Creevy

Week Five: Juan Martín Hernández 
Week Six: Martín Bustos Moyano
Week Seven: Leonardo Senatore

Week Eight: Rodrigo Roncero
Week Nine: Gonzalo Camacho
Week Ten: Patricio Albacete
Week Eleven: Horacio Agulla
Week Twelve: Juan Figallo
Week Thirteen: Santiago Fernández
Week Fourteen: Tomás Cubelli

France vs Los Pumas confirmed for Lille

Earlier today it was announced by French rugby sources that the venue for November´ test match between France and Argentina will be the first ever rugby test at the brand new Grand Stade Lilld Métropole in Lille. The state of the art stadium is to have a capacity of 50,000 fans for soccer and rugby matches. It is being constructed as an official venue for Euro 2016 which will be hosted by France. The city is no stranger to international rugby but it has been over twenty years since a test was last played in Lille. The match will be played on November 17 in the Northern French city. It is to be the second test of the month for both teams with Argentina playing Wales in Cardiff seven days earlier and France facing Australia in Paris also on November 10th.

The last match in Lille saw New Zealand playing Canada in a 1991 World Cup Quarter Final and as such the city did not host matches during Rugby World Cup 2007, with neighbouring Lens hosting instead despite being a significantly smaller city. The match was played at the Stadium Nord Lille Métropole which has a capacity of just over 18,000. That stadium played host to four tests in total between 1986 and 1991. One of the matches was France vs Argentina with les Bleus winning 28-18 in 1988. The return to Lille will be the third match between the Latin rivals in 2012 after they will have faced each other in Córdoba and Tucumán in June. 

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Heineken Cup - Semi Finals Wrap

 
Ulster 22-19 Edinburgh

1999 Heineken Cup champions, Ulster are into the final after defeating Scottish side, Edinburgh in Dublin on Saturday. The match saw one try being scored per team with Ulster scoring a first half try and Edinburgh leaving it too late as the team´ try was in the 80th minute. Curiously, neither side will play in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 Semi Finals in May. The match was a reminder of the power of rugby with the Irish province of Ulster which, in effect, is essentially Northern Ireland winning the match in the capital of the Republic of Ireland. The venue, Aviva Stadium, attracted a strong crowd despite it being the Northern Irish team, the enemy of the Republic of Ireland in others sports including soccer. While the two Ireland´s are united in rugby and play without any political or religious issues the same is not true in soccer. Neil Lennon, for instance, retired from international duty with Northern Ireland in 2002 following death-threats from supporters  Following a statement of Lennon saying he wished to play for a combined Irish team. While soccer calls itself the beautiful game rugby is the gentlemans game. The USA´s Callum Black did not feature for Ulster while neither of Edinburgh´s Argentine players, Esteban Lozada and Ulises Gamboa, played either.

Clermont Auvergne 15-19 Leinster

Bordeaux was the venue for the second final with a packed stadium yet again in South-Western France.   Many Leinster fans made the trip for the match and it was a memorable match for them, unlike Ireland´s two matches at the same venue in Rugby World Cup 2007. It was far from being a Clermont Semi Final for this reason as the competition organizers srt aside a number o tickets for fans of each team making it closer to being a neutral macth than anything else. With Leinster winning it will be a Republic of Ireland vs Northern Ireland final with the match being played in London. Canada´s Jamie Cudmore started in the secondrow and played the full match for Clermont. He came close to scoring a try in overtime. It would have won the match for the French team. The Argentine-Italian centre, Gonzalo Canale, missed the match as he has been pushed out of the team due to France´s new worldclass centre, Wesley Fofana. Canale is rumoured to be leaving France to play in the Rabo Direct Pro 12 for the new Italian side set to replace Aironi for next season and beyond.

Leandro Cedaro - Future Puma to play in the Top 14?

After playing 50 matches for Mont de Marsan in France´s second division (Pro d2) young Argentine secondrower, Leandro Cedaro has signed a contract for rival club La Rochelle.  The Atlantic club is sitting in second position in the Pro d2 and is virtually certain to make the Semi Finals. With Grenoble already having won promotion to next seasons Top 14, the winner of the Pro d2 will be the second team entering France´s elite rugby competition. Aside from La Rochelle the other sides who look like making up the Semi Finalists, for finishing second - fifth in the Pro d2 regular season are Dax, Pau and Carcassonne. Mont de Marsan and Albi could also qualify potentially. Should La Rochelle win promotion Cedaro would find himself playing Top 14 rugby, an ideal situation for a player looking to break into intenrnational rugby. Carcassonne could have a future Pumas next season too with Alejandro Nazur set to join the club.

Cedaro´s future could well see him playing for Argentina as he has been in contact with Santiago Phelan. Standing at 1,95 metres tall and weighing 122KG Cedaro has the physique to be an international rugby player. The coming weeks will confirm whether he, indeed, has a chance of being a Puma. Such is the nail-bitting times for the 24 year old who could realize two dreams simultaneously - playing in the Top 14 and playing for Los Pumas.

What to do with Five Inform Wingers?

Horacio Agulla is in the form of his life this season with the Leicester Tigers. He has won the Player of the Month award twice and in addition to scoring six tries he has also been involved in creating others as he has been frequently going off his wing to be used to create options through the centres. Agulla is a working winger much more than being a finisher which explains why he has scored only four tries in his 34 test appearances for Argentina. Still aged only 27, Agulla is Argentina´s most experienced outside back and in 2009 was used as Argentina´s starting fullback. He made his debut as a 21 year old in 2005 vs Samoa.

Lucas González Amorosino scored the try of the World Cup last year to break Scottish hearts and has gone on to play outstanding rugby this season for Montpellier. His try vs Biarritz in his third game for the club set the tone for the rest of the season. Since the World Cup González Amorosino has played fifteen Top 14 matches and three Heineken Cup matches. He began the season on the right wing but has played every match since then at fullback, scoring six tries which all came with him ni the 15 shirt except for his sides home win over Racing Métro. González Amorosino stands a very good chance of winning the award for fullback of the year in the Top 14 and is highly likely to be used by Argentina in this position. He has played 14 tests and scored four tries for Argentina since his test debut vs Chile in December 2007.

Martín Bustos Moyano was left out of the World Cup squad due to carrying a minor injury during the lead up and because the coaches considered his skills to not be of the same level as other contenders. He is an accomplished player both as a winger and a goalkicker but is more famous because of the latter as he got Montpellier into the Top 14 Final last season, the first in the clubs history. The 26 year old has been used in all of the back-three positions by Montpellier and could, indeed, do the same for Argentina. He has only won one international cap, vs Chile in 2008 but his club career tells a different story altogether. He has played more rugby than any of the four other players, due to not playing in New Zealand 2011. This season Bustos Moyano has played 20 Top 14 matches, scoring 197 points including three tries. He has also played five Heineken Cup matches this season, scoring one try.    

Gonzalo Camacho is a player on form in England. Yesterday he was nominated for the award of Game Changer of the season in the Aviva Premiership. He was nominated alongside two other players,  making him one of the top three Game Changers in England and he stands a great chance of winning since the other two are from Sale Sharks, a club that has not impressed this season. The Exeter Chiefs winger has played 14 matches this season in the Aviva Premiership, scoring two tries - against London Irish and Northampton. Camacho has proven to be an 80 minute performer having only been replaced once all season and he has started every match that he played in for the Chiefs. He has also played four Amlin Challenge Cup matches this season and last season scored the winning try for the Harlequins in the final vs Stade Français. The 27 year old has thus far played 11 tests for Argentina, scoring four tries.

Juan Imhoff was an amateur but made the World Cup squad based on his performances for Los Pampas XV in the 2011 Vodacom Cup. His rise is an example of how far one can go in such a short amount of time. Imhoff is a speedster comparable perhaps to Wales´ Shane Williams in that he is small, but runs sharp lines and is difficult to stop. Racing Métro signed Imhoff as a Medical Joker as the club was missing players to injury but in no time he was able to break into the starting XV and has since been there permanently, scoring some great tries and regularly finding space. His first try, vs the Cardiff Blues has been followed by other great tries, the latest being vs Castres in early April. This season Imhoff has scored three tries in the Heineken Cup and three in the Top 14. He has played 18 matches this season for the Parisian club, starting thirteen times on the left wing, four times at fullback and coming into play once from the bench. Despite being a debutant he is a serious contender for the Top 14´s team of the year. Imhoff has played eight tests for Argentina, scoring nine tries. He is certain to be Argentina´s starting left winger this year and beyond as he is only 23 years old.

Could some play out of position?

Yes. Of the five players four have been used out of position for the English or French clubs. Agulla has played, on occassion at outside centre for Leicester and previously was used, at times, by Brive at fullback. Bustos Moyano has played on both wings and fullback for Montpellier while González Amorosino has been the clubs fullback to devastating effect this season. Imhoff was used at fullback but should be considered a specialist winger who can, if necessary, play fullback. 

Goalkicker?

Argentina´s weakness in recent years has been its goalkicking which was particularly clear in Los Pumas´ 13-9 loss to England in Rugby World Cup 2011. Neither Felipe Contepomi nor Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga was able to find the posts that evening in Dunedin and it cost Argentina victory. Argentina also had Santiago Fernández in the starting lineup and Marcelo Bosch was a first half replacement for Gonzalo Tiesi. Both players have been used, at times, to kick goals for their French clubs and have also kicked goals for Argentina. Neither player, however, is a reliable enough option and when both have played for Argentina outside Juan Martín Hernández the goalkicker has always been el Mago. 

Hernández is a better goalkicking option than Rodríguez Gurruchaga, Fernández or Bosch but not notably better. As such, an alternative goalkicker could well be the answer. In close matches goalkicking usually has a lot to do with who wins and who loses, Argentina were on the losing side in Dunedin for this reason. Should Argentina wish to field its best goalkicker then the player to look to would be Martín Bustos Moyano. The Montpellier goalkicker was one of the finds of the 2010-2011 season. His goalkicking accounted for 16 points in Montpellier´s 26-25 win over Racing Métro in the 2011 Top 14 Semi Final in Marseilles. His debut season saw the Córdoba winger score 283 points which made him the seasons third highest points scorer and the leading non-Frenchman. In the current season he has thus far scored 192 points underlining his crendentials as a goalkicker for Los Pumas.  

Could all five play together?

Yes it is indeed a possibility that may well have passed through the mind of Santiago Phelan. If he wanted to field them all it could happen with four starting and a fifth playing on the bench. Gonzalo Tiesi is currently in Pensacola, Florida training hard to return for Argentina this June. The Stade Français centre has only played two matches for the club this season due to injury. His spot could indeed be underthreat from not only Marcelo Bosch, who filled the void very well at the World Cup, but also Horacio Agulla who merits a starting place due to his form. This could see him move to the midfield. With González Amorosino appearing certain for the 15 shirt and Imhoff for the 11 shirt this would mean either Bustos Moyano or Camacho would play in the 14 shirt. If goalkicking is to be a true motivating factor in selection then Bustos Moyano should indeed start , probably, two out of the three June test matches.

The option of having such a lineup would work into the hands of Tati Phelan who has previously gone for the option of selecting a bench with only two back so that he could have the option of two props in he reserves. Should he indeed have Agulla at 13 and Amorosino at 15 then the need for an outside back reserve would appear to be nil. Argentina´s other players can more than make up for what is missing. Should Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga play 12 for Argentina like he has been for Stade Français all season then he could certainly be moved to 13 or 15 if need be. A player like Bosch would be the ideal number 22 in this situation as he has played 10, 12, 13 and 15 for Biarritz during his career with the club. 

Agustín Pichot´s try in 2007 Top 14 Final

Three months before the kick-off of Rugby World Cup 2007, Stade Français took on Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14 Final at the same venue as the sports showcase tournament´s opening fixture - the Stade de France. The match marked history with a foreign player, Agustín Pichot, captaining a team to glory in French rugby. Pichot´s try in the 68th minute was the first of the match and proved to be the turning point in the final as Clermont had been leading 15-9 with Australian Brock James responsible for all his teams points thanks to his goalkicking. The try  was a great way of showing kids the art of the scrumhalf position as Pichot bossed around his forwards to advance with the players doing what they were told. At the same time he remained in constant contact with his flyhalf and with Stade Français four metres from the try line and looking dangerous Pichot sold a dummy pass to his flyhalf which Clermont bought 

Pichot was joined by three fellow Pumas in the Stade Français team that evening. Rodrigo Roncero and Pedro Ledesma were the teams starting props and Juan Martín Hernández was the flyhalf. There was a forth Argentine in the team with the Argentine-Italian, Sergio Parisse coming off the bench in the secondhalf. Clermont also had three Argentine players with Mario Ledesma starting at hooker and Martín Scelzo at tighthead prop and backrower Gonzalo Longo entered the match as a secondhalf replacement. 

Hernández was the player of the match and was in the best form of his career he landed the conversion to put Stade Français in the lead. Clermont reclaimed the lead with James landing his sixth penalty but it was to be Stade Français´day as Hernández threw a long cut out pass to Australian international Radiki Samo who dived over in the corner. With Hernández´s conversion, the Parisians claimed the title with a 23-18 victory.

For complete highlights of the match see here.

Stade Français pay tribute to Rodrigo Roncero

The loss of Rodrigo Roncero to global rugby is comparable to reent retirement of Welsh Wizard Shane Williams or South Africa´s Victor Matfield. Such is the talents of Roncero who had the drafts of loosehead prop play understood perfectly and was extremely well regarded and respected by the global rugby public. However, the true measure of a player is often not what is seen on tv but what occurs behind the scenes. The off-field things which usually never get revealed. It is the respect that ones teammates have for a player which are at the heart of the true values of rugby and Roncero was respected by his peers in the highest regard. 

The following video was posted on the official site of Stade Français. Merci Rorro!

Merci Rodrigo Roncero - Stade TV
 Les joueurs ont tenu à remercier Rodrigo Roncero pour l'ensemble de sa carrière au Stade Français Paris.

Mots-clés : stade français paris rugby hommages messages rodrigo roncero

Video de adminstade

Merci Rodrigo Roncero - Stade TV

England 2015 Qualifying - NACRA Update

Rugby World Cup Qualification in the Americas is proving to be a highly unpredictable task as despite having started with a convincing 68-14 win over Jamaica in Mexico City, los Serpientes have been eliminated following a 46-13 loss against the Cayman Islands in Grand Cayman. Curiously, the Cayman Islands lost 19-18 against Jamaica, the same side that Mexico utterly took apart. The results mean that Jamaica and Mexico are out and will take no further part in Rugby World Cup 2015 qualification while the Cayman Islands have advanced to the next round where they will meet Bermuda and the Bahamas.

Elsewhere in NACRA qualification Barbados have succeeded in advancing to the next round after the Caribbean country smashed fellow West Indies country, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 51-0 to win the two match series 85-3 on aggregate. The result means that Barbadoes are going to face Trinidad and Tobago as well as Guyana in May in the next round of the qualifaction series. Qualifying will continue on May 05 with Trinidad and Tobago vs Barbados vs Barbados taking place in the Port of Spain.

The winner of the NACRA section of Rugby World Cup qualification will face the winner of CONSUR B which will involve Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Venezuela. There is still a long way to go, however, to determine which of Barbados, the Bahamas, Bermuda the Cayman Islands, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago will advance to face the winner of CONSUR B.

NACRA Qualification Wrap

Eliminated: Jamaica, Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Advancing: Barbados, Cayman Islands

Upcoming matches

May 05 Trinidad and Tobago vs Barbados, Port of Spain
May 19 Barbados vs Guyana, venue tba
May 19 Bermuda vs Cayman Islands, Hamilton
June 02 Guyana vs Trinidad and Tobago, Georgetown
June 09 Bahamas vs Bermuda, Nassau


Jamaica vs Cayman Islands

Gonzalo Camacho gives Exeter good start but the Chiefs fall short

Second try of the season for Gonzalo Camacho

Argentine winger, Gonzalo Camacho had a slow start to the season and took until round 19 to score his first try for the Exeter Chiefs. But after such a long wait for his first try, Camacho had now scored two in three matches as he went over for the first try of the match vs the Northampton Saints at Sandy Park on Sunday. Camacho showed his speed and agility to get past to get past the first tackler and then after going down together with two other defenders he had the presence to get up and dive over for the try. Despite being tackled, Northampton had failed to secure him on the ground, allowing him to score the five pointer.  

The match was a key game as it determined which of the two clubs would go into the final round of the Aviva Premiership in the Top Four. With the win, Northampton now appear certain to join Harlequins, Leceister and Saracens in the Semi Finals. The bonus point loss was not a sad day for Exeter, however, as the club in just its second season of top flight rugby has guaranteed itself an appearance in next seasons Heineken Cup as the club  is secure in the top six regardless of what happens in the final round of play. 

The Rugby Championship Players To Watch - Juan Figallo

Following the retirement of Omar Hasan in 2008 Argentina were left with a massive burden that some felt could not possibly be filled. New Pumas headcoach, Santiago Phelan named two new props in his squad for Argentina´s November tour that year. They were Juan Orlandi and Juan Figallo. Orlandi was playing his rugby in Italy for Rovigo and he was considered by Argentine assistant coach and Rugby World Cup 1999 and 2003 prop Mauricio Reggiardo as being a player of real potential. Orlandi´s chance came in the first test of the November tour when he started vs France at tighthead prop. His performances were not to the level of Hasan or the injuured Martín Scelzo but he, nevertheless, impressed enough to attract the interest of Top 14 club Racing Métro. The Parisian club signed him for the 2009-2010 season and he remains at the club today. His place in Los Pumas, however, proved to not be long term as he lost the Pumas tighthead position in June 2009 and has been unable to win it back. Phelan did not select Orlandi for Rugby World Cup 2011 instead opting for the youthful pair of Juan Figallo and Maximilano Bustos to join the experienced trio of Rodrigo Roncero, Martín Scelzo and Marcos Ayerza. 

The same season that Orlandi joined Racing Métro was also the same time that Figallo joined Montpellier to also play at the elite level in France. Figallo had toured Europe in November with Los Pumas but had been selected as a young player, aged only 21 and did not recieve any game time. Phelan had picked the young Salta prop as he saw great potential in him but did not think the timing was correct for him to play at the senior level. He would, infact, have to wait 24 months to make his test debut as he was injured for the November 2009 tour of Europe and therefore missed out altogether. His debut came vs France from the bench in Argentina´s record breaking 41-13 victory vs France. He then featured vs Italy and France in November 2010, again both times from the bench. Debuting vs France is not a normal thing as while Figallo debuted vs France, virtually all other Pumas made their first appearances vs South American opposition. 

Figallo at loosehead prop for Montpellier

With Phelan leaving out Orlandi from Argentina´s World Cup squad it came as a surprize to many to see five props named. Orlandi had been seen as a bench player and a possibility to start vs Romania and Georgia at tighthead prop. Phelan had other ideas and he shocked many people by naming Figallo at tighthead prop to face Wales in Argentina´s only official warm-up match before Rugby World Cup 2011. Figallo was starting for Argentina for the first time ever and it was Argentina´s last match before taking on England to open the World Cup campaign for both teams. Figallo´s selection was not such a surprize, howver, to followers of French rugby. His inclusion in the starting XV was welcomed but it did have an unexpected side to it as he had been used all season for Montpellier at loosehead prop. Figallo was a key player for Montpellier in the teams history making appearance in the Top 14 Final last season. He went up against the highly regarded Samoan prop, Census Johnson in the frontrow. The 130KG monster was on the backfoot, however as Figallo controlled the scrums and also ahd a highly visible performance around the park. He recieved plenty of praise from the French media and live commentary during the final. 

Figallo, Ledesma and Roncero

The result was that he had gone ahead of veteran 35 year old Martín Scelzo and had earned Argentina´s #3 shirt. In New Zealand 2011 he proved to be the right choice as he lived up to the reputation of being a Pumas tighthead prop and made the #3 shirt his own. Figallo  packed down in the frontrow with the veteran pair of Rodrigo Roncero at looshead prop and Mario Ledesma at hooker. Figallo won the award for being the best player from Pool B in the World Cup and started every match of the World Cup for Argentina. He stood out in the scrums and on defence. He also came within an inch of scoring a try vs England. Had he scored, Argentina would have gone on to win the match. The following week he went over for a try vs Romania, his first in international rugby. 

With Argentina set to play twelve tests in 2012 and debut in The Rugby Championship the skills of Figallo will become more known than ever before. His physique is ideal for a tighthead prop and he has the potential to really stand out and deliver for his country. Teams facing Argentina who are not strong in the frontrow could suffer greatly with Australia appearing to be such an example as the Wallabies continue to lack players of quality at both loosehead and tighthead prop. Figallo is now likely to lead Argentina forward together with Marcos Ayerza and Agustín Creevy as the new look frontrow. 

Week One: Juan Manuel Leguizamón

Week Two: Lucas González Amorosino

Week Three: Marcelo Bosch

Week Four: Agustín Creevy

Week Five: Juan Martín Hernández 
Week Six: Martín Bustos Moyano
Week Seven: Leonardo Senatore

Week Eight: Rodrigo Roncero
Week Nine: Gonzalo Camacho
Week Ten: Patricio Albacete
Week Eleven: Horacio Agulla
Week Twelve: Juan Figallo
Week Thirteen: Santiago Fernández

Rodrigo Roncero scores in final appearance in Paris

Roncero leaves with captain Parisse for the last time in Paris. rugbyrama.fr

The professional future of Rodrigo Roncero is coming to a close. This season will be his last as a professional and appropriately he scored the first try of the match for Stade Français vs Perpignan in Paris on Saturday. The try was scored from an overthrown Perpignan lineout which Roncero caught and dived over to the delight of his teammates. Fellow Argentine internationals, Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga and Felipe Contepomi were quick to congratulate him as was the Argentine-Italian, Sergio Parisse but it was a try celebrated by all Stade Français players and supporters. Coach Michael Cheika was ful of compliments before and after the match and was wearing a Merci Rorro t-shirt during the match to pay tribute to the 35 year old Puma.

Having played for the Parisian club since 2004, Roncero is now to return to Buenos Aires to raise his three daughters and to take up a career as a doctor. In Rocnero´s postmatch interview he was very emotional as held his two year old daughter and had his two elder daughters either side of him. Roncdro´s eight year stay in France has seen him win the French Championship with the dominant Stade Français team in 2006-2007. He was considered the best prop of Rugby World Cup 2007 and many also considered him to still be the best around in 2011. While his club future will end in May, unless Stade Français qualify for the Top 14 Orange Final, his international future remains unknown. In an interview with espnscrum Roncero said he will be talking with coach Santiago Phelan over the coming days to confirm whether or not he will play in The Rugby Championship. The same site also posted an interview with Roncero who talked (in Spanish) about his career in Paris.

Aviva Premiership - Round 21 Wrap

Try Scorer Gonzalo Camacho

Newcastle Falcons 3-9 Saracens

Several months ago the bottom of the table Newcastle Falcons would have been happy to host the reigning champions, Saracens, and come away with a bonus point loss. Considering the form of the Falcons recently and the teams high chances of being relegated the team could only feel disappointed in losing by six points to the London based side. But the Falcons still have one final chance, in the final round vs second from the bottom London Wasps. The loser of the match will officially be relegated. Saracens fielded two players from the Americas in the match with USA Eagles fullback, Chris Wyles playing at outside centre and the Argentine-Italian prop, Carlos Nieto coming into the match as a second half replacement. 

Gloucester 19-24 Sale Sharks

The miserable season from Gloucester continues as the team lost another home match and dropped to eighth position in the standings. With it the clubs chances of qualigfying for the 2012-2013 Heineken Cup have  all but ended as the team, together with Bath, sits five points behind the Sale Sharks in sixth position. A miracle will need to occur for either Gloucester or Bath to qualify in place of Sale. 

Bath 17-12 London Wasps

The London Wasps had a golden opportunity to secure the clubs survival in the Aviva Premiership and got off to a great start as three Nicky Robinson penalties put the Wasps ahead 9-0. Bath then took control of the match scoring all three tries of the contest to complete a victory. USA Eagles centre, Paul Emerick did not play as he continues his recovery from a minor injury. 

Worcester Warriors 16-25 London Irish Exiles

Two teams out of contention for a place in next seasons Heineken Cup played in what was really a match for nothing at Sixways Stadium in Worcester. The win for the Exiles was enjoyed by the players but they are really just looking forward to start again for the 2012-2013 season. Canadian World Cup secondrower, Jebb Sinclair did not feature for London Irish.

Harlequins 33-43 Leicester Tigers

Another match to underline why the Leicester Tigers are the dominant force in English rugby this season. The club, since reciving its players back from World Cup duty has been far too good for opponents. Last week the club knocked over the Northampton Saints in Northampton and this week the Tigers were too good for the competition leaders, the Harlequins at the clubs home ground in London. The Quins had been leading 33-26 after 50 minutes but the Tigers stayed switched on and won another match without too many issues. The match features three players certain to be involved in Argentina´s international season starting in June. Horacio Agulla played on the right wing and Marcos Ayerza at loosehead prop with both players playing the full 80 minutes. Tomas Vallejos Cinalli played in the secondrow for the Harlequins, coming off the bench in the 67th minute. The Argentine-Italian prop, Martín Castrogiovanni also featured, as a 54th mionute replacement for the Tigers.

Exeter Chiefs 15-18 Northampton Saints

The Chiefs and Saints swap positions in the standings after the visitors completed a three point win at Sandy Park in Sunday´s only match. Both sides are certain to compete in the 2012-2013 Heineken Cup but only one of the two will be in this seasons Aviva Premiership Semi Finals. It is a bitter-sweet scenario for Pumas supporters as if the Chiefs fail to make the Semi Finals it guarantees the avaliability of the clubs two Argentine backs for all thee internationals this coming June. The sides two players are certain to feature with Ignacio Mieres being, arguably the find of the season in the Aviva Premiership, having made the Exeter flyhalf postion his own and done a lot to get the team to where it is now. He started at flyhalf, playing the full 80 minutes and scored five points: one penalty and one conversion. He was joined on the scorers sheet by Gonzalo Camacho, with the Argentine World Cup winger scoring his second try of the season. USA secondrower, Samu Manoa did not feature for the Saints.

Aviva Premiership Standings
1 Harlequins 71
2 Leicester 70
3 Saracens 68
4 Northampton 60
5 Exeter Chiefs 59
6 Sale Sharks 49
7 Bath 44
8 Gloucester 44
9 London Irish 41
10 Worcester 36
11 London Wasps 32
12 Newcastle 28

* Play-off´s spots
* Heineken Cup placings
* Facing Relegation


Newcastle vs Saracens


Gloucester vs Sale


Bath vs Wasps


Worcester vs London Irish


Harlequins vs Leicester



Exeter vs Northampton

Rabo Direct Pro 12 - Round 21 Wrap

van der Merwe returns to secure victory for Glasgow. glasgowarriors.org

Ospreys 31-12 Newport Gwent Dragons

The Ospreys secured a home Semi Final with a comfortable victory over Welsh rivals, the Dragons in Swansea. The four tries to zero win included two penalty tries with the Dragons being unable to score a try at all. The Ospreys will take on the third ranked team in a home Semi Final, with the match probably being against Munster. A USA age grade player is likely to feature for the Welsh region in the match as Hanno Dirksen continues his run in the 14 shirt. 

Ulster 8-16 Leinster

The all-Irish clash of the weekend has likely ended Ulster´s chances of a Semi Finals appearance as the Northern Irish province was unable to collect any competition points from the eight point loss. Both Leinster and Ulster will play in next weekends Heineken Cup Semi Finals and it is the European competition that has the interested of the Irish as the clubs field significantly weaker sides for matches in the Rabo Direct Pro 12. The USA´s Callum Black did not feature for Ulster. Leinster will host the fourth ranked team in a Semi Final. The probable opponent is the Glasgow Warriors. 

Connacht 19-16 Aironi

A heart-breaking loss for the Italians in Galway as a late try by the Irish province gave Connacht the victory and confirmed Aironi as the wooden spooners for the second time in a row. The Italian franchise now has one final match before being dismantled and replaced by a differnt Italian side in next seasons Rabo Direct Pro 12 and Heineken Cup competitions. The new teams remains unknown but has been rumoured to be based in Rome. Argentine-Italian flyhalf, Luciano Orquera put in a good showing, kicking eleven points for Aironi. A second Argentine player started with Matías Aguerio playing in the frontrow.

Scarlets 20-20 Munster

Welsh region the Scarlets completed an unlikely draw in Llanelli to keep its faint chances of a play-offs appearance alive. Both teams scored two tries each but Munster really ought to have won this match as the Irish province was leading 20-10 after 55 minutes of play. Both teams face difficult final round matches with the Scarlets taking on the Cariff Blues in a must win contest and Munster facing Ulster.

Cardiff Blues 38-13 Edinburgh

While the Celtic-Italian League will account for three of the four teams in the Heineken Cup Semi Finals, the rugby would not appear to be of a better quality than that shown by the leading teams in the Aviva Premiership or the Top 14 Orange. With the competition having no relegation teams have no reason to field their stars and in many cases the league functions as match practice for the Heineken Cup. Edinburgh will take on Ulster in a Heineken Cup Semi Final despite sitting in tenth place in the Rabo Direct Pro 12. the team was badly beaten by Welsh region, the Cardiff Blues as it fielded a team vastly different from that which will compete next weekend. Neither of Edinburgh´s Argentine players recieved game time vs the  Cardiff Blues. 

Benetton Treviso 8-13 Glasgow Warriors

A late win in Italy seems to have confirmed the Glasgow Warriors place in the Semi Finals. A miracle of some kind is required now to remove the Warriors from the Final Four as the Scottish club has four point points than the Scarlets and five more than Ulster. For either side to go ahead of Glasgow they need to win with a bonus point and need the Warriors to lose its final match of the regular season. The possibility of this ahppeneing is low considering the Glasgow will play host to Connacht. Glasgow´s victory in Treviso  came thanks to a late try and it was a player from the Americas doing the business as the returning Canadian, DTH van der Merwe went over for the 77th minute try. He had come on from the bench in the 60th minute. His try was a great solo effort scored from a 40 metre run. The USA also had a player on the field for the Scot´s with Tommy Seymour starting on the right wing. Argentina´s Federico Martín Aramburu did not feature however. Treviso fielded Canadian-Italian Robert Barbieri in the backrow, he started at 8. Argentina´s Ignacio Fernández Rouyet also played for Treviso as a replacement late in the match. Flyhalf Alberto di bernardo was unused from the bench.

Rabo Direct Pro 12 Standings
1 Leinster 77
2 Ospreys 67 
3 Munster 62 
4 Glasgow 61
5 Scarlets 57
6 Ulster 56
7 Cardiff 50
8 Connacht 37
9 Treviso 36
10 Dragons 35
11 Edinburgh 27
12 Aironi 20

* Semi Finals placings

Ulster vs Leinster


Benetton Treviso vs Glasgow Warriors

French Top 14 - Round 24 Wrap

Rodrigo Roncero scores for Stade Français stade.fr

Round 24 of the 2012-2013 French Top 14 confirmed Lyon OU´s relegation back to the Pro d2 after the club lost its bottom of the table clash with Bayonne. The result means France´s second largest city´s stay in the elite of French rugby has been restricted to a single season. It is not yet clear as to which team will be joining Lyon OU in the second division next season but it would appear to be either Bayonne or Brive as the two clubs are tied on 42 points, with both Perpignan and Bordeaux-Begles three points ahead in the standings.  The two remaining rounds are going to be highly nervous times for these clubs with a key match taking place between Brive and Bordeaux-Begles. Bayonne have the tough prospect of facing Agen and then Castres in its final two matches. The highest likelihood would therefore be that Bayonne will be the team joining Lyon in the Pro d2. There is also the remote possibility that any team from the eighth ranked Agen to teams with fewer points being relegated as Bayonne and Brive could both win up to ten points from their remaining matches. 

Clermont 22-9 Montpellier

Yet another home win for the central French side sees Clermont go into its Heineken Cup Semi Final next weekend with confidence. Clermont will take on Irish province, Leinster in Bordeaux with the winner to face either Ulster or Edinburgh for Europe´s ultimate prize in Twickenham in May. Both Clermont and Montpellier were forced to field some second choice players. Clermont was without captain Aurelin Rougerie, Julien Malzieu and Canada´s Jamie Cudmore. Montpellier was missing François Trinh-Duc and  Georgia´s Mamuka Gorgodze. for the match Santiago Fernández played flyhalf rather than inside centre and left the field injured in the secondhalf. He had kicked two penalties after taking over the duties from Martín Bustos Moyano who after kicking an early penalty was also forced from the field with an injury. A third Argentine back started in the line with Lucas González Amorosino playing fullback. Montpellier´s three Pumas frontrowers also recieved game time with Agustín Creevy starting at hooker and Juan Figallo at loosehead prop. Maximilano Bustos came on at tighthead prop in the 62nd minute. USA centre, Seta Tuiveluka is set to return to the team shortly. He got married this weekend!

Bordeaux-Begles 29-15 Agen

A vital win in this derby match could well prove the difference for Bordeaux-Begles as the club has come to be threatened with relegation again following Bayonne´s surprizing two wins over the past two weeks. The club responded well by playing its best match in quite some time to score a bonus point win. Two former Pumas back featured in this match with Rafael Carballo playing the full 80 minutes on the right wing for Bordeaux-Begles and Miguel Avramovic coming off the bench in the 47th minute for Agen to play in the centres. Both are possibilities for Argentina in The Rugby Championship as injury covering players.

Lyon 19-20 Bayonne

Lyon never should have lost this match. Incredibly, Lyon held a 19-7 lead at halftime and failed to score a point after the interval. The teams lack of a quality flyhalf had a lot to do with the downfall of Lyon but the season has been a learning curve and the club should return to the Top 14 stronger after recruiting better players. The club has already confirmed the arrival of Sebastien Chabal. he is not the player he once was but he is certain to be highly influencial in the locker room. The match featured Argentine backrower, Juan Manuel Leguizamón who played the full 80 minutes for Lyon in the 8 shirt.

Stade Français 35-31 Perpignan

Stade Français gave a perfect home send-off to the long time serving loosehead prop, Rodrigo Roncero. The 35 year old turned down an offer to extend his contract with the club to instead return home to Argentina with his wife to raise his three daughters. It also appears that he will retire from all rugby, handing the Argentine number 1 shirt to Marcus Ayerza of Leicester. Roncero scored the first try of the match, going over in the 29th minute after he caught a Perpignan lineout which was overthrown. He was joined by his international captain, Felipe Contepomi who continued his 10-12 partnership with Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga. All three started with Roncero being replaced in the 78th minute. The USA also had a player involved for the Parisians with Scott LaValla playing the final five minutes. The Argentine-Italian, Sergio Parisse played in the backrow too. At the start of the match Roncero and Dimitri Szarzewski entered the fieled together, both playing for the final time in a ome Stade Français match.

Toulouse 30-21 Brive

Brive had been leading 18-15 at half time and looking the goods for a victory but Toulouseps goalkicking got the underperfoming French powerhouses home in the end and prevented Brive from collecting a bonus point. As such Brive are now facing the reality of being relegated The club now must defeat Bordeaux-Begles next round or hope for a miracle away victory over Clermont in the final round. A strong candidate for the Pumas captaincy, Patricio Albacete put in another solid showing as he played the full 80 minutes in the secondrow for Toulouse. Pumas scrumhalf, Nicolás Vergallo did not feature for Toulouse and the chance of him facing his Argentine rival, Agustín Figuerola did not eventuate as Brive also left him outside of the match day 23. Former Pumas loosehead prop, Pablo Henn returned to start in the frontrow for Brive. The result means Toulouse and Clermont are confirmed in the Semi Finals and will have a bye round during the barrage play-off´s 

Biarritz 22-13 Racing Métro

After Racing Métro scored a try in the 52nd minute it looked as though this was going to be a Parisian victory. The relegation threatened Biarritz side dug deep, however, as the Basque side responded with a dropgoal to Damien Traille and the returning Marcelo Bosch then sealed the match with a perfect long pass to the USA´s  Taku Ngwenya in the 71st minute. Bosch came on as a replacement for Biarritz and played the final quarter of the contest. Ngwenya started and was playing against Argentine winger, Juan Imhoff. The battle of the two speedsters was interesting with Ngwenya having to, on two occassions in the second half, use all his speed to stop Imhoff from what would have otherwise been tries. Francisco Gomez Kodela continues to look more and more like a Puma as he played the full match at tighthead prop for Biarritz and was impressive at scrum time. The Argentine pair of Manuel Carizza and Eusebio Guiñazú were both unused from the bench for Biarritz. Racing Métro had five Argentine players with Imhoff being joined in the backs by Juan Martín Hernández who played the full 80 minutes at flyhalf. El Mago was let down by his inside centre as Fabrice Estebanez had a poor showing. Juan Orlandi came on in the 66th minute to play tighthead prop for the Parisians while Alvaro Galindo was a 60th minute replacement in the backrow.  The Argentine-Italian Santiago Dellapé started in the secondrow. 

Toulon 25-25 Castres
A strange performance from the home team may allowed Castres to collect a draw from this match and as such complicate matters greatly for Stade Français. Toulon had been leading the match 25-6 and looked in firm control but the team´s star imports failed to deliver and despite scoring three tries to one Castres managed to fight back to collect a draw as the Scotland of French rugby did it again. Jonny Wilkinson had a lot to do with Toulon´s failure as he landed only 4 of his 7 attempts at goal, missing a simple penalty for his tandards late in the match which would have meant a Toulon victory. The draw puts Castres on 61 points, two ahead of Racing Métro in 6th place and four points ahead of Stade Français. With only the top six making the play-off´s it would appear that Castres are now safe but the club faces Clermont next round. Los Pumas´ backrower, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe continues his come back from knee surgery and came on in the 54th minute for Toulon. Uruguay´s Rodrigo Capó Ortega did not feature for Castres.

Top 14 Orange Standings
1 Clermont 82
2 Toulouse 82
3 Toulon 65
4 Montpellier 62
6 Castres 61
6 Racing Métro 59
7 Stade Français 57
8 Agen 48
9 Biarritz 47
10 Bordeaux 45
11 Perpignan 45 
12 Brive 42
13 Bayonne 42
14 Lyon 31

* Play-off´s spots
* Threatened with relegation
* Relegation confirmed

Clermont vs Montpellier

ASM-Montpellier : Le Résumé por asm

Agen Tries (Bordeaux-Begles vs Agen)


Stade Français vs Perpignan

Résumé du match Stade Français USAP Avril 2012 por USAP_Communication

Toulouse vs Brive


Toulon vs Castres

Résumé Toulon-Castres por rctoulon

Martín Durand try vs France in 2004

Martín Durand

Former Argentine international backrower, Martín Durand was a small player for a forward but was well rounded with the techniques of the position. He stood at 1,81metres tall and weighed in at 96KG in his final year of international rugby. Durand was a long time serving player for his country, playing 60 tests in an international career that lasted eleven years and included two World Cup´s, 2003 and 2007. He made his test debut in 2007 vs Chile and was a try scorer. In total he scored nine tries for Argentina with possibly his try vs France in 2004 being the highlight. It was the first time that France had ever been defeated in a rugby match in the city. It was a key victory for Argentine rugby as captain, Agustín Pichot, famously called for the world to take notice, making reference to Los Pumas´lack of interational competition as the only Tier One side without a regluar competition, i.e. not a part of the Tri Nations or Six Nations Championships. 

In defeating France, Durand went over for the first try after Argentina´s frontrow which was comprized of Rodrigo Roncero, Mario Ledesma and Omar Hasan, had destoryed France´s scrum. Los Pumas won a tighthead from a French put-in five metres from the try line. With the scrum twisting French scrumhalf, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde was unable to secure the looseball and Durand went over for the try. Argentina won the match 24-14. Durant was also a try scorer in the 25-19 loss to New Zealand in 2006. Durand was also a professional player for four years, playing in the French Top 14 for Montpellier from 2003-2007. 

Preview France-Argentine 3 por Ju-for-rugbys

Alejandro Nazur to play for Los Pumas?

With Leonardo Senatore returning to Los Pampas XV Argentina are left with just three backrowers playing in the Top 14 Orange - Alvaro Galindo, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamón. Alejandro Nazur could be a fourth. The 21 year old backrower from the Northern Argentine city of Tucumán has been playing his rugby since 2010 in France for the espoirs (under 23 team) for Pro d2 side Aurillac. His future may well be in the Top 14 Orange, however, as he could well be on his way to play for Carcassonne next season. The club, located between Montpellier and Perpignan,  is in fifth place in the Pro d2 standings and as it stands will qualify for the Semi Finals with the teams ranked from second - fifth competiting for the right to joining Grenoble in next seasons Top 14. Aurillac, in contrast is well down the ladder and out of contention to advance to the Top 14 next season. 

Carcassonne is coached by former French international Christian Labit who played at Rugby World Cup 2003. Labit has his eyes on Nazur and has made an offer to the young Argentine player. Nazur´s potential involvement in the Top 14 would greatly increase his chances of national honors for Argentina. Alejandro Nazur is uncapped. Should he he selected by Santiago Phelan he would join Alvaro Galindo, Nicolás Sánchez and Julio Farías Cabello as Pumas players from Tucumán. His chances of being selected may well be stronger than at first impression as Julio Faráis Cabello may well be used as a secondrower not a backrower by Phelan this year. 

Huge boost set for USA Rugby Sevens

Los Angeles Home Depot Center confirmed to host Sevens Events

With rugby returning to the Olympic Games the rumours have constantly been suggesting that big changes will occur for global rugby with the USA set to be one of the biggest winners. The rumours have been varied and perhaps the most interesting being said is the possible creation of of a professional Rugby Sevens circuit in the United States. The possibility of this taking place appears to be far stronger than a mere rumour and the potential of it, indeed, being realized has increased significantly following the announcement earlier this week that Grand Prix Entertainment Inc will, in partnership with USA Rugby, be the exclusive US broadcast partner for Grand Prix´s 2003 professional Sevens Championships in July.

Grand Prix Entertainment, Inc is a sports and entertainment company with its headquarters being in Los Angeles, California. The company is set to be involved with wholesale changes to the state of rugby in the United States with a massive influx of money set to possibly see the sport grow extensively in the country.  The Grand Prix network will shortly announce a set of events which it will produce in conjunction with USA Rugby. One change has already been confirmed with with Los Angeles´ Home Depot Center already having been confirmed as a venue to host a global Rugby Sevens event. 

The CEO of USA Rugby, Nigel Melville welcomed the announcement and was quoted on the official site of USA Rugby as saying “When I came to the U.S. five years ago I believed Rugby could become a major U.S. professional sport. Olympic inclusion and now a broadcast partner in NFL Network takes USA Rugby and our partners at Grand Prix all that much closer to the dream.”.

For further information see the official announcement on USA Rugby here