Jaguares (Super Rugby)

Not to be confused with Argentina Jaguars, the Argentina national second / 'A' team that participated in competitions like the Nations Cup.
Jaguares
Union Argentine Rugby Union
Nickname(s) The Jaguares
Founded 2015
Location Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ground(s) Estadio José Amalfitani (Capacity: 49,540)
CEO Greg Peters
Coach(es) Raúl Pérez
Captain(s) Agustín Creevy
Most caps Santiago García Botta and
Guido Petti (13)
Top scorer Nicolás Sánchez (123)
League(s) Super Rugby
2016 3rd (Africa 2 Conference)
5th (South African Group)
13th (overall)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.jaguares.com.ar
Estadio José Amalfitani at the Jaguares home debut versus Chiefs in the 2016 Super Rugby

The Jaguares are a professional rugby union team based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were founded in 2015 and are the first Argentine team to play in SANZAAR's Super Rugby competition, participating from the 2016 Super Rugby season onwards.

History

Following on from impressive performances by Argentina in international rugby union competitions, such as a third-placed finish in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the governing body of rugby in Argentina, the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR), campaigned for inclusion in SANZAR's Tri Nations competition. In 2011, it was announced that the competition would be expanded to include Argentina, which resulted in the competition being rebranded as The Rugby Championship[1] and Argentina competed in the competition for the first time in 2012.

However, there was no professional league in Argentina per rules of the Argentine Rugby Union. The UAR launched a team called the Pampas XV that participated in the South African Vodacom Cup competition from 2010 to 2013, winning the competition in 2011 with an 11-match unbeaten run.[2] The team withdrew from the competition at the end of 2013 due to financial considerations,[3] but was relaunched to participate in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2014 onwards.[4] They won the competition in 2014[5] and 2015 (as the rebranded World Rugby Pacific Challenge).[6]

Despite the performances of the Pampas XV, the UAR still campaigned to have teams included in the Super Rugby competition.[7][8] Since SANZAR sold the existing Super Rugby package to its broadcasters for the period 2011–15, it meant that no changes to the format would be permitted until the 2016 season.[9]

In 2013, SANZAR CEO Greg Peters announced that Super Rugby would be expanded in the 2016 season, adding that South African franchise the Kings would be one of the expansion teams.[10] In early 2014, SANZAR confirmed that Super Rugby would be increased from 15 to 18 teams starting from the 2016 season, with an Argentinian team getting one of the additional spots. It was confirmed that the team would be based in Buenos Aires and that they would participate in the South African Conference.[11] Japan was granted the license for the 18th franchise in October 2014[12] and the new expanded format and three new teams were formally approved by the SANZAR Executive Committee in November 2014.[13]

Season summaries

The following table summarises the Jaguares' results in their Super Rugby seasons:

Competition name Season Played Won Drawn Lost PF PA Log position C R-up SF QF Coach Captain
Super Rugby 2016 15 4 0 11 376 427 13 of 18 0 0 0 0 Raúl Pérez Agustín Creevy
Legend: PF = Points for, PA = Points against, C = Champions, R = Runners-up, SF = Semi-final appearance, QF = Qualifying final appearance.

Name and colours

The name was initially scheduled to be revealed at the end of July 2015, before being postponed to after the 2015 Rugby World Cup. On 16 December 2015, it was announced that the team would be known as the Jaguares. The name Jaguares was chosen to represent cunning, skill and power. According to the Jaguares official website: "Their sharp instinct and their intelligence make the Jaguares the ideal symbol for our team."[14] The name is also a tribute to the crest of the Argentine Rugby Union, which appears on the jerseys of all Argentina national teams, and as a direct Spanish translation to the nation side Jaguars.[15]

Curiously enough, the chosen name Jaguares is the direct Spanish translation to Jaguars, an English word that saw its origins in the South American languages Tupi, Guaraní, Spanish and Portuguese. Being its Spanish version Yaguares or Yaguaretés written always with Y, the first appearances of the word written with a J were after transliterations to Saxon languages, mainly English as in Jaguar.

Stadium

The José Amalfitani Stadium during a rugby match between Argentina 'A' and England 'A' in 2013.

The Jaguares are based in Buenos Aires and their home ground is the 49,540-capacity Estadio José Amalfitani.

Current squad

For player movements before and during the 2017 season, see List of 2016–17 Super Rugby transfers § Jaguares.

The UAR have announced several players that have been contracted to represent the team during the 2016 Super Rugby season:[16]

Jaguares Super Rugby squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wingers

Fullbacks

(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped and TG denotes Training Group players.

Staff

The following coaching team was announced by the Argentine Rugby Union for the 2016 Super Rugby season:

Name Title
Raúl Pérez Head Coach
Felipe Contepomi Assistant Coach
José Pellicena Assistant Coach
Martín Gaitán Assistant Coach

See also

References

  1. ↑ ""The Rugby Championship" to replace Tri Nations". rugby.com.au. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "Pampas XV win Vodacom Cup!". SuperSport. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Pampas out of Vodacom Cup". Sport24. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "Plantel de Seniors para la temporada 2014" (Press release) (in Spanish). Unión Argentina de Rugby. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Argentina Pampas win Pacific Rugby Cup". Asia Rugby Football Union. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Argentina Pampas defend Pacific Challenge title". World Rugby. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Super Rugby may accept Argentinian teams in 2016". Guardian. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Pichot: Argentina in Super Rugby is a no brainer". SuperXV. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Super Rugby going global". Sydney Daily Telegraph. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "SANZAR boss Greg Peters confirms South Africa will get a sixth Super Rugby franchise from 2016". Herald Sun. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "Search begins for 18th Super Rugby team" (Press release). SANZAR. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Super Rugby: Japan chosen to host new franchise from 2016". BBC. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Japan and Argentina officially join Super Rugby" (Press release). SANZAR. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Why Jagueres?". Jaguares. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Google Translate". translate.google.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  16. ↑ "Plantel los Jaguares". Jaguares. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.

External links

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