2012 France rugby union tour of Argentina

Argentina experienced a strong start in the 2011 Rugby World Cup with a rather successful pool stage, finishing runners-up to England with three wins (over Georgia, Romania and Scotland) and a narrow loss to England (9-13). However the Pumas were unable to capitalise on it when they met future World Champions the All Blacks in the quarter-finals, losing 33-10.

France, on the other hand, experienced a rather slow start in the competition with two wins (over Japan and Canada) and two losses (to New Zealand and Tonga), finishing runners-up to New Zealand on the virtue of a greater tally of bonus points than Tonga (who also finished with two wins and two losses). However France produced a stronger showing in the knock-out stages, beating England in the quarter-finals (19-12), Wales in the semi-finals (9-8) and losing with the narrowest of margins to New Zealand in the final (8-7).

Due to the World Cup neither team played any Test in the 2011 end of year tests. On 2 January 2012 France was ranked 3rd in the IRB World Rankings while Argentina stood in the 7th place.

France experienced a disappointing 2012 Six Nations Championship with two wins (over Italy and Scotland), two losses (to England and Wales) and a draw (with Ireland), finishing 4th overall.

As a result on 2 April France had dropped to the 6th place in the IRB Rankings while Argentina remained on the 7th spot.

As part of Italy's Summer Tour of Americas and prior to the arrival of the French team, Argentina played a Test against Italy on Saturday 9 June in San Juan. Argentina won the game 37-22.[3]

Before the first test between France and Argentina they remained respectively on the 6th and 7th spot in the IRB Rankings.

Serge Betsen's XV FB 15 Pepito Elhorga RW 14 Dave Vainqueur OC 13 Romain Cabannes IC 12 Damien Traille LW 11 Jean-Baptiste Gobelet FH 10 Andrew Mehrtens SH 9 Byron Kelleher N8 8 Chris Masoe OF 7 Jean Monribot BF 6 Serge Betsen (c) RL 5 Gambo Adamou LL 4 Kirill Kulemin TP 3 Tim Payne HK 2 Benoît August LP 1 Benoît Lecouls Replacements: HK 16 Benjamin Noirot PR 17 Jérémy Castex PR 18 Fabien Barcella LK 19 Bernard N'Nomo FL 20 Oscar Limani UB 21 Benjamin Dambielle UB 22 Paul Warwick UB 23 Julien Laharrague WG 24 Marvin O'Connor Coach: David Ellis

XV du Président FB 15 Brice Dulin RW 14 Yoann Huget OC 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou IC 12 Maxime Mermoz LW 11 Benjamin Fall FH 10 Frédéric Michalak SH 9 Maxime Machenaud N8 8 Raphaël Lakafia OF 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo BF 6 Wenceslas Lauret RL 5 Romain Taofifenua LL 4 Pascal Papé (c) TP 3 David Attoub HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski LP 1 Yvan Watremez Replacements: HK 16 Arnaud Héguy PR 17 Antoine Guillamon PR 18 Yannick Forestier LK 19 Alexandre Flanquart N8 20 Damien Chouly SH 21 Florian Cazenave FH 22 François Trinh-Duc CE 23 Henry Chavancy WG 24 Romain Martial Coach: Philippe Saint-André

• 6 players from the XV du Président (all among the replacements) were not originally included in the French squad that toured Argentina. Arnaud Héguy, Yannick Forestier, Alexandre Flanquart, Damien Chouly, Florian Cazenave and Henry Chavancy respectively replaced Christopher Tolofua, Vincent Debaty, Yoann Maestri and Christophe Samson, Louis Picamoles, Morgan Parra and Wesley Fofana and Florian Fritz, on club duty for the Top 14 playoffs. (Jean-Marcellin Buttin was also on club duty but no additional player was called to replace him as Brice Dulin filled the full-back position.)

Philippe Saint-André announced his 28-man France squad for the June tour to Argentina. Several key faces were rested, including captain Thierry Dusautoir.[7]

• Caps updated before the June tour. Ages are as of the first Test on 16 June.

Head Coach: Philippe Saint-André

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Dimitri Szarzewski	Hooker	(1983-01-26)26 January 1983 (aged 29)	61	Stade Français
Christopher Tolofua	Hooker	(1993-12-31)31 December 1993 (aged 18)	0	Toulouse
David Attoub	Prop	(1981-06-07)7 June 1981 (aged 31)	2	Stade Français
Vincent Debaty	Prop	(1981-10-02)2 October 1981 (aged 30)	6	Clermont
Thomas Domingo*	Prop	(1985-08-20)20 August 1985 (aged 26)	17	Clermont
Antoine Guillamon	Prop	(1991-06-04)4 June 1991 (aged 21)	0**	Lyon
Yvan Watremez*	Prop	(1989-04-21)21 April 1989 (aged 23)	0	Biarritz
Yoann Maestri	Lock	(1988-01-14)14 January 1988 (aged 24)	5	Toulouse
Pascal Papé (c)	Lock	(1980-10-05)5 October 1980 (aged 31)	40	Stade Français
Christophe Samson	Lock	(1984-03-01)1 March 1984 (aged 28)	0	Toulon
Romain Taofifenua	Lock	(1990-09-14)14 September 1990 (aged 21)	0	Perpignan
Alexandre Lapandry	Flanker	(1989-04-13)13 April 1989 (aged 23)	6	Clermont
Wenceslas Lauret	Flanker	(1989-03-28)28 March 1989 (aged 23)	1	Biarritz
Fulgence Ouedraogo	Flanker	(1986-07-21)21 July 1986 (aged 25)	25	Montpellier
Raphaël Lakafia	Number 8	(1988-10-28)28 October 1988 (aged 23)	3	Biarritz
Louis Picamoles	Number 8	(1986-02-05)5 February 1986 (aged 26)	26	Toulouse
Maxime Machenaud	Scrum-half	(1988-12-30)30 December 1988 (aged 23)	0	Agen
Morgan Parra	Scrum-half	(1988-11-15)15 November 1988 (aged 23)	41	Clermont
Frédéric Michalak	Fly-half	(1982-10-16)16 October 1982 (aged 29)	54	Sharks
François Trinh-Duc	Fly-half	(1986-11-11)11 November 1986 (aged 25)	40	Montpellier
Geoffrey Doumayrou	Centre	(1989-09-16)16 September 1989 (aged 22)	0**	Montpellier
Wesley Fofana	Centre	(1988-01-20)20 January 1988 (aged 24)	5	Clermont
Florian Fritz	Centre	(1984-01-17)17 January 1984 (aged 28)	20	Toulouse
Maxime Mermoz	Centre	(1986-07-28)28 July 1986 (aged 25)	17	Perpignan
Benjamin Fall	Wing	(1989-03-03)3 March 1989 (aged 23)	2	Racing Métro
Yoann Huget	Wing	(1987-06-02)2 June 1987 (aged 25)	7	Bayonne
Romain Martial	Wing	(1984-11-13)13 November 1984 (aged 27)	0**	Castres
Jean-Marcellin Buttin	Fullback	(1991-12-16)16 December 1991 (aged 20)	1	Clermont
Brice Dulin	Fullback	(1990-04-23)23 April 1990 (aged 22)	0	Agen

Note*: After he sustained an injury in the First Test, Yvan Watremez was replaced in the squad by Thomas Domingo. (Philippe Saint-André originally planned to call up Castres prop Yannick Forestier but the latter was touring Japan with the French Barbarians and no satisfactory travel arrangement could be made, hence prompting the return of Domingo in the French squad after he sustained an important injury prior to the 2011 Rugby World Cup which prevented him from taking part in the competition and playing the major part of the 2011-2012 season with his club.)[8]

Note**: Although they took part in the warm-up fixture, Geoffrey Doumayrou, Antoine Guillamon and Romain Martial failed to appear in any of the Tests, thus remaining uncapped at the end of the Tour.

Coaching and Management Team

Position	Name	Nationality
Head Coach	Philippe Saint-André	France
Forwards Coach	Yannick Bru	France
Backs & Defence Coach	Patrice Lagisquet	France

Argentina's 29-man squad named for the 2012 June Tests against Italy and France. Coach Santiago Phelan decided not to select any player involved in the Top 14 playoffs, reserving his best squad for the upcoming 2012 Rugby Championship.[9] Esteban Lozada was a late addition to the squad after his recovery from injury.[10]

Head Coach: Santiago Phelan

• Caps updated before tour. Ages are as of the first Test on 16 June.

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Andrés Bordoy	Hooker	(1982-12-30)30 December 1982 (aged 29)	3	Pau
Eusebio Guiñazú	Hooker	(1982-01-15)15 January 1982 (aged 30)	8	Biarritz
Francisco Gómez Kodela	Prop	(1985-07-03)3 July 1985 (aged 26)	3	Biarritz
Pablo Henn	Prop	(1982-07-15)15 July 1982 (aged 29)	2	Brive
Bruno Postiglioni	Prop	(1987-04-08)8 April 1987 (aged 25)	0	La Plata
Rodrigo Roncero	Prop	(1977-02-16)16 February 1977 (aged 35)	44	Stade Français
Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro	Prop	(1989-06-11)11 June 1989 (aged 23)	3	Stade Français
Rodrigo Bruno	Lock	(1987-05-15)15 May 1987 (aged 25)	2	Villa Maria
Santiago Guzmán	Lock	(1989-01-11)11 January 1989 (aged 23)	5	Tucumán
Esteban Lozada	Lock	(1982-01-08)8 January 1982 (aged 30)	17	Edinburgh
Benjamin Macome	Lock	(1986-01-10)10 January 1986 (aged 26)	3	Tucumán
Rodrigo Báez	Flanker	(1989-02-08)8 February 1989 (aged 23)	0	Liceo
Tomás de la Vega	Flanker	(1990-09-28)28 September 1990 (aged 21)	3	CUBA
Julio Farías Cabello	Flanker	(1978-09-19)19 September 1978 (aged 33)	8	Tucumán
Genaro Fessia	Flanker	(1981-07-22)22 July 1981 (aged 30)	11	Córdoba
Tomás Cristian Leonardi	Number 8	(1987-07-01)1 July 1987 (aged 24)	6	SIC
Leonardo Senatore	Number 8	(1984-05-13)13 May 1984 (aged 28)	3	Toulon
Tomás Cubelli	Scrum-half	(1989-06-12)12 June 1989 (aged 23)	0	Belgrano
Martín Landajo	Scrum-half	(1988-06-14)14 June 1988 (aged 24)	6	CASI
Felipe Contepomi (c)	Fly-half	(1977-08-20)20 August 1977 (aged 34)	65	Stade Français
Ignacio Mieres	Fly-half	(1987-04-06)6 April 1987 (aged 25)	0	Exeter Chiefs
Gabriel Ascarate	Centre	(1987-08-20)20 August 1987 (aged 24)	3	Natación
Matias Orlando	Centre	(1991-11-14)14 November 1991 (aged 20)	0*	Huirapuca
Benjamín Urdapilleta	Centre	(1986-03-11)11 March 1986 (aged 26)	2	Harlequins
Belisario Agulla	Wing	(1988-05-23)23 May 1988 (aged 24)	5	Agen
Facundo Barrea	Wing	(1989-03-10)10 March 1989 (aged 23)	0	Córdoba
Agustín Gosio	Wing	(1983-03-17)17 March 1983 (aged 29)	2	London Scottish
Manuel Montero	Wing	(1991-11-20)20 November 1991 (aged 20)	0	Pucara
Roman Miralles	Fullback	(1983-08-01)1 August 1983 (aged 28)	4	Duendes
Joaquín Tuculet	Fullback	(1989-08-01)1 August 1989 (aged 22)	0	Sale Sharks

Note*: Matias Orlando failed to appear in any of the Tests against both Italy and France, thus remaining uncapped at the end of the Tour.

Coaching and Management Team

Position	Name	Nationality
Head Coach	Santiago Phelan	Argentina
Assistant Coach	Fabián Turnes	Argentina
Backs Coach	Martín Gaitán	Argentina
Forwards and Scrum Coach	Mauricio Reggiardo	Argentina

On 25 June 2012 (after all mid-year Tests had been played) France stood at the 5th place (their best ranking since March 2012) in the IRB Rankings (thanks to their second test comprehensive victory over the Pumas and Wales' loss to Australia in their third test) while Argentina had dropped to the 8th spot (their worst ranking since March 2012).

From August to October 2012, Argentina competed in the inaugural Rugby Championship (the new incarnation of the Tri Nations Series) with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, finishing bottom of the table with a draw (at home against the Springboks) and five losses. On 8 October 2012 France and Argentina remained respectively at the 5th and 8th places of the IRB World ranking.

As part of the 2012 end of year tests the Pumas toured Wales, France and Ireland, playing one Test against each union.[11] They beat the Welsh but lost to the two other unions while France recorded three straight wins (against Australia, Argentina and Samoa). At the end of their Tests France had climbed to the IRB rankings 4th place, their best ranking since February 2012, while Argentina had dropped to the 9th place, their worst ranking since September 2011. However following the fourth week of Tests (of which Argentina and France were not part) Argentina climbed back to the 8th place thanks to Wales' defeat by Australia over the weekend.

As a result on December 3 for the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool Draw France was drawn in Pot 1 while Argentina was drawn in Pot 2 and they ended up in Pool D and C respectively, meaning they will not meet before the Quarter Finals.

From February to March 2013, France competed in the Six Nations Championship (the 14th series following this format) with England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Wales, finishing bottom of the table with one win (at home against Scotland), a draw (in Ireland) and three losses (at home to Wales, in England and Italy). On 18 March 2013 France has dropped to the 6th place in the IRB rankings while Argentina remained on the 8th place.

As part of the 2013 mid-year tests, France will tour New Zealand in a Three-Test Series[12] while Argentina will host England in a Two-Test Series and Georgia for a one-off Test.

• 2012 mid-year rugby test series