Jaguares (Super Rugby)

The Jaguares is an Argentinian professional rugby union team based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They were founded in 2015 and are the first Argentinian team to play in SANZAAR's Super Rugby competition, participating from the 2016 Super Rugby season onwards. They were the runners up during the 2019 Super Rugby season, losing to the Crusaders 19–3 in the Super Rugby Final, played on July 6, 2019. They participated in Super Rugby until the end of the 2020 Super Rugby season, before they departed the competition having not been named in any of the regionalised formats for the 2021 Super Rugby season.

Not to be confused with Argentina Jaguars, now known as Argentina XV, the Argentina national second / 'A' team that participates in competitions such as the Americas Rugby Championship.
Jaguares
UnionArgentine Rugby Union
Nickname(s)The Jaguares
Founded2015 (2015)
LocationBuenos Aires, Argentina
RegionArgentina
Ground(s)José Amalfitani Stadium (Capacity: 49,540)
Coach(es)Gonzalo Quesada
Captain(s)Jerónimo de la Fuente
Most capsAgustín Creevy (30)
Top scorerNicolás Sánchez (392)
League(s)Super Rugby
20203rd (South African Conference)
8th (Overall) (season abandoned)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.jaguares.com.ar

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]

Super Rugby

In 2013, SANZAR CEO Greg Peters announced that Super Rugby would be expanded in the 2016 season, adding that South African franchise the Southern 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. 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] In 2018 the team recorded 7 wins in a row. In 2019 the team played their first ever Super Rugby final against the Crusaders in Christchurch where the Jaguares were defeated 19-3.

Team results by season
Jaguares season by season record
Season Pos Finals P W L D F A -/+ BP Pts
2016 13th — 15 4 11 0 376 427 –51 6 22
2017 10th — 15 7 8 0 404 386 +18 5 33
2018 7th Qualifiers 17 9 8 0 432 458 –26 2 38
2019 2nd Runners Up 19 13 6 0 461 352 109 7 51

Player scoring records
Season Most tries Most points
Name Tries Name Points
2016 Agustín Creevy
Martín Landajo		 6 Nicolás Sánchez 142
2017 Agustín Creevy 5 Nicolás Sánchez 89
2018 Emiliano Boffelli
Bautista Delguy		 10 Nicolás Sánchez 161

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 Spanish translation to the nation side Jaguars.[15]

The name Jaguares is cognate with the English 'jaguars', which originates in the South American languages Tupi, Guaraní, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Spanish version yaguares or yaguaretés is always written with an initial y, and 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.
José Amalfitani Stadium during the Jaguares' home debut versus New Zealand's Chiefs (2016 Super Rugby season)

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

2020 squad
For player movements before and during the 2021 season, see List of 2020–21 Super Rugby transfers § Jaguares.

The squad for the 2020 Super Rugby season was:[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, DEV denotes a development squad player, ST denotes a short-term signing.
All team players are Argentine, unless otherwise noted.

    Current coaching staff

    The following coaching team was announced by the Argentine Rugby Union for the 2020 Super Rugby season:

    Name Title
    Gonzalo Quesada Head Coach
    Juan de la Cruz Fernández Miranda Assistant Coach
    Andrés Bordoy Assistant Coach

    Previous coaches
    Since introduction in 2016
    Coach Period G W L D % Honours Ref.
    Raúl Pérez 2015 – 2017 30 11 19 0 036.67
    Mario Ledesma October 10, 2017 – August 1, 2018 17 9 8 0 052.94 [17][18]
    Gonzalo Quesada August 9, 2018 – present 19 13 6 0 068.42 [19][20]

    Jaguares XV

    In June 2019, it was confirmed that a Jaguares' development team called Jaguares XV would participate in the First Division of the Currie Cup, South Africa's premier domestic championship.[21] Following the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 Currie Cup was delayed and the first division of the competition cancelled, meaning the Jaguares XV didn't compete in 2020.[22] For the 2021 season, the Jaguares XV will compete in Súper Liga Americana de Rugby, replacing Ceibos as Argentina's franchise in the competition.[23][24] On 23 January, it was confirmed that Ignacio Fernández Lobbe would coach the side in the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season. Fernández Lobbe had previously coached Ceibos in the 2020 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season.[25]

    The Jaguares XV squad for the 2021 Súper Liga Americana de Rugby season is:[26]

    Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

    Player Position Union
    Ignacio Ruiz Hooker Argentina
    Nicolás Toth Hooker Argentina
    Martín Vaca Hooker Argentina
    Javier Díaz Prop Argentina
    Francisco Minervino Prop Argentina
    Beltrán Salese Prop Argentina
    Esteban Sciandro Prop Argentina
    Joel Sclavi Prop Argentina
    Mayco Vivas Prop Argentina
    Federico Wegrzyn Prop Argentina
    Juan Pablo Zeiss Prop Argentina
    Tomás Bernasconi Lock Argentina
    Rodrigo Fernández Criado Lock Argentina
    Federico Gutiérrez Lock Argentina
    Franco Molina Lock Argentina
    Marcelo Toledo Lock Argentina
    Lautaro Bavaro Flanker Argentina
    Juan Martín González Flanker Argentina
    Francisco Gorrissen Flanker Argentina
    Juan Cruz Pérez Rachel Flanker Argentina
    Santiago Ruiz Flanker Argentina
    Javier Ortega Desio Number 8 Argentina
    Joaquín Oviedo Number 8 Argentina
    Player Position Union
    Felipe Ezcurra Scrum-half Argentina
    Rafael Iriarte Scrum-half Argentina
    Tomás Albornoz Fly-half Argentina
    Teo Castiglioni Fly-half Argentina
    Martín Elías Fly-half Argentina
    Bautista Farise Fly-half Argentina
    Juan Pablo Castro Centre Argentina
    Tomás Cubilla Centre Argentina
    Leonardo Gea Salim Centre Argentina
    Gerónimo Prisciantelli Centre Argentina
    Agustín Segura Centre Argentina
    Tomás Acosta Pimentel Wing Argentina
    Martín Cancelliere Wing Argentina
    Sebastián Cancelliere Wing Argentina
    Tomás Malanos Wing Argentina
    Juan Bautista Daireaux Fullback Argentina
    Julián Quetglas Fullback Argentina
    Lautaro Sánchez Rubio Fullback Argentina
    • Senior 15s and senior 7s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
    • * denotes players qualified to play for the Argentina on dual nationality or residency grounds.

    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. Archived from the original on 28 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. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. 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. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
    15. "Google Translate". translate.google.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
    16. "Jaguares comienza la pretemporada" (Press release) (in Spanish). Jaguares. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
    17. "Mario Ledesma to become head coach of Los Jaguares". Sky Sports. October 10, 2017.
    18. "Mario Ledesma returns to Argentina to take over as head coach of the Jaguares". News.com.au. October 11, 2017.
    19. "Jaguares appoint Quesada as head coach". Yahoo Sports. August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
    20. "'Speedy Gonzalo' returns to Argentina as Jaguares coach". Rugby.com.au. August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
    21. "Se confirmó el fixture para la First Division de la Currie Cup" (Press release) (in Spanish). Jaguares. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
    22. Byron, George (24 July 2020). "Currie Cup First Division rugby canned for 2020". Herald Live. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
    23. "Jaguares to play in Súper Liga Americana de Rugby". Americas Rugby News. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
    24. @JaguaresARG (23 January 2021). "¡Vuelve #JaguaresXV, vuelve el rugby a la región! El equipo participará en la @SLARugby junto a las franquicias de Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay y Uruguay en el certamen continental que se disputará, entre el 16 de marzo y el 15 de mayo, en dos sedes fijas a definir" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 January 2021 – via Twitter.
    25. "Prominent Argentine names confirmed as head coaches for all SLAR teams". Americas Rugby News. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
    26. "Jaguares XV". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
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