Following the conclusion of the 2024 Rugby Championship, we update you on the state of the participating nations. Next up, it’s Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina.

After an impressive Rugby World Cup in France – where they reached the semi-finals – Contepomi took over the coaching reins and there was a wave of optimism in Argentina ahead of their 2024 international season.

Wooden spoonists for most of their previous Rugby Championship campaigns – since joining the competition in 2012 – Los Pumas showed great improvement as they finished in third position with a 50% win record, which will boost their confidence for their remaining Tests this year.

Rugby Championship summary

After drawing their two-Test series with France in Argentina and clinching an emphatic away victory against Uruguay, there was plenty of optimism in Los Pumas‘ ranks ahead of the Rugby Championship campaign.

In the end, they made great strides as for the first time since they joined the competition Argentina beat Australia, New Zealand and South Africa during the same campaign and it was also the first year that they notched three victories during the tournament.

Los Pumas headed to New Zealand for their first two matches of this year’s Rugby Championship and made an excellent start to the tournament, claiming a shock 38-30 victory over the All Blacks in Wellington.

However, they could not sustain that momentum as they were on the receiving end of a backlash from the All Blacks in the corresponding fixture at Eden Park the following week, as the home side dominated from start to finish and eventually cruised to a 42-10 triumph and, in doing so, also stretched their unbeaten run at the famous venue to 50 Tests.

Argentina’s next match was against Australia in La Plata and Contepomi and his troops fancied their chances of returning to winning ways immediately against a Wallabies side who suffered back-to-back defeats against the Springboks on home soil.

Although they made a fast start – holding an early 10-0 lead – Los Pumas lost their way as the match progressed and eventually suffered a narrow 20-19 loss.

They put that disappointing result behind them and delivered arguably their best performance of the tournament when they met the Wallabies again in Santa Fe the following week, sealing an emphatic 67-27 triumph in which they outscored their hapless opponents by nine tries to three.

That result put them in a confident mood ahead of their next match against the world champions, South Africa, who left several of their first choice players at home for the encounter in Santiago del Estero.

Despite that, the Springboks still fielded a powerful run-on side and raced into a 17-0 lead inside 13 minutes, but a yellow card to Kurt-Lee Arendse changed the complexion of the match as the hosts came roaring back and eventually sealed a hard-fought 29-28 victory.

That meant the two teams headed to Mbombela for what was essentially a title decider, although Los Pumas had to play out of their skins to cause an upset as they needed to beat the world champions with a convincing bonus-point victory to lift the trophy as champions.

It wasn’t to be, however, as a highly motivated Boks team pitched on the day and outclassed Los Pumas in most facets of play en route to a one-sided 48-7 victory.

Although they finished the tournament on a disappointing note, Argentina delivered an impressive campaign and will feel they have not reached their ceiling yet under Contepomi’s guidance as there is plenty of room for improvement.

Standout players

Argentina’s improvement is largely due to a combined effort from the entire squad but the quartet of Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Tomas Al𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧oz and Santiago Chocobares were the players who stood out above the rest as they delivered outstanding performances at crucial stages of the campaign.

It’s no coincidence that experienced tearaway Matera’s best performances came during the respective victories over New Zealand, Australia and South Africa and by contrast they suffered their biggest defeat when he came off the bench and was red carded in their final match, against the Springboks.

Simply put, when Matera is at his best and his influence on the team is so huge that they tend to lose their way when he is not there, like in that second encounter against the Boks in Mbombela.

Brilliant on either side of the ball and one of the best breakdown exponents in the game, Matera has received good support from fellow back-row Gonzalez.

Like Matera, the Saracens star made his mark with superb attacking and defensive abilities while he also showed his class with his brilliance in the lineouts where he won valuable possession on a consistent basis.

Meanwhile, a lot of Los Pumas’ success on attack during this Rugby Championship was down to the outstanding playmaking s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s of backline stars Al𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧oz (fly-half) and Chocobares (inside centre).

Although he started the earlier rounds on the replacements bench, Al𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧oz was promoted to the run-on side by Round Four and the Benetton star delivered a brilliant attacking performance as Los Pumas thrashed the Wallabies 67-27 in Santa Fe. He possesses a superb attacking s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 set and is solid off the kicking tee.

He combined brilliantly with Toulouse stalwart Chocobares, who was the glue in Argentina’s backline, and apart from his brilliance on attack he also caught the eye with his excellence on defence.

Success story

While the emergence of young and inexperienced players like Gonzalez, Al𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧oz, Joaquin Oviedo, Gonzalo Garcia and Pedro Rubiolo has been a real positive, one can’t help but feel that notching victories over the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies was Los Pumas’ greatest success.

Beating three of the traditional powerhouses of the international game is no mean feat but to achieve it during the same tournament is a special achievement which will boost Argentina’s confidence in similar encounters in the future.

Contepomi will be delighted that his side have managed to do that and will be hoping to build on it as Los Pumas look to improve their stature in the global game.

Main regret

While Los Pumas have certainly emerged as one of the most improved sides in the global game with their impressive Rugby Championship performances, they are still a work in progress and their biggest regret is their inability to back up two outstanding results against New Zealand and South Africa.

After kicking off their campaign with that shock victory over the All Blacks in Wellington, they looked a totally different side when they faced the same opponents the following week in Auckland and suffered a big defeat.

It was a similar story against the Springboks, who they edged out in Santiago del Estero, but failed to replicate that performance in the corresponding match seven days later and were, once again, outplayed in most departments en route to a huge loss.

If they want to become a force in international rugby, then it’s imperative for Contepomi and his charges to beat the leading nations on a consistent basis and that will be their next challenge.

Results

Argentina v New Zealand (won 38-30)

Argentina v New Zealand (lost 42-10)

Argentina v Australia (lost 20-19)

Argentina v Australia (won 67-27)

Argentina v South Africa (won 29-28)

Argentina v South Africa (lost 48-7)