Author: Marcelo Cardozo

Australia, for the first time in what seem like forever, have retained the same starting XV, while Argentina are still in search of their first victory in the Rugby Championship. THE FORM Wallabies After a hard start being beaten by the All Blacks in Sydney, the Aussies have been improving game by game, playing an almost perfect game in Dunedin (New Zealand) to then drawing twice against the strong South African team. The statistics are blunt, Australia has lost only once against Argentina since the Rugby Championship has started. However, the Wallabies fans are not entirely in agreement with some…

The Force beat the Jaguares in one of their most glorious games. They arrived in Buenos Aires with only two victories in the competition this year, and with the pressure to fight to survive in the tournament. Reading the newspapers, they seemed an easy rival for a team with many test players who had only lost one game at home this year. Against all unfavourable predictions, more than 12,000 kilometers away from home, after travelling from Durban to play in front of fans who did not come to cheer them, and without some top players – the Force gave a…

The Jaguares will face an Aussie team for the second time in its history The Form After a tough win against the Sunwolves, the Jaguares will play the Western Force, a side that fights to survive. The Jaguares returned to victory after the intense South African tour and now have the obligation to be the protagonists at home facing a franchise with few Wallabies in their squad. The Force has lost its last three games and are not in a comfortable position in the Australian Conference. Aussie rugby is facing an unprecedented crisis, being crushed by their lifelong rivals, the…

Los Jaguares were disappointing in their first Super Rugby season but they are preparing to surprise everyone in their second campaign. Last year They had poor results in 2016 and could not qualify for the finals. The won only four games— against the Cheetahs, Kings, Bulls and Lions—and in their last victory turned the finals series upside down. But they had some close losses which made people wonder what might have been., All their victories were against South African Conference teams; they could not beat any New Zealand sides in their five games against them. That was no disgrace but…

FIRST HALF The first half of the game was a slow grinding affair more akin to a game being played in the mud. Argentina conceded a penalty at the breakdown that allowed the Scots to the first points on the scoreboard through the foot of Greig Laidlaw. Both teams made a lot of errors and were suffering from taking poor options. It was not until the 25th minute that the next scoring opportunity presented itself allowing Laidlaw to add another 3 points to the Scots tally. The game continued in the same vein without much action in the red zone…

After an incredible performance against Australia, Scotland will seek to maintain intensity and achieve a third win in a row vs Argentina. The form Scotland Following the intense match against the third-ranked team in the world, Scotland will seek to repeat that fine performance and defeat the Pumas in Edinburgh. The Scots beat the Argentineans in the last two clashes in 2014, first in Cordoba (Argentina) and then in Edinburgh (Scotland), where they meet again this weekend. Embed from Getty Images  Scotland – defended strongly against the Wallabies After a poor effort in the last Six Nations tournament, Scotland beat…

FIRST HALF The Welsh team was the dominant horse at all times and took a deserved victory after last week’s painful defeat against the Wallabies. Both teams made many mistakes but it was the Europeans who were able to take better advantage of the errors of their rival. The first half was very close, with both teams defending with great determination, the Welsh clearly dominated the first 40 minutes but could not put it on the score board. After a penalty by Leigh Halfpenny in their own 22, Nicolas Sanchez scored the first 3 points for the Pumas. The response…

A beaten Welsh team with the determination to win face an Argentinian team coming off a resounding victory in Japan. This looks to make for a tough and close match. RECENT FORM WALES: After suffering a real beating in their own home, the Welsh team must stand up and win a difficult game against the Pumas. Last weekend the Welsh had one of their worst performances in recent years and were outclassed by the Wallabies in all facets of the game. This performance generated much disappointment and concern among their followers, because of this result the Welsh lost two positions…

The All Blacks remain on track for a Rugby Championship clean sweep after putting away a spirited but inaccurate Los Pumas 36-17 in Buenos Aires. I was at the ground and it was the same old story: the game started with some Argentine movements that made the local public dream that this could be the big night when the Pumas would beat the All Blacks for the first time ever, but over time the hopes of the crowd were dashed by the good All Blacks’ performance at the end of the first half.. Los Pumas scored more points than the…

Can the Pumas achieve their first victory against the powerful All Blacks and join the exclusive list of teams that have achieved it? The form Argentina Los Pumas played at a high level against the South Africans, defeating them in Salta and nearly doing so earlier in Nelspruit. Then came the hard tour of Australasia, where they were defeated by the All Blacks and then by the Wallabies. Some Argentine players have shown great performances despite the results, and one of them is Facundo Isa who is challenging Kieran Read as the foremost no. 8 in the competition and, dare…

On a golden afternoon in the city of Salta, the Pumas managed to remove the thorn from their paw and beat the mighty Springboks at home for the first time ever. Last week they were only eight minutes away from victory and the squad vowed not to make the same mistakes. First half The Pumas began the game with the right attitude, trying to overpower their opponents from the first second, but after an arm wrestle of 20 minutes Herrara (3) was yellow carded and Jantjies kicked the goal for South Africa to lead 3-0. However Argentina deserved all the…

Argentina are looking their first victory at home against South Africa in eleven attempts. If successful it will be their third victory in the Rugby Championship, having beaten the Springboks in Durban last year, and Australia in Mendoza in 2014. Argentina With more defeats than victories, it was a tough year for the Pumas players appearing for Los Jaguares in their first season of Super Rugby.  But it was all part of learning for them and for Argentine rugby—and it strengthened them in the professional game. Daniel Hourcade, the Pumas’ Head Coach, must have been reasonably satisfied with the performance…

In an historic day for Argentine rugby, the Jaguares made their long-awaited debut in Super Rugby, the most important rugby competition of the southern hemisphere and probably the world’s toughest rugby tournament. “Never give up” is the phrase that sums up the Jaguares’ game in Bloemfontein. First half The start was fast with a lot of adrenaline and many mistakes from both teams in their first game of the season. The first big error for the Argentine team was a loose pass from Nicolas Sanchez which led to an intercept try by Francois  Venter at the other end of the…