2012 France rugby union tour of Argentina


In June 2012, France toured Argentina to play two Tests against the Pumas. The French tour was one in a series of tours by northern teams to be hosted by southern hemisphere nations.
The previous French tour of Argentina took place in 2010 as part of a global Two Test tour of South Africa and Argentina, where France lost to both nations. France's last winning tour of Argentina dated back to 1998 when the touring side claimed victory in both Tests. Since then France had an overall losing record against Argentina with 5 wins and 7 losses.
No mid-week fixture had been planned for this tour, however most of the French squad, styled for the occasion as the "XV du Président", played a warm-up fixture against a team hand-picked by Serge Betsen, a former France international, for his jubilee.
The series was drawn 1-1, Argentina winning the first test and France the second.
Argentina and France's next encounter took place on 17 November 2012 on French soil as part of the 2012 end of year tests. France claimed another victory against their old foes.

Background

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 and a narrow loss to England. 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 and two losses, finishing runners-up to New Zealand on the virtue of a greater tally of bonus points than Tonga. However France produced a stronger showing in the knock-out stages, beating England in the quarter-finals, Wales in the semi-finals and losing with the narrowest of margins to New Zealand in the final.
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, two losses and a draw, 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.
Before the first test between France and Argentina they remained respectively on the 6th and 7th spot in the IRB Rankings.

Warm-up fixture

First Test

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Second Test

Philippe Saint-André announced his 28-man France squad for the June tour to Argentina. Several key faces were rested, including captain Thierry Dusautoir.
Head Coach: Philippe Saint-André
Note*: After he sustained an injury in the First Test, Yvan Watremez was replaced in the squad by Thomas Domingo.
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

PositionNameNationality
Head CoachPhilippe Saint-André
Forwards CoachYannick Bru
Backs & Defence CoachPatrice Lagisquet

Home squad

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. Esteban Lozada was a late addition to the squad after his recovery from injury.
Head Coach: Santiago Phelan
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

PositionNameNationality
Head CoachSantiago Phelan
Assistant CoachFabián Turnes
Backs CoachMartín Gaitán
Forwards and Scrum CoachMauricio Reggiardo

Aftermath

On 25 June 2012 France stood at the 5th place in the IRB Rankings while Argentina had dropped to the 8th spot.
From August to October 2012, Argentina competed in the inaugural Rugby Championship with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, finishing bottom of the table with a draw 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. They beat the Welsh but lost to the two other unions while France recorded three straight wins. 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 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 with England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Wales, finishing bottom of the table with one win, a draw and three losses. 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 while Argentina will host England in a Two-Test Series and Georgia for a one-off Test.