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.

2012 France rugby union tour of Argentina
Coach(es)	Philippe Saint-André
Tour captain(s)	Pascal Papé
Top point scorer(s)	Frédéric Michalak (38)
Top try scorer(s)	Yoann Huget (2) Geoffrey Doumayrou (2)
Top test point scorer(s)	Frédéric Michalak (19)
Top test try scorer(s)	Yoann Huget (2)
Summary	P W D L
Total	03 02 00 01
Test match	02 01 00 01
Opponent	P W D L
Argentina	1 1 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tour	South Africa & Argentina 2010
Next tour	New Zealand 2013

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 (4 at home and 1 in Ireland in the 1999 Rugby World Cup) and 7 losses (3 at home including two in the 2007 Rugby World Cup and 4 in Argentina).

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 (39-22) 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 (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.

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

Warm-up fixture

6 June 2012 20:15 CET (UTC+2)

Serge Betsen's XV	14 - 54	XV du Président
Try: Traille Mehrtens Con: Mehrtens (2)	Report	Try: Huget Lauret Doumayrou (2) Michalak Lakafia Ouedraogo Héguy Con: Michalak (7)

Parc des sports d'Aguilera, Biarritz Referee: TBC (France)

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

Touch judges: TBC TBC Television match official: TBC

• 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.)

Test Matches

First Test

16 June 2012 18:10 ART (UTC-03)

Argentina	23–20	France
Try: Agulla 4' c Montero 76' c Con: Contepomi (2/2) 5', 77' Pen: Contepomi (3/6) 24', 39', 56'	Report	Try: Picamoles 26' m Con: Parra (0/1) Pen: Parra (4/5) 3', 10', 22', 43' Trinh-Duc (1/1) 52'

Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba Attendance: 20,000 Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Team details

Argentina France Argentina FB 15 Román Miralles  40' RW 14 Belisario Agulla OC 13 Joaquín Tuculet IC 12 Felipe Contepomi (c) LW 11 Manuel Montero FH 10 Ignacio Mieres SH 9 Martín Landajo  48' N8 8 Tomás Leonardi 51' to 61' OF 7 Tomás de la Vega BF 6 Julio Farías Cabello RL 5 Esteban Lozada  56' LL 4 Benjamín Macome  65' TP 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro  56' HK 2 Bruno Postiglioni  56' LP 1 Eusebio Guiñazú Replacements: HK 16 Andrés Bordoy  56' PR 17 Pablo Henn  56' LK 18 Rodrigo Bruno  65' LK 19 Rodrigo Báez  56' SH 20 Tomás Cubelli  48' FB 21 Benjamín Urdapilleta  40' WG 22 Facundo Barrea Coach: Santiago Phelan France FB 15 Brice Dulin RW 14 Jean-Marcellin Buttin OC 13 Wesley Fofana IC 12 Florian Fritz  78' LW 11 Yoann Huget FH 10 François Trinh-Duc  58' SH 9 Morgan Parra N8 8 Louis Picamoles  66' OF 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo BF 6 Wenceslas Lauret RL 5 Yoann Maestri  74' LL 4 Pascal Papé (c) TP 3 David Attoub HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski  66' LP 1 Yvan Watremez  40' Replacements: HK 16 Christopher Tolofua  66' PR 17 Vincent Debaty  40' LK 18 Romain Taofifenua  74' FL 19 Alexandre Lapandry  66' SH 20 Maxime Machenaud FH 21 Frédéric Michalak  58' CE 22 Maxime Mermoz  78' Coach: Philippe Saint-André Touch judges: Wayne Barnes Christie du Preez Television match official: Shaun Veldsman Brice Dulin, Romain Taofifenua, Christopher Tolofua and Yvan Watremez made their full international debuts for France in this match. Rodrigo Baez made his full international debut for Argentina in this match. With this match Argentina extended their winning streak at home against France to 5 games and 10 years and overcame them in the IRB Rankings (swapping their 7th place with France's 6th).

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Second Test

23 June 2012 18:10 ART (UTC-03)

Argentina	10–49	France
Try: Vega 74' c Con: Contepomi 1/1 74' Pen: Contepomi 1/1 25'	Report	Try: Fall 11' c Huget (2) 33' c, 62' m Machenaud 39' c Mermoz 55' c Lapandry Con: Michalak 5/6 12', 33', 40', 56', 68' Pen: Michalak 3/3 17', 27', 30'

Estadio José Fierro, Tucumán Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Team details

Argentina France Argentina FB 15 Joaquín Tuculet  40' RW 14 Facundo Barrea OC 13 Agustín Gosio IC 12 Felipe Contepomi (c) LW 11 Manuel Montero FH 10 Benjamín Urdapilleta SH 9 Tomás Cubelli N8 8 Leonardo Senatore  58' OF 7 Tomás Leonardi BF 6 Tomás de la Vega RL 5 Esteban Lozada LL 4 Julio Farías Cabello  27' TP 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela HK 2 Andrés Bordoy  55' LP 1 Eusebio Guiñazú Replacements: PR 16 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro HK 17 Bruno Postiglioni  55' LK 18 Santiago Guzmán LK 19 Benjamin Macome  27' FL 20 Rodrigo Báez  58' SH 21 Martín Landajo CE 22 Gabriel Ascarate  40' Coach: Santiago Phelan France FB 15 Brice Dulin RW 14 Benjamin Fall  58' OC 13 Florian Fritz IC 12 Maxime Mermoz LW 11 Yoann Huget FH 10 Frédéric Michalak  69' SH 9 Maxime Machenaud  69' N8 8 Louis Picamoles  64' OF 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo BF 6 Alexandre Lapandry  79' RL 5 Pascal Papé (c) LL 4 Yoann Maestri  47' TP 3 David Attoub  47' HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski  56'  79' LP 1 Vincent Debaty Replacements: HK 16 Christopher Tolofua  56' 72' to 80' PR 17 Thomas Domingo  47' LK 18 Christophe Samson  47' FL 19 Wenceslas Lauret  64' SH 20 Morgan Parra  69' FH 21 François Trinh-Duc  69' CE 22 Wesley Fofana  58' Coach: Philippe Saint-André Touch judges: Wayne Barnes Christie du Preez Television match official: Shaun Veldsman Facundo Barrea made his full international debut for Argentina in this match. Maxime Machenaud and Christophe Samson made their full international debuts for France in this match. France won the Series, tied 1-1, on points difference (69-33). With this victory France ended a 14-year timespan without a win against the Pumas on Argentinian soil, the previous victorious Test dating back to 28 June 1998, and once again overcame Argentina in the IRB Rankings.

Touring squad

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

• 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.)

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

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

• 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

Aftermath

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. 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 while Argentina will host England in a Two-Test Series and Georgia for a one-off Test.

See also

• 2012 mid-year rugby test series