Rugby union in Argentina Rugby union in Argentina Rugby union in Argentina is a popular team sport. The first rugby match played in the country dates back to 1873, as the game was introduced by the British. The Argentina national team, sometimes referred to as the Pumas, have competed at the Rugby World Cup, and are considered a tier one nation by the sport's governing body, World Rugby. The Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) was formed in 1899 as the River Plate Rugby Football Union, 26 years after the first rugby match had been played. It was affiliated to the English Rugby Football Union
Argentina national rugby union team Club, where the first rugby match in Argentine had been played). The animal was later replaced by a native to Argentine species, so the jaguar was chosen due to his "agility and courage", according to their words. The "Pumas" nickname is the result of an error made by Carl Kohler, a journalist for the then "Die Transvaler" newspaper in South Africa, while following the team during their first overseas tour ever – to Southern Africa in 1965. He tried to devise a catchy nickname for the team similar to existing international team nicknames such as "All Blacks", "Springboks", and "Wallabies".