2016 France rugby union tour of Argentina

2016 France rugby union tour of Argentina
Coach(es)	Guy Novès
Tour captain(s)	Jules Plisson
Top test point scorer(s)	Jules Plisson (14)
Top test try scorer(s)	4 players with 1 try
Summary	P W D L
Total	2 1 0 1
Test match	2 1 0 1
Opponent	P W D L
Argentina	2 1 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tour	Australia 2014
Next tour	TBA

In June 2016, France played a two-test series against Argentina as part of the 2016 mid-year rugby union tests.^[1] They played Los Pumas across the two weeks that the June International window is allocated to; 19 June–25 June, and was part of the fourth year of the global rugby calendar established by the International Rugby Board, which runs through to 2019.^[2] This will be the first tour to Argentina for the French since their drawn series in 2012.

Due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Top 14 organizers did not schedule any games during the pool phase of the tournament, which meant it will end at a later date than normal. Therefore, the semi-finals and final of the 2015–16 season will concede with the June international window, clashing with the French games on the 19 and 25 June.^[3][4]

Fixtures

Date and time	Venue	Home	Score	Away
19 June 2016, 18:10 ART (UTC-03)	Estadio Monumental José Fierro, Tucumán	Argentina	30–19	France
25 June 2016, 15:10 ART (UTC-03)	Estadio Monumental José Fierro, Tucumán	Argentina	0–27	France

Squads

Note: Ages, caps and clubs are as per 19 June, the first test match of the tour.

France

On 6 June, Guy Novès named the first set of players for France's two-test series against Argentina. The squad did not include any of the six Top 14 play-offs teams, Castres, Clermont, Toulon, Toulouse, Racing or Montpellier (except François Trinh-Duc who was released by Montpellier for the tour) due to the play-offs taking place between 11 and 24 June.^[5]

On 13 June, Novès named a further 11 players on top of the initial 17, after Toulouse and Castres and were eliminated from the Top 14 quarter-finals.^[6]

On 19 June, Paul Jedrasiak was called up to the squad following Clermont Auvergne's elimination from the Top 14.

Coaching team:

• Head coach: Guy Novès
• Forwards coach: Yannick Bru
• Backs coach: Jean-Frederic Dubois

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Bonfils, RémiRémi Bonfils Hooker September 16, 1988 (aged 27) 0 Stade Français Maynadier, ClémentClément Maynadier Hooker October 11, 1988 (aged 27) 0 Bordeaux Bègles Atonio, UiniUini Atonio Prop March 26, 1990 (aged 26) 15 La Rochelle Pointud, LucasLucas Pointud Prop January 18, 1988 (aged 28) 0 Brive Poirot, JeffersonJefferson Poirot Prop November 1, 1992 (aged 23) 5 Bordeaux Bègles Slimani, RabahRabah Slimani Prop October 18, 1989 (aged 26) 26 Stade Français Demotte, WilliamWilliam Demotte Lock May 22, 1991 (aged 25) 0 Agen Jedrasiak, PaulPaul Jedrasiak Lock February 6, 1993 (aged 23) 4 Clermont Auvergne Le Devedec, JulienJulien Le Devedec Lock June 4, 1986 (aged 30) 0 Bordeaux Bègles Maestri, YoannYoann Maestri Lock January 14, 1988 (aged 28) 47 Toulouse Metz, FabriceFabrice Metz Lock January 23, 1991 (aged 25) 0 Oyonnax Galletier, KélianKélian Galletier Flanker March 18, 1992 (aged 24) 0 Montpellier Goujon, LoannLoann Goujon Flanker April 23, 1989 (aged 27) 10 Bordeaux Bègles Gourdon, KevinKevin Gourdon Flanker January 23, 1990 (aged 26) 0 La Rochelle Lakafia, RaphaëlRaphaël Lakafia Number 8 October 28, 1988 (aged 27) 3 Stade Français Picamoles, LouisLouis Picamoles Number 8 February 5, 1986 (aged 30) 52 Toulouse Bezy, SébastienSébastien Bezy Scrum-half November 22, 1991 (aged 24) 5 Toulouse Serin, BaptisteBaptiste Serin Scrum-half June 20, 1994 (aged 21) 0 Bordeaux Bègles Plisson, JulesJules Plisson Fly-half August 20, 1991 (aged 24) 11 Stade Français Trinh-Duc, FrançoisFrançois Trinh-Duc Fly-half November 11, 1986 (aged 29) 53 Montpellier Danty, JonathanJonathan Danty Centre October 7, 1992 (aged 23) 3 Stade Français Fickou, GaëlGaël Fickou Centre March 26, 1994 (aged 22) 19 Toulouse Lamerat, RémiRémi Lamerat Centre January 14, 1990 (aged 26) 7 Castres Rey, JulienJulien Rey Centre September 1, 1986 (aged 29) 0 Bordeaux Bègles Bonneval, HugoHugo Bonneval Wing November 19, 1990 (aged 25) 6 Stade Français Camara, DjibrilDjibril Camara Wing June 22, 1989 (aged 26) 1 Stade Français Médard, MaximeMaxime Médard Wing November 16, 1986 (aged 29) 46 Toulouse Mignot, XavierXavier Mignot Wing January 27, 1994 (aged 22) 0 Grenoble Palis, GeoffreyGeoffrey Palis Fullback July 8, 1991 (aged 24) 0 Castres Argentina On 31 May, Argentina named a 28-man squad for the June internationals against Italy and France.[7] On 12 June, Ignacio Larrague was called up to the squad as an injury replacement for Matías Alemanno.[8] On 16 June, Ramiro Herrera and Tomás Lavanini were called up to the squad ahead of the two-test series against France.[9] Coaching team: Head coach: Daniel Hourcade Defence coach: Pablo Bouza Backs coach: Germán Fernández Forwards coach: Emiliano Bergamaschi Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby. Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Bosch, FacundoFacundo Bosch Hooker 8 August 1991 (aged 24) 2 CUBA Creevy, AgustínAgustín Creevy (c) Hooker 15 March 1985 (aged 31) 47 Jaguares Montoya, JuliánJulián Montoya Hooker 29 October 1993 (aged 22) 17 Jaguares García Botta, SantiagoSantiago García Botta Prop 19 June 1992 (aged 24) 7 Jaguares Gigena, FacundoFacundo Gigena Prop 15 September 1994 (aged 21) 1 Tala Herrera, RamiroRamiro Herrera Prop 14 February 1989 (aged 27) 20 Jaguares Pieretto, EnriqueEnrique Pieretto Prop 15 December 1994 (aged 21) 2 Córdoba Tetaz Chaparro, NahuelNahuel Tetaz Chaparro Prop 6 November 1989 (aged 26) 23 Jaguares Alemanno, MatíasMatías Alemanno Lock 5 December 1991 (aged 24) 21 Jaguares Larrague, IgnacioIgnacio Larrague Lock 25 October 1995 (aged 20) 2 C.A.S.I Lavanini, TomásTomás Lavanini Lock 22 January 1993 (aged 23) 27 Jaguares Pagadizábal, Guido PettiGuido Petti Pagadizábal Lock 17 November 1994 (aged 21) 13 Jaguares Leguizamón, Juan ManuelJuan Manuel Leguizamón Flanker 6 June 1983 (aged 33) 66 Jaguares Lezana, TomásTomás Lezana Flanker 16 February 1994 (aged 22) 6 Jaguares Matera, PabloPablo Matera Flanker 18 July 1993 (aged 22) 23 Jaguares Ortega Desio, JavierJavier Ortega Desio Flanker 14 June 1990 (aged 26) 20 Jaguares Isa, FacundoFacundo Isa Number 8 21 September 1993 (aged 22) 14 Jaguares Bertranou, GonzaloGonzalo Bertranou Scrum-half 31 December 1993 (aged 22) 1 Los Tordos Cubelli, TomásTomás Cubelli Scrum-half 12 June 1989 (aged 27) 46 Brumbies Landajo, MartínMartín Landajo Scrum-half 14 June 1988 (aged 28) 54 Jaguares González Iglesias, SantiagoSantiago González Iglesias Fly-half 16 June 1988 (aged 28) 21 Jaguares Sánchez, NicolásNicolás Sánchez Fly-half 26 October 1988 (aged 27) 40 Jaguares de la Fuente, JerónimoJerónimo de la Fuente Centre 24 February 1991 (aged 25) 20 Jaguares Hernández, Juan MartínJuan Martín Hernández Centre 7 August 1982 (aged 33) 59 Jaguares Moroni, MatíasMatías Moroni Centre 29 March 1991 (aged 25) 9 Jaguares Orlando, MatíasMatías Orlando Centre 14 November 1991 (aged 24) 10 Jaguares Cordero, SantiagoSantiago Cordero Wing 6 December 1993 (aged 22) 19 Jaguares González Amorosino, LucasLucas González Amorosino Wing 2 November 1985 (aged 30) 49 Jaguares Montero, ManuelManuel Montero Wing 20 November 1991 (aged 24) 22 Jaguares Moyano, RamiroRamiro Moyano Fullback 28 May 1990 (aged 26) 7 Jaguares Tuculet, JoaquínJoaquín Tuculet Fullback 8 August 1989 (aged 26) 29 Jaguares Matches First Test 19 June 2016 18:10 ART (UTC-03) Argentina  30–19  France Try: Montero 19' c Tuculet 28' c Petti Pagadizábal 73' c Con: Sánchez (3/3) 20', 29', 74' Pen: Sánchez (3/5) 16', 61', 65' Report Try: Bonfils 31' c Con: Plisson (1/1) 32' Pen: Plisson (4/6) 10', 43', 48', 53' Estadio Monumental José Fierro, Tucumán [10] Referee: John Lacey (Ireland) FB 15 Joaquín Tuculet  75' RW 14 Santiago Cordero OC 13 Matías Moroni IC 12 Juan Martín Hernández  21' LW 11 Manuel Montero FH 10 Nicolás Sánchez SH 9 Martín Landajo  61' N8 8 Facundo Isa OF 7 Tomás Lezana  59' BF 6 Pablo Matera RL 5 Javier Ortega Desio 48' to 58' LL 4 Guido Petti Pagadizábal TP 3 Ramiro Herrera HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c)  65' LP 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro  79' Replacements: HK 16 Julián Montoya  65' PR 17 Santiago García Botta  79' PR 18 Enrique Pieretto LK 19 Ignacio Larrague FL 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón  59' SH 21 Tomás Cubelli  61' FH 22 Santiago González Iglesias  21' FB 23 Ramiro Moyano  75' Coach: Daniel Hourcade FB 15 Hugo Bonneval RW 14 Xavier Mignot OC 13 Julien Rey IC 12 Jonathan Danty  62' LW 11 Djibril Camara FH 10 Jules Plisson (c) SH 9 Baptiste Serin  71' N8 8 Kevin Gourdon  62'  75' OF 7 Raphaël Lakafia  37' BF 6 Loann Goujon RL 5 William Demotte LL 4 Julien Le Devedec TP 3 Rabah Slimani  50' HK 2 Rémi Bonfils  67' LP 1 Jefferson Poirot 60' to 70'  75' Replacements: HK 16 Clément Maynadier  67' PR 17 Uini Atonio  50' PR 18 Lucas Pointud  62' LK 19 Fabrice Metz  75' N8 20 Louis Picamoles  37' SH 21 Sébastien Bezy  71' FH 22 François Trinh-Duc  75' CE 23 Gaël Fickou  62' Coach: Guy Novès Touch judges: Stuart Berry (South Africa) Luke Pearce (England) Television match official: Johan Greeff (South Africa) Notes: Rémi Bonfils, William Demotte, Kevin Gourdon, Julien Le Devedec, Clément Maynadier, Fabrice Metz, Xavier Mignot, Lucas Pointud, Julien Rey and Baptiste Serin (all France) made their international debuts. Second Test 25 June 2016 15:10 ART (UTC-03) Argentina  0–27  France Report Try: Bonneval 38' c Lamerat 50' c Goujon 62' c Con: Serin (3/3) 39', 51', 62' Pen: Serin (2/2) 25', 44' Estadio Monumental José Fierro, Tucumán [10] Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) FB 15 Joaquín Tuculet RW 14 Santiago Cordero  63' OC 13 Matías Moroni  67' IC 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente LW 11 Manuel Montero FH 10 Nicolás Sánchez SH 9 Tomás Cubelli  58' N8 8 Facundo Isa  54' OF 7 Javier Ortega Desio BF 6 Pablo Matera  51' RL 5 Tomás Lavanini 62' to 72' LL 4 Guido Petti Pagadizábal TP 3 Ramiro Herrera  71' HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c)  58' LP 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro  63' Replacements: HK 16 Julián Montoya  58' PR 17 Santiago García Botta  63' PR 18 Enrique Pieretto  71' FL 19 Tomás Lezana  51' FL 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón  54' SH 21 Martín Landajo  58' CE 22 Matías Orlando  67' WG 23 Lucas González Amorosino  63' Coach: Daniel Hourcade FB 15 Maxime Médard RW 14 Hugo Bonneval OC 13 Gaël Fickou IC 12 Rémi Lamerat LW 11 Djibril Camara  35' FH 10 François Trinh-Duc  72' SH 9 Baptiste Serin  63' N8 8 Louis Picamoles OF 7 Kevin Gourdon  69' BF 6 Loann Goujon RL 5 Yoann Maestri (c) LL 4 Julien Le Devedec 65' to 75' TP 3 Uini Atonio  56' HK 2 Rémi Bonfils  65' LP 1 Jefferson Poirot  69' Replacements: HK 16 Clément Maynadier  65' PR 17 Lucas Pointud  69' PR 18 Rabah Slimani  56' LK 19 Paul Jedrasiak  65' FL 20 Kélian Galletier  69'  75' SH 21 Sébastien Bezy  63' FH 22 Jules Plisson  72' CE 23 Julien Rey  35' Coach: Guy Novès Touch judges: John Lacey (Ireland) Luke Pearce (England) Television match official: Johan Greeff (South Africa) Notes: Enrique Pieretto (Argentina) and Kélian Galletier (France) made their international debuts. Lucas González Amorosino (Argentina) earned his 50th test cap. Xavier Mignot was named to start, but was replaced with Hugo Bonneval before kick-off due to injury. This is the first time Argentina has failed to score any points in a test match since they lost 16–0 against Ireland in 2007. It is the first time they have failed to score any points against France since their first ever meeting in 1949. Argentina warm-up match On 11 June, Argentina played host to Italy in the lead up to the French series. 11 June 2016 15:45 ART (UTC-03) Argentina  30–24  Italy Try: Montero 25' m Moroni 60' c Con: Sánchez (1/2) 61' Pen: Sánchez (6/7) 9', 20', 31', 36', 58', 65' Report Try: Sarto 34' c Favaro 68' m Con: Canna (1/1) 35' Pen: Canna (4/5) 15', 28', 39', 42' Estadio B.G Estanislao López, Santa Fe [11] Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa) Team details FB 15 Joaquín Tuculet RW 14 Santiago Cordero  73' OC 13 Matías Moroni IC 12 Juan Martín Hernández  59' LW 11 Manuel Montero FH 10 Nicolás Sánchez SH 9 Martín Landajo  59' N8 8 Facundo Isa OF 7 Tomás Lezana  65' BF 6 Pablo Matera RL 5 Matías Alemanno  58' LL 4 Guido Petti Pagadizábal 28' to 38' TP 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c)  65' LP 1 Santiago García Botta Replacements: HK 16 Julián Montoya  65' PR 17 Felipe Arregui PR 18 Enrique Pieretto FL 19 Javier Ortega Desio  58' FL 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón  65' SH 21 Tomás Cubelli  59' CE 22 Jerónimo de la Fuente  59' FB 23 Ramiro Moyano  73' Coach: Daniel Hourcade FB 15 Luke McLean RW 14 Leonardo Sarto OC 13 Michele Campagnaro IC 12 Tommaso Boni LW 11 David Odiete  62' FH 10 Carlo Canna  69' SH 9 Edoardo Gori (c) N8 8 Dries van Schalkwyk OF 7 Simone Favaro BF 6 Braam Steyn  9' RL 5 Marco Fuser LL 4 Quintin Geldenhuys  51' TP 3 Lorenzo Cittadini  55' HK 2 Ornel Gega  62' LP 1 Andrea Lovotti  57' Replacements: HK 16 Oliviero Fabiani  62' PR 17 Sami Panico  57' PR 18 Pietro Ceccarelli  55' LK 19 Valerio Bernabò  51' FL 20 Robert Barbieri  9' SH 21 Guglielmo Palazzani FH 22 Tommaso Allan  69' WG 23 Giovanbattista Venditti  62' Coach: Conor O'Shea Touch judges: Luke Pearce (England) Joaquín Montes (Uruguay) Television match official: Johan Greeff (South Africa) Notes: Tommaso Boni and Sami Panico (both Italy) made their international debuts. Statistics Key Con: Conversions Pen: Penalties DG: Drop goals Pts: Points France statistics Name Played Tries Con Pen DG Pts Jules Plisson 2 0 1 4 0 14 – – Baptiste Serin 2 0 3 2 0 12 – – Rémi Bonfils 2 1 0 0 0 5 – – Hugo Bonneval 2 1 0 0 0 5 – – Loann Goujon 2 1 0 0 0 5 – – Uini Atonio 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Sébastien Bezy 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Djibril Camara 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Gaël Fickou 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Kevin Gourdon 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Julien Le Devedec 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Clément Maynadier 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Louis Picamoles 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Lucas Pointud 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Jefferson Poirot 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Julien Rey 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Rabah Slimani 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – François Trinh-Duc 2 0 0 0 0 0 – – Jonathan Danty 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – William Demotte 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Raphaël Lakafia 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Kélian Galletier 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Paul Jedrasiak 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Rémi Lamerat 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Yoann Maestri 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Maxime Médard 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Fabrice Metz 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Xavier Mignot 1 0 0 0 0 0 – – Geoffrey Palis – – – – – 0 – – Test series statistics Name Team Tries Con Pen DG Pts Nicolás Sánchez  Argentina 0 3 3 0 15 Jules Plisson  France 0 1 4 0 14 Baptiste Serin  France 0 3 2 0 12 Rémi Bonfils  France 1 0 0 0 5 Hugo Bonneval  France 1 0 0 0 5 Loann Goujon  France 1 0 0 0 5 Rémi Lamerat  France 1 0 0 0 5 Manuel Montero  Argentina 1 0 0 0 5 Guido Petti Pagadizábal  Argentina 1 0 0 0 5 Joaquín Tuculet  Argentina 1 0 0 0 5 See also 2016 mid-year rugby union internationals History of rugby union matches between Argentina and France References Los Pumas and France to play Two Tests in Tucumán Rugby Week International Rugby: France to tour Argentina with Depleted Squad France to tour Argentina without Top 14 Semi Finals Players XV de France : Le groupe pour la tournée XV de France : Le 2ème groupe pour la tournée Plantel de Los Pumas para junio Larrague In, Alemanno Out for Pumas Rumbo al norte "Los Pumas and France to play Two Tests in Tucumán". Rugby Blog (Argentina 2023). 1 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016. "Los Pumas vuelven a Santa Fe". Argentine Rugby. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.