How rugby union is 'booming' in football-mad Argentina

Sincity Press Staff 3 hours ago 2 min read 4
Sincity Press Brief

Rugby union is 'booming' in football-mad Argentina, according to Pumas head coach Felipe Contepomi.

Borthwick's side, without their British and Irish Lions, won doubly successful Argentina past summertime to seal a bid victory, extending their winning tally implicit the Pumas to 5 matches.

Their grounds - 1 triumph successful the past 16 meetings with England - needs to amended if they privation to go a regular top-four side.

They invited England to Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, wherever they person played doubly astatine the 30,000-capacity stadium, which opened successful 2021, and won some matches, against Scotland and South Africa.

"It's precise adjacent to Tucuman, which is simply a immense rugby province. I'd expect a due rugby crowd," the 48-year-old added.

"Hopefully, if we springiness them a crushed to outcry and sing, Argentinians are Latin radical - we marque sound and we emotion supporting our teams. Hopefully it'll beryllium a noisy crowd."

The past gathering betwixt the teams, successful November, ended successful a heated exchange, with Contepomi calling England flanker Tom Curry, who is connected the seat for Saturday's game, a "bully" who swore astatine him and pushed him successful the passageway astatine Allianz Stadium.

The erstwhile 87-cap fly-half described the crippled arsenic 1 of the "big rivalries" for his side, but not due to the fact that of immoderate off-field altercations.

"Tom Curry is simply a world-class player. That's the lone happening I tin say," Contepomi added.

"If I said thing that wounded oregon offended him, I apologise publicly. But I person thing against him.

"There was an incidental successful the vigor of the moment, but I don't instrumentality it personally and I don't privation to marque thing idiosyncratic with Tom due to the fact that I'm definite he's a large lad arsenic well."

Given a bid to big the 2035 Rugby World Cup is being pressed guardant by Argentina, the nation's emotion for the athletics could explode.

More wins implicit England volition besides help.