1980 South American Jaguars rugby union tour of South Africa

The 1980 Sudamérica XV rugby union tour of South Africa was a series of seven matches played by the Sudamérica XV (also named the Jaguars) rugby union team in South Africa in April and May 1980.[1][2][3] The South American team won five of the matches but lost both that were against the South Africa national team.[4]

1980 South American Jaguars rugby union tour of South Africa
Summary
P W D L
Total
07 05 00 02
Test match
02 00 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 South Africa
2 0 0 2

The touring party was composed almost entirely of players from the Argentina national rugby union team and included all but one of the players who had played for Argentina in a drawn series with Australia in 1979.[5] The touring party numbered twenty-six players, of whom one came from Brazil, one from Chile, one from Uruguay and one from Paraguay. The other twenty-two players came from Argentina, including the captain, Hugo Porta.[4] Porta was asked to return to South Africa later that year to play for the South African Barbarians against the touring 1980 British Lions.[4]

The players were individually invited to play in this tour and against South Africa in two matches played later during the Springboks tour of South America.[1]

The "South America Jaguars" was a "ghost" Argentine national team, not officially recognised by Argentine Rugby Union,[6] to elude the Argentine government prohibition that since the early 1970s had forbid any official relationship between any Argentine sport federation and South African and Rhodesian ones due to the apartheid politics of the two African countries. This started in 1971 when the Argentine government forbid the national team from playing a match in Rhodesia during the tour in South Africa.[7] Later in 1973, after a controversial period, the government forbid any sport relationship with South Africa.[6]

Touring party

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  • Manager: M. Dolan
  • Assistant Managers: L. Gradin, A. Otano
  • Captain: Hugo Porta

Backs

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(Argentina unless stated)

  • Daniel Baetti
  • Ricardo Muniz
  • Marcelo Campo
  • Roberto Canessa (Uruguay)
  • Adolfo Cappelletti
  • Marcelo Loffreda
  • Rafael Madero
  • P. Mirando-Cardosa (Brazil)
  • F. Moscarda (Paraguay)
  • Hugo Porta
  • Juan Pablo Piccardo
  • R. Landajo
  • Alfredo Soares-Gache

Forwards

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(Argentina unless stated)

  • Gabriel Travaglini
  • A. Voltan
  • Ernesto Ure
  • H. Silva
  • Enrique Rodríguez
  • Tomás Petersen
  • Javier Pérez-Cobo
  • Hugo Nicola
  • Fernando Morel
  • Alastair MacGregor Martin (Chile)
  • Alejandro Iachetti
  • Marcos Iachetti
  • Alejandro Cubelli

Matches

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12 April 1980
Boland12–42Sudamérica XV
Wellington

16 April 1980
Northern Free State25–42Sudamérica XV
Welkom


22 April 1980
SE Transvaal21–30Sudamérica XV
Witbank

26 April 1980
South Africa  24–9Sudamérica XV
Try: TD du Plessis
Germishuys, Mordt
Con: Botha 3
Pen: Botha
Drop: Botha
Try: Travaglini
Con: Loffreda
Pen: Loffreda
Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg
Attendance: 34,000
Referee: Ken Rowlands (Wales)


3 May 1980
South Africa  18–9Sudamérica XV
Try: M du Plessis
Con: Botha
Pen: Botha
Drop: Botha 3
Pen: Piccardo 3
Kings Park, Durban
Attendance: 34,000
Referee: Ken Rowlands (Wales)

Bibliography

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  • Vivian Jenkins, ed. (1981). Rothmans Rugby Yearboook 1981–82. Rothmans Publications Ltd. pp. 47–51. ISBN 090757405X.

References

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  1. ^ a b Memorias 1980 on UAR
  2. ^ HUGO PORTA, EN PRIMERA PERSONA on El Gráfico, 15 Jan 2009
  3. ^ Pumas disfrazados de carneros: la infamia de Sudamérica XV y su apoyo al Apartheid by Juan Provéndola on La Izquierda Diario, 3 Apr 2018
  4. ^ a b c Rothmans, p48
  5. ^ Rothmans, p47
  6. ^ a b LA LEYENDA NEGRA - El rugby argentino, el apartheid sudafricano y la ilusión de mantenerse al margen de la realidad by ANDRÉS REGGIANI on El Cohete a la Luna, 26 Mar 2023
  7. ^ Memorias 1971 on UAR