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'It's tough when you put a lot of effort into building a team': Former Jaguar finds solace with fellow Super Rugby outcasts

Jaguares halfback Tomas Cubelli (Photo by Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images )

Star Argentinian scrumhalf Tomás Cubelli says he feels the pain of the Western Force’s past heartbreak after the Jaguares were also booted out from Super Rugby ranks.

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Cubelli is one of four Argentinian internationals to have joined the Force ahead of the upcoming Super Rugby AU season, along with flanker Tomás Lezana, prop Santiago Medrano and flyhalf Domingo Miotti.

The Force were unceremoniously axed from Super ranks in 2017, with only the backing of billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest keeping them afloat until Rugby Australia welcomed the Perth-based franchise back.

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We’re back for 2021 and Zeebs, Ryan and Christina are joined by former professional referee JP Doyle to talk through all the latest news and happenings in the world of rugby. The guys chat Christmas celebrations and crazy scenes in the Pro D2.

The Jaguares entered Super Rugby in 2016 with their steady growth resulting in a runners-up finish in 2019.

But the Argentinian outfit must now look for a new home after they weren’t invited to participate in the new trans-Tasman competition that will follow Super Rugby AU.

It’s expected the Jaguares will end up competing in the South American Super Liga Americana de Rugby.

“We are really grateful for the Force to open their doors for us to come and give us that opportunity,” Cubelli said.

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“We can feel (an) understanding after what happened to the Force and what happened to the Jaguares in 2020 after this tough year.

“So we feel an understanding, because it’s tough when you put a lot of effort into building a team and a culture, getting that identity. The Jaguares were building one.

“It’s tough, but we are grateful the Force have given us an opportunity.”

The Force will boast plenty of international experience.

Along with the four Argentinian Test players, the Force boast former All Blacks duo Richard Kahui and Jeremy Thrush, Wallabies Tevita Kuridrani and Tom Robertson, and legendary Irish fullback Rob Kearney.

“It’s multicultural, the team,” said Cubelli, who has notched 76 Tests for Argentina, including a starting role in last year’s famous win over the All Blacks.

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“I think it’s a positive thing. If we can all get together and bring our best parts and get a good mix of different rugby.”

– Justin Chadwick

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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