Local fan takes stake in Gloucester Rugby

That’s either a group of muscles or 8?

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In the mid 70s, Argentina brought a Welsh coach to give some clinics and I translated for him through his visit. I still have the green tie with the red dragon as a very cherished memento of that visit. Don't forget that JPR played in Buenos Aires for Wales in 1968! My first test matches!

By the way, some "young people" here are not interested in history, they find it boring, so I hope they pass over these posts.

And yes, I remember vividly that, sometimes when the scrum goes down, it is actually No One's fault..... the amount of forces colliding, then someone may just slip a bit, then the whole scrum goes down...

But make no mistake, it is Pure Survival Mode in there.

It was for me.....

But how was that one handed line out catch that RG took against Munster. It was unreal how he grabbed that ball with one hand.

I think France and Wales have had the best rapport with Argy over the years. Hard to put your finger on it, an intangible. Maybe there is a shared Celtic/Latin spirit?

Rugby was brought to the country by both Irish and English people in the late 19th century. Most of the early clubs were English in nature. "Buenos Aires Cricket and Rugby", Belgrano Athletic, St Andrew's, Old Georgian's, you know the drill. There was also the Irish club Hurling and the Cardinal Newman School, where incidentally, Felipe Contepomi was a student and rugby player. I started in St Brendan's when I was 8 years old (founded by a former priest from Cardinal Newman).

Somehow, over time, the English influence became less important and after 1982, there was a very common ABE attitude in the population due to the very unfortunate decision (horrendous) by the military government of the time.

For the Irish, love continued. I remember in 1970, the Irish team visited the country for two tests and also visited the Hurling club, where they donated all their rugby kits at the end of the tour (they use the same colors and design) and visited Ste Brendan's too. A few years ago, I met Barry Bresniham (RIP) who was in that tour and we exchanged stories from them.

But in 2007, O'Gara and O'Brien were quite nasty to Felipe in an important RWC game. The Pumas won handily, but the resentment stayed.

Still, I would say the country is profoundly ABE now.

I think people like the French more as they have toured the country extensively over time and gained popular support (even when more than handbags were allowed).

You have to remember Mendez' red card, Porta and Marcelo Campo's try in the first draw in Twickers as key matches between them.

Sorry for the diversion, but I thought you might find this interesting.

By the way, I also believe that the current ABs don't appear to bring much "new" to their attack. Let's see what happens over the next 18 months...

With the 'Big 5' in play the battle is likely for 6th place in the rankings held by Argentina. Challengers are Scotland, Italy, Fiji and Australia. Swing Matches to watch out for:

2nd Nov: Scotland v Fiji

8th Nov: Italy v Argentina

24th Nov: Scotland v Australia

(Note* Top #4 ranked teams who win their pools may also get drawn to avoid other top #4 pool winning teams until the semi.)