1980 South American Jaguars rugby union tour of South Africa

1980 South American Jaguars rugby union tour of South Africa
Summary	P W D L
Total	7 5 0 2
Test match	2 0 0 2
Opponent	P W D L
South Africa	2 0 0 2

The 1980 South American Jaguars rugby union tour of South Africa was a series of seven matches played by the South American Jaguars rugby union team in South Africa in April and May 1980. The South American team won the first four matches of the tour and lost the last three. The lost both tests of the two match series against the South Africa national rugby union team.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.^[1] Porta was asked to return to South Africa later that year to play for the South African Barbarians against the touring 1980 British Lions.^[1]

The selection was almost formed by Argentine player, erxpecially in the two test match against Springboks, were only Argentine Player play the match.

The player were individually invited to play in this tour and against South Africa in two match played later during the springboks tour of South America^[3]

The "South America Jaguars" was a "ghost" Argentine national team, not officially recognised by Union Argentina de Rugby, a "stratagem" to elude the prohibition of Argentine Government that since early '70s forbid any official relationship between any Argentine sport federation and South African and Rhodesian ones. This due the apartheid politics of the two African countries. This ostracism start in 1971 when the Argentine Government forbid to "Pumas" to play a match in Rhodesia during the tour in South Africa.^[4] Later in 1973, after a controversial period, the government forbid any sport relationship with South Africa.

Matches

19 April 1980

SA Gazelles	19–30	South American Jaguars

Pretoria

26 April 1980

South Africa	24–9	South American Jaguars
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	18–9	South American Jaguars
Try: M du Plessis Con: Botha Pen: Botha Drop: Botha 3		Pen: Piccardo 3

Kings Park, Durban Attendance: 34,000 Referee: Ken Rowlands (Wales)

Touring party

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

Backs

(Argentina unless stated)

Forwards

(Argentina unless stated)

References

Sources

• Vivian Jenkins, ed. (1981). Rothmans Rugby Yearboook 1981–82. Rothmans Publications Ltd. pp. 47–51. ISBN 090757405X. 
• Union Argentina dr Rugby Memorias 1980

Rugby union tours of South Africa
British and Irish Lions	1891 1896 1903 1910 1924 1938 1955 1962 1968 1974 1980 1997 2009
New Zealand	1928 1949 1960 1970 1976 1992 1996
Australia	1933 1953 1961 1963 1969 1992
Argentina	1965 (no test) 1971 (no test) 1994 2002 2003
England	1972 1984 1994 1998 2000 2007 2012
France	1958 1964 1967 1971 1975 1980 1993 2001 2005 2006
Ireland	1961 1981 1998 2004 2016
Italy	1973 (no test) 1999 2001 2008
Scotland	1999 (no test) 2003 2006
Wales	1964 1995 1998 2002 2004 2008 2014
Fiji	1996
Samoa	2003 (no test) 2007
Tonga	1997
Various selections	1978 (American Cougars) 1980 (S.A.Jaguars) 1982 (S.A.Jaguars) 1985 (Cavaliers) 1987 (South Sea Barbarians) 1989 (World XV)