Agustín Pichot

Agustín Pichot
Agustín Pichot at the Casa Rosada, February 2007.
Full name Agustín Pichot
Date of birth (1974-08-22) 22 August 1974
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 77 kg (12 st 2 lb)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Scrum-half
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2009
2007–2008
2003–2007
1999–2003
1997–1999
1992–1997		 Paris
Racing Métro
Paris
Bristol
Richmond
CASI


65
25


(48)
(35)
correct as of 2011-08-23.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1995–2008 Argentina 71 (60)
correct as of 2011-08-23.
Sevens national teams
Years Club / team Comps
1994–2002 Argentina 7
correct as of 12 March 2007.

Agustín Pichot (born 22 August 1974 in Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine rugby union player, formerly captain of the Argentine team and the English club Bristol. In addition to Bristol, he played for French sides Stade Français and Racing Métro after leaving Argentine team CASI from San Isidro in 1997. In 2011, he was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame.[1]

Career

Pichot made his debut for Los Pumas in April 1996 during the Pumas' tour to Australia, scoring a try in the first Test in Brisbane. Pichot was capped another three times that year for the Pumas; playing in Tests against Romania, Italy and France during October. The following year he was capped another three times for Argentina, playing two Tests against France and one against Uruguay in June, scoring a try in the match against Uruguay. In October/November of the next year he earned another four Test caps, playing in matches against Italy, France and the Wallabies, scoring a try in the second of two matches against the Wallabies. He moved from CASI to Richmond, and later switched to Bristol.

Pichot would be capped six times during the 1998 international season, including playing France three times, as well as playing matches against Italy, Romania and Wales, scoring tries in the games against Wales and Romania. In the lead up to the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales Pichot played two Tests against the hosts in June, and Tests against Scotland and Ireland that August, scoring a try in the Test against Ireland. He played five matches during the World Cup, and helped the Pumas reach the quarter-finals. Argentina played France in their quarter-final, which France won 26–47, Pichot being one of Argentina's try scorers in the match.

After the World Cup Pichot captained Argentina for the first time in a Test against Ireland in June 2000, which Argentina won 34 points to 23. He was also capped another four times that year, playing two games against World Champions Australia and then matches against South Africa and England in November. He earned eight Test caps during 2001, and captained Argentina on three more occasions, in matches against Uruguay, the United States and Canada in May. He played six Tests the following year, captaining the Pumas during two of them (June Tests against England and South Africa).

Pichot then moved to Paris club Stade Français in 2003. He played two Tests during August 2003, including captaining the Pumas against Uruguay. He was named captain for the opening match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup against hosts Australia. The Wallabies won the match 24–8. He also scored tries in the pool matches against Uruguay and Canada. He then captained the team in the last pool game against Ireland, which they lost 16–15. He was named to Argentina's 2007 Rugby World Cup squad, which he captained successfully to a 3rd place showing in the World Cup, after a second win in the 2007 Rugby World Cup against France in the 3rd/4th place playoff.

Pichot was the first foreign captain of a French team that won the French championship in 2007.

He spent the 2007–2008 season with Racing Métro, then in Rugby Pro D2, before retiring. Pichot briefly came out of retirement for one last stint with Stade Français in 2009.[2] However, an injury suffered in April 2009 that ended his 2008–09 season led Pichot to call time on his playing career.[3]

Pichot returned to Argentina for one final match on 27 June at CASI, an informal exhibition divided into three periods that saw nearly 60 players take the pitch, including many of his former CASI teammates and past and present Pumas. He was the only player to remain on the field through the match. Also present were Alex Wyllie, who coached the Pumas to their first World Cup quarterfinal in 1999; Marcelo Loffreda, the Pumas' coach for their 2007 World Cup run; and Pichot's successor as Pumas captain, Felipe Contepomi, who was unable to play as he was recovering from a torn ACL. Every player on the pitch wore #9, the standard number for starting scrum-halves.[3]

He narrated the Argentine version of the documentary Earth.

On 24 October 2011, at the IRB Awards ceremony in Auckland, Pichot was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame alongside 18 other key figures in the history of the Rugby World Cup.[1]

Honours

Achievements

Trivia

References

  1. 1 2 "RWC legends inducted into IRB Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  2. ↑ http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/depeches/sports/20090312.REU1752/top_14_le_dernier_challenge_parisien_dagustin_pichot.html
  3. 1 2 Gowar, Rex, Reuters (28 June 2009). "Pumas World Cup captain Pichot plays final game". Yahoo! NZ. Retrieved 29 June 2009.

External links

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