Pablo Matera
Pablo Matera (born 18 July 1993) is an Argentine rugby union footballer who plays as a flanker for the Argentine Super Rugby side Jaguares. Before his arrival in Super Rugby, he played for Leicester Tigers in England and the Pampas XV in the South African Vodacom Cup.[2][3][4] Matera has been a regular starter for Argentina in international rugby ever since his debut in 2013, having played over 50 tests for his country since.
![]() Matera playing for Leicester, 2014. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Pablo Nicolás Matera | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 18 July 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 243 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Club career
Leicester Tigers
In October 2013, five months after his international debut, English Premiership side Leicester Tigers signed 20-year-old Matera until the end of the 2013–14 season.[5] He initially signed as an injury replacement for Tom Croft. Matera scored his first try for the club in round 16 of the 2013–14 season against the Newcastle Falcons in an 18–41 victory at Kingston Park, Newcastle.[6]
Jaguares
2016
Matera along with multiple Argentina national team players signed for the Jaguares ahead of the 2016 Super Rugby season after its inclusion into the competition. After just his second game Matera received a yellow card thirty three minutes into the game against the Sharks at Kings Park Stadium, Durban.[7] Matera scored his first and only try for the season in the Jaguares outfit in just their fifth home game ever, in round 15 of their first season against South African team the Bulls in a 29–11 victory at the José Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires.[8]
2017
Matera scored his first & only try for the Jaguares in the 2017 season against the Waratahs in a 27–40 away win at Allianz Stadium, Sydney.[9]
2018
Matera was named as captain of the Jaguares ahead of the 2018 season.[10]
International career
Matera represented Argentina U20 in the 2012 and 2013 U20 World Championships.[11]
He made his senior debut for Los Pumas against Chile in May 2013 and was subsequently named in the squad for the 2013 Rugby Championship where he featured in all the games of that campaign.[12][13] Matera was a big feature for Argentina in the 2015 Rugby World Cup playing six of seven games for Los Pumas and helping them finish fourth overall.
Matera played his 50th test for Los Pumas on 18 August 2018 against South Africa, during round 1 on the 2018 Rugby Championship. The test was a 21-34 loss for Los Pumas, who bounced back to beat South Africa the following week. Despite Matera's good performances against South Africa, new Head Coach Mario Ledesma went on to bench Matera for the 8 September clash against New Zealand.
Super Rugby statistics
Season | Team | Games | Starts | Sub | Mins | Tries | Cons | Pens | Drops | Points | Yel | Red |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Jaguares | 11 | 10 | 1 | 748 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
2017 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 775 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
2018 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 386 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 27 | 26 | 2 | 1,909 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
References
- "Pablo Matera". Sanzar. 17 February 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- "Pablo Matera Argentina Rugby Player Profile". UAR. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- "Pablo Matera ESPN Scrum Player Profile". ESPN. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- "Pablo Matera itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics". itsrugby.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- "Pablo Matera: Leicester Tigers sign Argentine flanker". BBC Sport. 8 October 2013.
- "Newcastle Falcons 18 Leicester Tigers 41". PremiershipRugby.com. 2 March 2014.
- "Sharks beat gritty Jaguares". Sanzar. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- "Wet weather win for Jaguares". Sanzar. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- "Jaguares get the better of Waratahs". Sanzar. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- "Pablo Matera es el nuevo capitán de Jaguares". ESPN (in Spanish). 26 January 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- "Pablo Matera IRB JWC Player Profile". IRB. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- "SA Rugby Match Centre – South Africa 73-13 Argentina". South African Rugby Union. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- "SA Rugby Match Centre – Argentina 17-22 South Africa". South African Rugby Union. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2016.