Rugby-Creevy experience perfect foil for Argentina hopes

The 38-year-old Creevy is the elder statesman in a line of Argentina players who converted from the back row to lead the Pumas from the front as hookers in the team’s progress from outsiders to serious World Cup contenders this century. Mario Ledesma played in the team that made the breakthrough in France in 1999 and reached the tournament podium eight years later, also in France, with a bronze medal.

Ever since Argentina reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 1999 they have had world class hookers in their squad and France 2023 will be no exception.

Pumas centurion Agustín Creevy, Argentina's captain in 2015, goes to his fourth World Cup as a quality replacement for his successor Julian Montoya in a game in which the bench increasingly holds the key to the outcome of matches. The 38-year-old Creevy is the elder statesman in a line of Argentina players who converted from the back row to lead the Pumas from the front as hookers in the team’s progress from outsiders to serious World Cup contenders this century.

Mario Ledesma played in the team that made the breakthrough in France in 1999 and reached the tournament podium eight years later, also in France, with a bronze medal. In New Zealand in 2011, Creevy was Ledesma’s replacement through a tournament that included a narrow defeat by England and a one-point victory over Scotland that deposited them in a last-eight clash with the All Blacks.

Argentina went no further in New Zealand but Creevy confirmed home coach Steve Hansen’s assessment at the Under-21 World Cup in Mendoza in 2005 that the talented youngster was as good as a Maori. Creevy, who became the first Argentine to win 100 caps in a warm-up against South Africa in Buenos Aires on Aug. 5, captained his country a record 51 times between 2014 and 2018 before he was succeeded by back row Pablo Matera.

He adopted a reverse role at the 2019 World Cup as replacement for present skipper Montoya, who was his understudy in 2015 in England where Creevy led the team to the semi-finals. “If I had to choose a match that I would love to play again, it would be the quarter-final against Ireland in 2015. We played well and it was very special,” Creevy told lospumas.com.ar in a recent interview.

“The dream I still have with the Pumas is to be a world champion.” After the last World Cup, Creevy went two years without playing for the Pumas, largely due to the COVID pandemic which forced the break up of Argentina’s Super Rugby team, the Jaguares, and his move to London Irish.

A prolific try-scorer, Creevy touched down 22 times in 55 matches for Irish in all competitions in his two seasons with the club, earning a recall to the Pumas from Cheika last year. He has joined Sale for the 2023-24 season.