LONG READ Harlequins’ Pumas quartet bring South American flavour to south-west London

There was a distinctly Argentine flavour at Harlequins’ training ground last week, as the club welcomed their growing South American contingent with an asado. The traditional Argentine barbecue – complete with a whole sheep roasting over an open fire – filled the Guildford air with the scent of woodsmoke.

After weeks spent competing on the road in the Rugby Championship, general manager Andy Sanger MBE hopes the occasion will help new arrivals Guido Petti, Boris Wenger and Pedro Delgado, plus the returning Rodrigo Isgró, hit the ground running.

“It might raise a few eyebrows,” Sanger laughs. “We train at Surrey Sports Park, so we’ll have to be discreet – not everyone’s used to seeing a full sheep on the fire in the middle of a university campus.”

It’s a scene that says as much about Harlequins’ culture as it does about their deepening Argentine connection. The quartet follow a path recently trodden by Martín Landajo and Santiago García Botta, who helped deliver the club’s 2021 Premiership title. For Sanger, the qualities they offer off the pitch are nearly as important as their performances on it.

“[The Argentines] bring a real sense of fun for the game. They still really enjoy their rugby. If you’ve been in a professional environment for years and years, you can perhaps forget the privilege that you have to be there. There’s a switch of energy when [Isgró] bounces in. The boys love him. The staff love him.”

The value of those relationships sometimes bears fruit in unexpected ways. In the case of Landajo, Harlequins supported him as he transitioned into life after rugby, helping him set up Pax Plus, an athlete welfare company now based in South America. That network has since proved invaluable, as Landajo has helped the club keep tabs on promising youngsters. Sanger believes those bonds are a crucial part of the recruitment process, which is only becoming more competitive as the sport grows.

Character is important for us… Felipe has been amazing in this process – really engaging, really honest in his appraisals of players.

Head of recruitment Ed Spokes had been tracking Isgró for nearly a year before signing him, while conversations with Landajo and Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi all helped identify the right mix of talent and temperament in Petti, Delgado and Wenger.

“Character is important for us. There’s always a bit of luck in recruitment, especially when you’re recruiting from the other side of the world, but we spoke to Martin, Santi and others. Felipe has been amazing in this process – really engaging, really honest in his appraisals of players. We’ve worked really well together to ensure that players can contribute for Harlequins, but also realise their international ambitions.”

Three of the four were involved in Argentina’s narrow defeat by South Africa at Twickenham, with Isgró grabbing a late try in his adopted city. Crucially, all four subsequently reported for club duty injury-free at a time when Harlequins were in desperate need of reinforcements.

With 19 players out injured, new voices in the coaching box, and having given up half-time leads in both their opening Prem matches this year, Harlequins have the feel of a team in transition. Sunday’s 20-14 victory over Saracens offered a glimpse of what the future could hold. It was far from a typical Harlequins performance, but one that showed they have grit as well as flair.

Even before the spate of injuries, the club was getting used to life without legends Joe Marler and Danny Care, who have both retired over the past 12 months. Everyone knows it will take time for others to fill the void they left behind, but Sanger is confident the players who can do it already ply their trade in south-west London.

“We’ve got a group of really talented young leaders that are developing. Dommers [Alex Dombrandt] is stepping up, Cadan Murley is stepping up as vice-captain. Then we’ve got a bit of an old guard, so to speak, in Stephan Lewies and Joe Launchbury, who are mentoring the younger lads.”

Likewise, Quins have a wealth of rugby IQ on the coaching staff that few clubs can match. Ex-players Adam Jones and Nick Evans ensure there is some continuity with the club’s recent glories, while the addition of Toby Booth and new senior coach Jason Gilmore offer fresh perspectives. Like the Argentine additions, these appointments will take time to settle, but Sanger is confident that Gilmore’s leadership can improve the side.

“He’s a student of the game. He’s really calm and considers what he’s saying. He will be absolutely prepared to make a tough decision if that decision needs to be made.”

You don’t replace someone like Danny Care – that’s the reality – but what you try to do is continue the legacy that Danny would want to pass on, which is about being expressive as a player, of playing to your identity…

The description of Gilmore’s calmness is high praise indeed coming from Sanger, a former army major who ran a bomb disposal unit before joining the club in 2018, initially as player development manager before heading up performance support. It is clear that panic is one thing the club doesn’t need to worry about, at least among the non-playing staff. There were grumblings on social media after their opening two defeats, but Sunday’s impressive victory was a reminder of how quickly the mood can change.

Last season’s seventh-place finish will not have satisfied a club boasting a host of internationals, and expectations will be even higher now with the changes to the coaching and playing staff. The disappointment may even have been compounded by the fact that champions Bath stormed to the title playing an attacking brand of rugby that was once Harlequins’ calling card.

Confronted with a lengthy injury list and the changing personnel, an immediate return to the upper echelons of the league may seem unlikely, but that doesn’t mean it is beyond Harlequins. After all, their 2021 title win came off the back of a change of coach, a series of stunning comeback wins and even a surreal late arrival by Marler, who had to travel to their semi-final against Bristol by helicopter. Marler may be gone, but Sanger was the man tasked with collecting him after his jaunt in the skies, and is keen to stress there is plenty of the spirit of Marler and Care left at the club.

“You don’t replace someone like Danny Care – that’s the reality – but what you try to do is continue the legacy that Danny would want to pass on, which is about being expressive as a player, of playing to your identity and playing to Harlequins’ identity.”

Discussions of club identity sometimes seem too abstract for the modern game, which is so often defined by stats. Yet one gets the sense Harlequins are not like all other clubs. Anyone who has seen the team play at their best knows how lethal they can be on the pitch.

Clearly, the likes of Sanger are doing their best to ensure the Harlequins identity goes from strength to strength off it too. If their injured players can recover sooner rather than later, and they can integrate the new faces, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Sanger might be the explosives expert, but if 2021 is anything to go by, the fireworks will all be out on the pitch.