LONG READ Pedro Rubiolo: 'I know this club is going to win some trophies.'

At a glance, Pedro Rubiolo’s career to date could be mistaken for a nature documentary. Having cut his teeth with the now-defunct Jaguares in his native Argentina, he enjoyed a short stint with Newcastle Falcons in their pre-Red Bull era, and has already amassed over 30 caps for his beloved Pumas. Having recently penned a new contract with Bristol Bears, Rubiolo has never seemed more at home. At 6ft 4in and weighing in at 18 stone, he certainly looks the part.

The decision to offer Rubiolo an extension less than six months after he first arrived shows how highly he is rated by the coaching staff and it is clear that the feeling is mutual.

“It’s a really good club with amazing coaches. All my teammates are really good players, so I can be 100 per cent myself. I think if we continue working like this, I don’t know if it’s this season, or next season but I know this club is going to win some trophies.”

Bristol’s expansive style of play has been ever-present since Pat Lam took charge in 2017, but the recent 61-49 Champions Cup win over the Bulls was eye-catching even by their standards. Rubiolo grabbed his first try for the club during the game and is keen to emphasise the areas of his game that need improvement if he is to keep up with the pace of his team’s attack.

He explains “Obviously, one of my goals is to improve my attack because here, they are very skilled, so it’s good for me.” With a wry smile he adds, “But I know what I have to do.”

The powerhouse second row has given the Bristol pack a degree of physicality to balance their ambition out wide. The addition of Wales starlet Louis Rees-Zammit may have been the marquee signing, but the Argentine is already looking like one of the most astute the club has made in recent years. The Bears’ win in Pretoria was their seventh in succession, a run that has taken them to the brink of the knockout stages in Europe and into the top four domestically. It is perhaps no coincidence that this impressive run began just days after Rubiolo returned from international duty.

He is quick to point to how the club has made him feel welcome off the field, not least due to the presence of his fellow Argentines, Matías Moroni and the Grondona brothers. The weather has limited their ability to indulge in Argentine barbecues – asados – but his laughter at the mention of pies and cider suggests he is managing to adapt to more traditional Bristolian culinary offerings.

“Since I arrived, the boys have been great with me and I’m really happy. We do stuff together almost every day after training.”

It would be reasonable to assume Rubiolo might have been put up with teammates, but he has elected to live alone, near the training ground.

I played football, like everyone in Argentina, and a little tennis, but nobody in my family played rugby. I saw rugby on the TV and I said ‘I want to play that’

“When I am not training, I am usually playing PlayStation with the Argies or speaking with family back home. They don’t know anything about rugby so it’s easy [to switch off].”

He could just as easily be a university student describing how they pass the time between lectures. It is an important reminder that, despite his size and impressive array of accomplishments, Rubiolo only turned 23 in December and is, for his position, still extremely young. Yet there is a quiet confidence to him that goes some way to explaining his somewhat surprising journey to the sport’s elite ranks. Born in the city of Rafaela, Santa Fe, Rubiolo first encountered the sport by chance.

“I played football, like everyone in Argentina, and a little tennis, but nobody in my family played rugby. I didn’t feel completely comfortable in those sports and then one day, when I was 10, I saw rugby on the TV and I said ‘I want to play that’. My parents took me to the club and I never stopped.”

Unsurprisingly, for such a vast country, the rugby infrastructure is concentrated in the major cities, with a particular emphasis on Buenos Aires. As Rubiolo progressed through the age groups, he had to make more and more sacrifices to continue pursuing the sport he loved. At 15, it took 90 minutes to get to training with his provincial side. By 17, he was travelling four hours by bus every Sunday to Rosario, where he would stay until Tuesday before returning home to attend school

“Buenos Aires has bigger clubs, and the level there is higher. Maybe there are more opportunities there. In Santa Fe, you might get one opportunity and you have to take it.”

Rubiolo certainly did that. Thrust into the international arena at 19, he made his Pumas debut against World Champions South Africa before he had ever played club rugby in a major league.

“My debut came fast and I didn’t expect it. When the opportunity came, I knew I had to take it. It’s easy to get there, but it’s hard to stay.”

Most of the guys I grew up watching are my teammates now. Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer, Guido Petti – it’s crazy!

Rubiolo hasn’t only stayed in the team – he has thrived in it. Having largely featured as a replacement during his side’s journey to the 2023 World Cup semifinals, he has since become a mainstay. He started in last year’s historic victories over the British and Irish Lions, and New Zealand, winning plenty of plaudits along the way. It seems the speed of his ascent to the game’s upper echelons is as much a surprise to him as anyone.

“Most of the guys I grew up watching are my teammates now. Pablo Matera, Marcos Kremer, Guido Petti – it’s crazy!”

Rubiolo’s journey may have been an accelerated one, but his pathway is one the next generation of regional stars should find easier to follow. Whereas in 2007, nearly 90% of the Argentine World Cup squad were from Buenos Aires, only a third of the 2023 contingent were from the capital. Rubiolo’s province now boasts a professional team, competing in the continent’s franchise league, Super Rugby Americas. Argentina are spearheading a joint bid with Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil to host the 2035 Men’s World Cup. When it comes to rugby, Argentina is advancing almost as rapidly as their second row.

For now, Rubiolo isn’t thinking about the World Cup, or any personal accolades that might come his way. He resists too much comparison with other second rows, though his acknowledgement that Eben Etzebeth is one of the world’s best speaks volumes for the kind of player Rubiolo admires.

“I love playing against [top second rows] and I always want to be better than them, but I don’t want to be like them. I want to be me.”

When he speaks, it isn’t hard to imagine the 10-year-old boldly pointing at the TV and declaring he wants to try this strange, abrasive sport. The sense of certainty that led him from Rafaela to the Premiership is there for all to see. Bristol and Argentina fans will be watching eagerly to see where it leads next.