Daniel Hourcade (born

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (), usually called simply Tucumán, is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Argentin ...

, 1958) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

coach and former player. He has coached at various levels of the game, at both club and international level. He has coached in Argentina, France and Portugal, and was head coach of the Argentine national team having come through the ranks with the sevens national team, Argentina Jaguars and

Pampas XV Pampas XV is an Argentine professional rugby union team that currently competes in Super Rugby Americas.Universitario Rugby Club de Tucumán. He began his coaching career in 1993 where he worked up the coaching ranks in the Universitario Rugby Club de Tucumán side. This included a three-year tenure as the head coach of the Senior side. He left the Tucumán side to become head coach of the Argentina Under-21 side before being named head coach of the Argentina sevens side between 2001 and 2004. Hourcade left the

Argentine Rugby Union The Argentine Rugby Union (, abbreviated "UAR") is the governing body for rugby union in Argentina. It is a member of World Rugby, with a seat on that body's Executive Council, and a founding member of Sudamérica Rugby. The UAR organises all the ...

(UAR) in 2004 to take up the role of head coach of Portuguese domestic club Grupo Desportivo Direito. This role was on a par with his duties as head coach of Portugal sevens side and assistant head coach of the Portugal national side - which was his role through Portugal's first appearance in the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

. He finished his stint in Portugal in 2008 following his stint as head coach for the Portugal women's national rugby union team. Hourcade also had a brief stint in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

when he coached Stade Rouennais in the

Fédérale 2 Fédérale 2 is a rugby union club championship division in France. It is the sixth division of rugby above Fédérale 3. Teams can earn promotion to Fédérale 1, and subsequently, to the National 2 and Nationale leagues, and on to the profes ...

league. Hourcade returned to the UAR in 2010 when he became the head coach of the Argentina Jaguars, where he led the Jaguars to four consecutive championships in the

Americas Rugby Championship The Americas Rugby Championship, often informally called the Americas' Six Nations, was an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations: Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Brazil national rugby u ...

and led the team to second in the IRB Nations Cup. He also led the team to numerous victories over test sides including a 2-0 test series win over

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Pampas XV

In 2010, he became the first coach of the newly formed side

Pampas XV Pampas XV is an Argentine professional rugby union team that currently competes in Super Rugby Americas.South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

that would compete annually in the

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

. In the 2010 Vodacom Cup, Pampas finished fifth, just outside the play-off positioning. However, in the

2011 Vodacom Cup The 2011 Vodacom Cup was contested from 25 February to 13 May 2011. The tournament was the 14th edition of the Vodacom Cup, an annual domestic South African rugby union competition, and was played between the fourteen provincial teams in South ...

, Hourcade led the side to top of the Southern Section table with 8 from 8 victories, he led the Pampas XV to the final. His side would have to face the defending champions the Blue Bulls who lost 14-9 on this occasion. However, in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

he was unable to retain the title, losing in the Quarter finals to 26–18. In the Pampas final appearance in the Vodacom Cup in 2013, they again only made it as far as the Quarter finals, losing 44–37 to .

Argentina national coach

In October 2013, his Argentina coaching career reached its apex when he was announced as head coach for the national senior side for the 2013 end-of-year rugby union tests through to the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

. His first match in charge was against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 9 November 2013, losing 31–12. A week later, Argentina lost to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

40–6, which was Wales' largest ever win over the Pumas, however, Hourcade earned his first victory as coach against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

on 23 November 2013, winning 19–14 at the

Stadio Olimpico Stadio Olimpico (; ), colloquially known as l'Olimpico (The Olympic), is an Italian multi-purpose sports venue located in Rome. Seating over 70,000 spectators, it is the largest sports facility in Rome and the second-largest in Italy, after ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In May 2014, he revived his first silverware, having won all the matches in the 2014 CONSUR Cup, defeating

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, 65–9, and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, 73–12. In June 2014, Argentina contested the Admiral Brown Cup, a trophy contested between Argentina and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Ireland claimed the trophy having won both matches 29–17 and 23–17 respectively. During the

2014 Rugby Championship The 2014 Rugby Championship was the third edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, S ...

, Argentina suffered several close defeats - losing 13–6 and 31–33 to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

home and away, but on 5 October 2014, Hourcade guided Argentina to their first ever win in the Rugby Championship, defeating

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

21-17 at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza. Not only was this their first win in the Rugby Champions, but it was their first win over Australia in 17 years. Despite that win, Argentina finished in last place in the Rugby Championship for the third consecutive year. During their 2014 end-of-year tour, Hourcade led Argentina to two victories from three. Their only loss was to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, 41–31. They did however defeat Italy 20–18 and

18–13 - Argentina's first win over France in France since 2007. In 2015, he led the team (acting as Argentina Jaguars) to two consecutive uncapped wins over the USA Selects in April, before guiding the national XV side to their second consecutive CONSUR Cup, with wins over Uruguay and Paraguay respectively. However, on 27 May just 4 days after clinching the CONSUR Cup, he led the Argentina Jaguars side to a narrow 21–23 defeat to the Fiji Warriors. During the

2015 Rugby Championship The 2015 Rugby Championship was the fourth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, ...

, Hourcade led Argentina to third, the first time they hadn't finished in bottom place. Haven lost to New Zealand in the opening round 39–18, then to Australia 34–9 in Argentina's only home match of the Championship, Argentina went into the final round against South Africa on 0 points. However, Hourcade led Argentina to their first ever victory over

winning 37–25. During the

, Hourcade led Argentina to fourth. Haven only lost to New Zealand in their group, 26–16, despite leading 12–11 at half time, they went on to finish second in

Pool C Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

with victories over Georgia 54–9, Tonga 45–16, and Namibia 64–19. Argentina had scored the most points than any other team during the pool stage, and their attacking rugby continued when they beat

43–20 in the quarter-final, which was their first victory over Ireland since 2007, while setting a new record for biggest winning margin over the Irish. They faced Australia in the semi-final, however, Argentina failed to capitalize on opportunities and failed to score in their 29–15 defeat. 5 days later, Hourcade led Argentina to fourth in the world, losing to South Africa in the Bronze final 24–13. In the 2016 June international window, Hourcade led Argentina to a 30–24 victory over Italy in a one-off test. He drew their test series with France 1–all, having won the first test 30–19, but lose the second test 27–0. The second test was the first time Argentina had failed to score any points in a test match since they lost 16–0 against Ireland in 2007. It was the first time they have failed to score any points against France since their first ever meeting in 1949. During the

2016 Rugby Championship The 2016 Rugby Championship was the fifth edition of the annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, South Africa ...

, Hourcade led Argentina to their first ever home victory over South Africa, defeating the Springboks 26–24 in

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

during the second round of the Championship. However, this was their only victory of the Championship, as alongside their first round loss to South Africa, Argentina went onto lose their 4 remaining games against Australia and New Zealand. In a first ever meeting between Argentina and Japan since 2005, Hourcade led Argentina to a 54–20 victory against a side that had 13 debutantes, before going onto play Wales, Scotland and England, all resulting in a loss; 24–20, 19–16 and 27–14. In June 2017, Argentina lost 2–0 to an inexperienced English side, losing both tests 38–34 and 35–25. Hourcade did however lead his side to a 45–29 victory over a touring Georgian side on their Americas tour. The

2017 Rugby Championship The 2017 Rugby Championship was the sixth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere The Rugby Championship, Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Australia national rugby union team, Australia, Sout ...

saw Argentina finish bottom of the table, after losing all six games and not recording a single bonus point - this is the first ever time they had done this, with 2013 being their previous worst Championship with only two points. Argentina started the competition with back-to-back loses to South Africa, 37–15 (away) and 23–41 (home). Their third-round game against New Zealand saw Argentina lead the All Blacks 16–15 at half time, and at the 60th minute the score was level at 22–all. However, substitutions were made on both sides and Argentina conceded 17 points in as many minutes to lose the game 39–22. In the fourth round, Argentina also lead Australia at half time, 13–10, but indiscipline and substitutions cost Argentina the game, losing 45–20. Despite being down 29–3 at half time at home to New Zealand, Hourcade's defensive systems pressured the All Blacks, and leading into overtime, New Zealand had still failed to score any points in the second half. However, a try at last play by newly capped David Havili saw New Zealand record a 36–10 victory. In the final round, Argentina once again led Australia 13–12 at half time, however Australia capitalized on defensive lapses to score three tries in the second half to see out the game 37–20. Argentina's poor form continued into the 2017 End-of-year tests, gaining just one win, coming against Italy 31–15. The other test were against England and Ireland, which were both defeats for Argentina, 21–8 and 28–19. In June 2018, Hourcade led Argentina to back-to-back defeats to Wales, with the first test being a first loss at home to Wales since 2004. After losing the first test 23–10 in the two-test series, Hourcade made just one change to the starting XV ahead of the second test. Discipline proved an issue for the home side, who lost the test 30–12, conceding 12 penalties, seven of which were attempted kick at goal by the Welsh. Following the game, Hourcade announced his resignation as Pumas head coach, and that the test against Scotland the following week would be his last in charge. That game also ended in defeat, a record loss against Scotland at home, losing 44–15. The loss meant, Hourcade had won just 6 games in 28 games since the success of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

International matches as head coach

Note: World Rankings Column shows the World Ranking Wales was placed at on the following Monday after each of their matches.

Record by country

Honours

*CONSUR Cup **Winners: 2014, 2015 * Killik Cup **Winner: 2015

Other honours

Pampas XV Pampas XV is an Argentine professional rugby union team that currently competes in Super Rugby Americas.Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

**Winners:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Argentina Jaguars *

**Winners: 2010, 2012 *

World Rugby Nations Cup The Nations Cup is a rugby union competition that was first held in 2006 at Estádio Universitário in Lisbon with Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia taking part. The tournament is part of the International Rugby Board's US $50 million St ...

**Runners-up:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hourcade, Daniel 1958 births Living people Argentine rugby union players Argentine rugby union coaches Argentina national rugby union team coaches Universitario Rugby Club de Tucumán players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from San Miguel de Tucumán Argentine expatriate sportspeople in France Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate rugby union coaches