Federico Eduardo Méndez Azpillaga (born 2 August 1972) 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 ...

footballer. Méndez played professional rugby in South Africa, England and France. He also played for Mendoza Rugby Club in Argentina and won 74 caps for the

Argentina national rugby union team The Argentina national rugby union team ( Spanish: ''Selección de rugby de Argentina'') represents Argentina in men's international competitions, The Argentine Rugby Union (). Officially nicknamed ''Los Pumas'', they play in sky blue and white ...

, including appearances at four

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

s, in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. Mendez was considered the best hooker at the 1995 World Cup and had the unique ability to play hooker, loosehead or tighthead.

Biography

Playing career

Méndez started his career with Mendoza RC in his hometown; he made his Argentina debut as a teenager, and was sent off in a match 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 ...

for a punch on English lock Paul Ackford in 1990. Méndez played in the 1995 Rugby World Cup and later played for in

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 ...

winning the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

in 1996. He played for

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground, Bath, Rec ...

and

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

in England. He won the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

in 1998 with Bath (as a replacement) and then in 2000 with Northampton, thus becoming the first player to win the trophy twice. Mendez also won the player of the season award for

in the 1998–99 season. Méndez then had a spell in France with Bordeaux-Bègles and a second spell with Sharks before returning to Argentina to play for Mendoza RC.

Coaching career

Méndez announced his retirement from rugby in 2005, but returned to the game later that year for a brief spell as player-coach at

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

in South Africa. He then went on to coach at his beloved Mendoza RC. He recently turned down the position of

scrum Scrum may refer to: * Autozam Scrum, a microvan and pickup truck sold in Japan by Mazda * Line of scrimmage, line separating football teams before a play * Media scrum, an impromptu press conference, often held immediately outside an event such a ...

coach for the South African Springboks. He said he could not live with himself if he helped the Boks beat the Argentinian Pumas. Méndez is currently on the panel of judges for the annual

IRB Awards The World Rugby Awards are given out annually by World Rugby (until November 2014, known as the International Rugby Board), the worldwide governing body for rugby union, for major achievements in the sport. The idea of rewarding excellence in ru ...

References

External links

RWC 2003 profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Federico 1972 births Living people Rugby union players from Mendoza, Argentina Bath Rugby players Northampton Saints players Argentine rugby union players Sharks (Currie Cup) players Western Province (rugby union) players Rugby union hookers Argentine rugby union coaches Argentina international rugby union players Argentine expatriate sportspeople in South Africa CA Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde players Argentine expatriate rugby union players in France 21st-century Argentine sportsmen Argentine expatriate rugby union players in England 1991 Rugby World Cup players 1995 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players 20th-century Argentine sportsmen