Mario Ledesma Arocena (born 17 May 1973 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

) 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 a former international rugby player. He played in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

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 ...

campaign, when they reached the semi-finals, and had a professional playing career in France spanning 10 years. Since retiring he has coached at the highest level in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and was most recently the head coach of the Argentine national team.

Family

Ledesma comes from a sporting family. His younger brother Pedro Ledesma, also an international player, played at

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

between 2006 and 2011.

Playing career

Early days

Ledesma started his senior career as a flanker playing for

Curupaytí Curupaytí Club de Rugby is an Argentine rugby union club located in the Hurlingham district of the homonymous partido. The squad currently plays in Primera División A, the second division of the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires league system. ...

in 1990. It was there he converted to hooker where he gained many accolades and praised throughout his playing career. In 1992, he became an U19 Argentina international, and represented his Buenos Aires district in youth level before making the step up to senior level in 1994. He made his international debut against

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 ...

in 1996 during the Pan American Championship. By 1997, he became a regular in the Pumas starting XV and even captained the side against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in September 1998. In 1999, he was selected for his first Rugby World Cup campaign, where he started in every game; including their 47–26 quarter-final defeat to

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 ...

Professional in France

By 2001, Ledesma earned his first professional contract when he signed with

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

for two seasons. Ahead of the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, where Argentina failed to advance past the group stage, Ledesma signed with

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique (, ) is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They pla ...

. It was with Castres where Ledesma gained his first experience at the top level in Europe, 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 ...

. By 2005, he earned over 35 caps for Argentina and 80 professional appearances at French club level, and later signed with Clermont Auvergne ahead of the newly formed Top14 competition. On 12 November 2005, Ledesma earned his 50th test cap during Argentina's 23–19 victory over

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 ...

. This was followed by a 39–22 victory over

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 ...

the following week to earn a clean sweep on their 2005 end-of-year tour campaign. The 2006/07 season proved successful for Ledesma. Not only did he help his country earn their first win over

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 ...

since 1997, but he helped his club claim the 2006–07 European Challenge Cup title, their first taste of European silver since 1999. Clermont also made their first appearance in a French final since 2001, only to lose to

23–18, after a 78th minute try by Radike Samo. That same year, Argentina made it to the semi-finals of the

, after topping their pool with victories over hosts

(17–12) 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 ...

(30–15). In the quarter-finals, Argentina defeated Scotland 19–13 to make their first ever semi-final, only to lose 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 ...

, 37–13. However, they defeated France, 34–10, again in the Bronze final, to finish third and reach their highest World Rugby Ranking. The next three years saw Clermont make three consecutive finals; losing to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

26–20 in 2008 and

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

22–13 in 2009. By 2010, Clermont finally claimed the title, defeating the holders Perpignan 19–6. Ledesma also helped his side advance to the knock-out stage of the 2009–10 Heineken Cup, although lose to

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

29–28 in the quarter-final.

Retirement

By 2011, Ledesma announced he would retire at the end of the season, and his last professional club game was a 29–6 loss to in the semi-final of the

2010–11 Top 14 season The 2010–11 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Home-and-away play began on August 13, 2010 and continued through April 2011. The regular season was followed by a ...

. However, his career hadn't ended yet, for he was selected for his fourth World Cup campaign in

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 ...

. Ledesma was one of the leaders of Los Pumas' pack, and helped his side finish the pool stage 2nd, losing only to England. In the quarter-final, saw Argentina face hosts

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, who won the game 33–10. When Ledesma came off at the 70th minute, it was his final appearance for his nation. During the World Cup,

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

considered Ledesma as one of the best in his position at the 2011 World Cup.

Coaching career

Coaching in France

Following the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and Ledesma's retirement, Ledesma returned to France to begin his coaching career. He joined

as forwards coach under

Michael Cheika Michael Cheika (born 4 March 1967) is an Australian professional rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby union player. He is head coach of Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. Cheika was the coach of the Australia r ...

, where he helped improve the teams positioning to seventh in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

and guided them to top seed in the 2011–12 European Challenge Cup. However, they were knocked out by

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

in the semi-finals, losing 32–29. In June 2012, Ledesma joined the

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

coaching set-up under the leadership of

Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié (; born 20 March 1969) is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later on i ...

. In his first season at the club, Montpellier maintained their position from the following year, bowing out in the quarter-finals to Castres 25–12. Whilst in Europe, they were eliminated by Clermont 36–14 at the same stage. However, the

2013–14 Top 14 season The 2013–14 Top 14 competition is a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Two new teams from the 2012–13 Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 this year, Oyonnax and Brive in place of th ...

saw Montpellier finish second on the table at the end of the regular season, and bypassed the quarter-finals to meet Castres in the semi-finals. However, like before, Castres finished on top, 22–19. The 2014/15 season started promising for Montpellier, winning six out of their opening nine games. However, back to back defeats in the

European Rugby Champions 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 pr ...

, started a slump at the club, losing a further three games at Top14 level. In mid-November, Ledesma resigned from his position at Montpellier after a poor run of form. The then head coach, Galthié soon followed a month later.

Australia

In January 2015, Ledesma rejoined his former coach Michael Cheika, and joined the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

franchise ahead of the 2015 season. He joined the side as a set-piece consultant, and by March 2015, just a month into the season, the Waratahs scrum made great strides. By round 15, the Waratahs were sitting comfortably in top place in the Australian conference, and with their win in round 18, their place was confirmed in the semi-finals, bypassing the quarter-finals. However, the Waratahs lost to eventual Champions the Highlanders 37–15. In July 2015, Ledesma followed Cheika to the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

, after being appointed as forwards coach ahead of 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 ...

. He helped make the Wallabies scrum a strength rather than the weakness it was perceived as. It was the scrum that helped the Wallabies claim 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, ...

title and top their pool in the World Cup, with victories over England and

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 ...

. With wins over Scotland and Argentina in the quarter and semi-finals, the Wallabies made their first World Cup final since 2003, where they faced the All Blacks; who won the game 34–17. Ledesma remained with the Wallabies as forwards coach until the end of the 2017 season, after he was appointed head coach of the Jaguares in October 2017.

Jaguares

It would be Ledesma's first stint as head coach, after six years of assisting at the highest level. His first competitive match in charge was a 28–20 defeat to the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...

, which were followed by two further defeats. However, in round 4, Ledesma gained his first competitive victory, knocking over his former side, the Waratahs, 38–28. Between round 8 and round 17, Ledesma led his side to seven consecutive wins (between two byes), the longest winning streak the team has ever had. It was that streak that helped the Jaguares to earn a place in the quarter-finals for the first time, although were knocked out by the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

after losing 40–23.

Argentina national coach

After

Daniel Hourcade Daniel Hourcade (born San Miguel de Tucumán, 1958) is an Argentine rugby union 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 ...

resigned as Pumas head coach in June 2018, it was speculated that the new head coach would be either Ledesma or

Gonzalo Quesada Gonzalo Quesada (born 2 May 1974) is an Argentine rugby football, rugby coach and former player, who presently works as head coach for the Italy national rugby union team. Playing career Quesada was born May 2, 1974, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...

. However, on 1 August, it was officially announced that Ledesma would replace Hourcade as Pumas head coach, with the latter being announced as Ledesma's replacement at the Jaguares on 8 August.Mario Ledesma named Head Coach of Argentina
/ref> Ledesma signed a three-year deal with the UAR, which would see him make six consecutive appearances at a World Cup across playing and coaching during the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

. Ahead of the 2018 Rugby Championship, Ledesma named 14 uncapped players in his squad, and during the Championship itself, brought back an overseas player from France. Ledesma's first match in charge was a 34–21 defeat to

, before winning the return fixture a week later 32–19. In Round 4, Argentina defeated the

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 ...

23–19, to see Argentina win in Australia for the first time since 1983. Argentina could have finished third place at the end of the Championship after leading Australia in the final round 31–7 at half time. But Australia scored 38 unanswered points in the second half to win after a record comeback 45–34. The 2018 November test window saw Argentina lose all three of their games; losing to

and

. The

2019 Rugby Championship The 2019 Rugby Championship was the eighth 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 Afric ...

showed promise for the Pumas, narrowly losing to

in the opening round of the

. Despite this, Argentina went onto lose all three games of the Championship finishing bottom of the table. Ledesma coached the Pumas to their first ever win over the All Blacks during the

2020 Tri Nations Series The 2020 Tri Nations Series was the seventeenth edition of the annual southern hemisphere competition, involving Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. On 16 October 2020, 2019 Rugby Championship winners and 2019 Rugby World Cup champions South Af ...

. After a winless campaign during the 2021 Rugby Championship, there have been numerous calls for his resignation, and on 9 February 2022, it was announced that he had left his post as head coach.

International matches as head coach

Record by country

Honours

Playing

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 ...

Webb Ellis Cup The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the men's Rugby World Cup, the premier competition in men's international rugby union. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as being the inventor of rugby foot ...

**Third:

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* South American Rugby Championship **Winners:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

* Pan American Championship **Winners: 1996 Clermont Auvergne *

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

**Winners:

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 ...

**Runners-up:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Coaching

''(as assistant coach)'' *

**Runners-up:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* Rugby Championship **Winners:

**Runners-up:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* Mandela Challenge Plate **Winners: 2015, 2016, 2017 * Puma Trophy **Winners: 2015, 2016, 2017 *

Trophée des Bicentenaires To celebrate the bi-centenaries of the First Fleet The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisat ...

**Winners: 2016 *

Hopetoun Cup The Hopetoun Cup is a rugby union trophy contested between Australia and Scotland. Established in 1998, the award is a link between the two countries and is named after John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun (1860–1908). Hope, a Scotsman, was the fo ...

**Winners: 2016

'' * Rugby Championship **Runners-up:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

References

External links

Mario Ledesma
at Unión Argentina de Rugby
Mario Ledesma
on ercrugby.com
1999 RWC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledesma, Mario Argentina national rugby union team coaches Argentine rugby union coaches Argentine rugby union players 1973 births Rugby union players from Buenos Aires Living people Rugby union hookers ASM Clermont Auvergne players Argentina international rugby union players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players Argentine expatriate rugby union players in France 21st-century Argentine sportsmen 20th-century Argentine sportsmen