Argentina’s men’s rugby sevens team suffered a crushing 38-0 defeat against South Africa in their final pool match at the SVNS World Championship in Hong Kong on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
The loss came after a strong start to the tournament, where Los Pumas 7s opened with a 38-14 victory over Spain and followed it up with a 40-19 win against Uruguay to secure qualification for the quarterfinals.
Although, the Blitzboks turned the tide decisively in the third match, scoring early and often after Argentina’s Martiniano Arrieta was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle, leaving the side a man down.
South Africa capitalized on the numerical advantage, building a 26-0 halftime lead before adding two more tries in the second half to seal the shutout victory.
The result dropped Argentina from first to third in Pool A, though they still advanced to the knockout stage as one of the best third-place finishers.
Earlier in the day, Pedro de Haro stood out with four tries across the wins over Spain and Uruguay, while Luciano González contributed two tries against Uruguay and Santiago Vera Feld added a try and conversion points in the opener.
The team, led by head coach Santiago Gómez Cora, now prepares for the quarterfinals as they aim to rebound from the heavy loss and continue their campaign for the title.
