Rugby Union is very popular in Argentina. The first rugby match played in the country dates back to 1873, when the British introduced the game. The Argentine National Team, referred to as The Pumas, competed in all Rugby World Cups and is considered a Tier One nation by the International Rugby Board (IRB). The Union Argentina de Rugby (UAR) was formed in 1899 as the River Plate Rugby Football Union, 26 years after the first rugby match had been played. It was affiliated to the English Rugby Football Union in 1932.

The union became a member of the IRB after being invited to the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and currently holds a seat on its body's Executive Council. The UAR is one of the oldest rugby unions in the world.

The strongest Provincial Unions within the UAR are Buenos Aires, Tucuman, Cordoba, Rosario and Mendoza.

The Pumas well-deserved 3rd place at the 2007 RWC in France made a tremendous impact, helping the game develop a lot more across the nation.

After several months of negotiations between the UAR, the IRB and the SANZAR, Argentina has recently been confirmed alongside South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to play, as from 2012, in “The Rugby Championship”, the exciting and ground-breaking replacement for the Tri Nations. Argentine rugby as a whole is very proud of this achievement, which marks an historic moment for local rugby and sports in general here in Argentina.