The road of the Pumas 7 to Paris 2024 shines brighter than ever

Two gold and one silver medals in three stages played so far this season. Undisputed first place in the ranking. The best sevens team in the world today. The Pumas 7 never stop dreaming and continue at a steady pace.

In what seemed to be a total party for the locals - their two teams reached the final of the tournament - they ended up losing both titles (the women’s to Ireland 19-14 and the men’s 31-5 to Argentina). In any case, in what was Perth’s debut as a stage on the calendar, the goal of being the “biggest party in town” was fulfilled.

Last July, World Rugby announced the new SVNS format for the 2024 season. As part of its changes, the Hamilton and Toulouse stages were eliminated, a single stage will be played in Hong Kong, London was replaced by the single final in Madrid and the stage in Australia flew from east to west. Since the creation of the circuit in 1999, the Australian stage has passed through the cities of Brisbane, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Sydney.

As part of the renewal, it was also detailed that from now on, the calendar will end with a single final, to be held in Madrid, where the eight best teams will face each other to define the winner of the season. Unlike previous editions, the winner will not be defined by the sum of points, but by whoever manages to be the best on Spanish soil. Everything will lead to the arrival of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where rugby sevens will start on July 24.

For the Argentine team, Perth represented the challenge of seeing how their process continued after two very successful first stages - they played the final in Dubai and won the title in Cape Town. This being the first tournament in a year full of activity, the statistics presented them as favorites, but the dynamism of a changing sport also leads to varied results. Without neglecting, of course, that you can never relax in the face of powers such as New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Australia or Fiji. Luckily for them, there were no surprises on Australian soil and the history of Argentine rugby added a new chapter full of emotion, effort, sacrifice and unity.

But this story already has several chapters under its belt. It was in 2013 when Santiago Gómez Cora took command of the Seven team, full of dreams that seemed distant. The commitment was to carry out a long-term process, empower young players, support the most experienced ones and open borders: looking for the best players across the country.

This present is the result of 10 years of work.

Work, not chance. Play, growth, training and education. Step by step. Not trusting the good ones but not giving in to the bad ones either. Always ahead.

Since the beginning of the Gómez Cora era, Los Pumas 7 became champions of the Lima 2019 and Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, silver medal in Toronto 2015, sixth in Rio 2016, bronze medal in Tokyo 2020, runner-up in the 2023 Seven Series (they won three of the six finals they played in an 11-stage calendar) and today leaders of the 2024 ranking with two titles and one final. The story tells itself.

This present belongs to each of the players who have been on the squad since then. Of those who were left on the road due to injuries, such as Alejo Lavayén who tore his ligaments during the Dubai stage last December. Of those who retired. Of those who paved the way and went to Los Pumas 15. Of those who left and came back.

This present belongs to the entire team off the field. From Santiago Gómez Cora (head coach) to Leonardo Gravano (assistant coach), Juan Galarraga (physical trainer), Tomás Romero (manager), Julián Ferraris (physiotherapist) and those who remained in Argentina. Of the volunteers who accompany the team at every stage. Of their families. Of the fans who follow them around the world and those who get hooked on TV in Argentina. Of the clubs. Of the children who dream of being a Puma one day.

The Pumas will arrive in Paris with the dream of repeating, or surely improving, the historic bronze medal won in Tokyo 2020. Although the road is long - there are still five stages to be played - they made it clear that there is a team to be excited about and a lot of potential to continue to achieve great things.

At the end of the day, Los Pumas 7 are more than a team: they are a family. A group of friends who pull together to the same side, going after the same dream, celebrating the good times and hugging each other also in bad times. Friends who accompany each other in individual achievements such as awards or university degrees, who go on vacation together, who leave their provinces to live in Buenos Aires and be able to train without limitations. And for us, the ones who proudly follow their adventures around the world, we can only continue to dream and hope that what has been achieved today will only be the floor of what will come tomorrow.