Colours: White and light blue hoops
Nickname: Pumas
Honours: RWC'99 Quarter-finals
Coach: Argentina's perennial rise may have a lot to do with their coach Marcelo Loffreda, the former Puma captain with 33 Test caps to his name. There are no arguments about what he does and the fact that he's been in charge since 2000 has given the side ample continuity. However Loffreda has confirmed that he will step down after the 2007 World Cup to take up a post with Leicester Tigers.
Captain: Scrum-half Agustin Pichot has been playing for Argentina since April 1995, captaining the side on a permanent basis since the 2003 World Cup. The Stade Français player now has more than 60 caps to his name and has established himself as one of the most dangerous gamebreakers in the world.
Player(s) to watch: Over the last few years, Juan Martín Hernández has become one of the most exciting players in world rugby, with many commentators now labelling him the best full-back in the game. He claims to prefer the fly-half position, but can play anywhere across the backline and his nickname 'El Mago' (the magician) says everything about his talent. He has played for Stade Français since 2004, but there is speculation that he will join Leicester Tigers after the 2007 World Cup.
Profile: Despite rugby being the poor relation to the round ball game in soccer-mad Argentina, 'Los Pumas' - as the national team are known - emerged from 1999 Rugby World Cup with great pride from their best-ever finish, and have continued their rise ever since.
It is in the scrummage where Argentina traditionally excel and the country has produced more than its fair share of world-class front row men down the years. However Pichot has found some able assistance in the backs in recent years, with fly-half Felipe Contepomi and full-back Juan Martín Hernández both proving to be world-class players in their positions.
With increasing numbers of their players signing up on professional contracts at the turn of the century at clubs around the world - particularly France - many previously amateur Pumas had the chance to train and play full-time which has slowly but surely reaped dividends and allowed Argentina to become a genuine world power in rugby.
The 2001 season was a fantastic year for Argentina, winning six of their eight Tests. The year began by winning their fourth Pan Am Championship title, with victories against Uruguay, the USA and Canada. A trip to New Zealand saw the Pumas lose 19-67 to the All Blacks in Christchurch, but less than a month later they bounced back to beat Italy 38-17 at home.
Argentina managed wins over Scotland and Wales, both away from home, at the end of 2001, while another memorable win for them came in 2002 against France (the newly-crowned Six Nations champions), this time at home.
They narrowly missed out on a quarter-final berth in the 2003 World Cup when they were pipped 15-16 in the pools by Ireland, but bounced back to split a two-test home series with Wales in June 2004. Things continued to improve when they handed defending Six Nations champion France a 24-14 defeat in November of the same year, a victory which took place in Marseille - where France had never lost before.
2005 produced another great moment of pride when Los Pumas drew 25-25 with the British and Irish Lions, a game they would have won were it not for eight minutes of added time and a late Jonny Wilkinson penalty. They then lost 34-23 at home to South Africa but finished the year on a high by beating Scotland and Italy away from home on consecutive weekends.
However their finest moments were to come in 2006, which began with their first ever series win over Wales. This was followed by a 25-19 loss to New Zealand and a 26-0 thrashing of Uruguay (to qualify for the 2007 World Cup), after which they defeated England 25-18 at Twickenham, their first-ever win over England in England. A convincing win over Italy and a one-point loss to France completed a year in which the side had cemented their spot as a unit worthy of ample respect.