Gaston Revol, Pumas sweep first two matches at USA Sevens rugby tournament

Gaston Revol accepted a reporter’s request for an interview after his Argentine rugby team had an impressive victory against France to start the USA Sevens tournament Friday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Revol, the captain for Argentina, was told the interview would be done in Spanish. The leader of the Pumas denied that. He wanted to practice his English.

So the interview was done in English.

Revol doesn’t like sticking to the norm. In Argentina, soccer is king and everyone speaks Spanish. So Revol, of course, chose rugby over futbol and learned to speak English.

The 29-year-old does both well.

“I don’t know why I didn’t try soccer,” said Revol, who stands 5 feet 7 inches tall with a stocky frame. “I ask myself that every day. I have a soccer player’s body. But I’m a physical player. Rugby was better for me.”

Revol scored six points for Argentina in the 26-7 victory against France. The Argentinians followed that up with a 25-12 win against Samoa to end the first day of the competition with a 2-0 record and the lead in the Pool C standings.

Samoa had an upset victory against Fiji earlier in the day. Samoa and Fiji are tied for second with 1-1 records in Pool C.

“Winning the first game is always very important,” Revol said. “You get more confidence, and that is very important for the rest of the tournament.”

No sport will surpass the popularity of soccer in Argentina, but the fan base for the rugby Pumas keeps growing in the South American nation.

The U.S. sort of has that in common. Football rules sports in America, and rugby is slowly picking up steam with U.S. coach Mike Friday bringing the program success.

The Eagles had a breakout 2015 under Friday. The Pumas had their breakout season 10 years ago, and now they want to compete with the best.

“I think the results are going to come,” Revol said. “Rugby is getting more and more popular with Los Pumas, and getting to the World Cup semifinals we gained more fans.

“In the last 10 years, rugby has been very good and the sport is getting more popular.”

Argentina entered the USA Sevens competition in Las Vegas as a dark-horse contender. The Pumas are tied for fourth with Australia in the HSBC World Series standings with 59 points. South Africa, New Zealand and Fiji lead the pack with 69 points.

The Pumas will see how far they’ve come today with a matchup against Fiji for first place and a top seed in the quarterfinals.

Last year in Las Vegas, Argentina advanced to the final, but in the wrong end of the bracket. Argentina finished second to Kenya in the consolation bracket.

“Our goal is to get to that Gold cup,”Revol said. “We’re ready to get there.”

Revol said he enjoys coming to Las Vegas for USA Sevens. It gives him a chance to practice his English and play roulette on the Strip.

After the interview ended, Revol asked how was his English.

“Perfect,” the reporter replied.

Just like his team’s record on the pitch Friday.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter:@gmanzano24