Emiliano Boffelli: The key to Edinburgh success?

Emiliano Boffelli

Emiliano Boffelli has returned to Edinburgh Rugby this week after a near-perfect summer away on international duty and, if his recent form continues, could be the star piece of the jigsaw that the Scottish side needs to make this season a memorable one. 

At 27 years old, the Argentinian flyer seems to have hit the form of his life in the past few months and will be a very welcome addition back to an Edinburgh team that is looking to make this season even better than the last and assert themselves at the top of European rugby.

Summer 2022

It has been a busy summer for Boffelli but one that he will certainly look back on with fond memories in years to come. He kicked off July with a 2-1 series win against Scotland in Argentina in what was a hard-fought three-game tournament. After Los Pumas won the first Test, Scotland came back firing to win the second Test and tie the series up at 1-1. The third and final Test was end-to-end rugby with both sides battling it out to come out on top but it was Boffelli who scored in overtime to give Michael Cheika’s Argentina the win in Santiago in front of 30,000 fans. Boffelli notched 17 of the 34 points Argentina scored in that third Test to come away with the series win and break Scottish hearts. With those two wins, Argentina has now gone above Scotland in their head-to-head matchups. Of the 21 Tests the two sides have played against each other since 1990, Argentina has won 11 and Scotland 10. 

After the series success over Gregor Townsend’s men, Emiliano Boffelli and Argentina got their Rugby Championship 2022 campaign underway with two games on home soil against Australia. The Wallabies won the first game 41-26 but Argentina got their revenge just a week later in San Juan when they blew Dave Rennie’s side out of the water with a historic 48-17 win. Boffelli scored yet again in the win that saw Los Pumas record their biggest ever win over Australia and their largest victory in the competition to date. 

Boffelli, however, was not done there. In week three of the Rugby Championship, Argentina travelled to Christchurch to play New Zealand, who had just returned home after beating the Springboks in South Africa. It was a tall ask for Argentina to grind out a result against the All Blacks that day, but cometh the hour cometh the man. Emiliano Boffelli kicked 20 points off the tee that day in a match that saw Los Pumas win 25-17 to put them top of the Rugby Championship table and give Argentina their first-ever win on New Zealand soil. 

Emiliano Boffelli has now played almost 50 games for his country, scoring over 200 points, and has cemented his place in a very strong Argentinian backline that includes the likes of Mattias Moroni, Santiago Cordero and Matias Orlando. Los Pumas are now eighth in the world rankings and are looking strong for the upcoming world cup next year but will be hoping that their star winger can push on this season and keep up his stellar form. So, what can Boffelli offer Edinburgh in 2022/23?

Experience

The Argentine links up with his Edinburgh teammates after the opening two rounds of the United Rugby Championship, which saw the side from the capital comfortably dispatch the Dragons 44-6 at home and narrowly lose out to the Bulls 33-31 in Pretoria. Mike Blair’s team sit fourth in the standings, despite having lost a game, thanks to the three bonus points they have managed to collect so far. Edinburgh have a successful season last year and have started this one brightly, showing not only that they can score points but that the whole squad is pulling together in the same direction. Now add into the mix Emiliano Boffelli, and your season can only get brighter, with games against the Stormers, the Lions, and an 1872 cup against Glasgow Warriors to retain.

One of Boffelli’s best assets is his ability to bring out the best in those around him. He brings his own star quality as a player, of course, but the impact he has had on other members of the squad since he joined in 2021 has been immense. Under the high-ball, especially, the back three contingent of Edinburgh, that includes the likes of Darcy Graham and Damian Hoyland, have benefitted hugely from watching and training with Boffelli. Furthermore, the younger players in the squad, such as Jack Blain and Matt Currie, have kicked on massively since the arrival of the former Jaguares man. 

“He’s made a big impact. And it’s what we’ve tried to do with our group, where we’ve got a balance of seasoned internationals, seasoned Scotland internationals, guys who bring something different, different opinions,” said Mike Blair in a recent press conference.

Boff takes a bit longer to explain stuff to us, but you learn so much from him watching him. His high-ball stuff has inspired all our back-three guys. It will be great to have him back.”

Versatility

The most useful trick up Boffelli’s sleeve, however, is his versatility. Boffelli can play wing, centre, fullback and flyhalf, all to the highest standard of his game. On the wing, his pace and clever positional play make him a lethal try scorer. In the centres, he supplies power and direct running to break down opposition defences. At fullback, his kicking is second to none and at flyhalf, although not his most preferred position, his game management is more than enough to help his side close games out. This versatility allows his coaches to play him in different positions depending on who they are coming up against that week in order to best utilise his skillset. Not only that, but it also allows a greater combination of changes to the backline to be made if certain aspects of a game are not clicking. 

“He’s just keen to get back playing for us, but we’ve got to manage that with getting the best out of him for the whole season. My understanding is that he really enjoyed last season and he’s keen to get back. The first game he played for us was Dragons away on Friday or Saturday, having played on Sunday against Ireland. And he played really well. We need to build on what we did last year.”

Emiliano Boffelli has scored 165 points for Edinburgh in just 17 appearances, with eight tries, 17 penalties and 37 conversions. He has been a great addition at the DAM Health Stadium and, off the back of a fantastic summer away with Argentina, there could yet still be further heights for both Boffelli and Edinburgh to reach this season.

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