Probyn thought I’d grabbed his balls, so he kicked me in the head... BUT I GOT THE WRONG GUY — I KNOCKED OUT ACKFORD!
ENGLAND have been warned to expect a ‘war’ against Argentina, in a fixture which has often featured volatile, violent rivalry. The most notorious example was the ‘ iconic punch’ thrown by a teenager en at Twickenham.
Federico Mendez was just 18 when he flattened Paul Ackford 29 years ago. The front-rower went on to have a decorated career, for various leading clubs and his country, but his wild offence in November 1990 guaranteed him a permanent seat at the toptable of infamy.
Even now, people stop him to talk about the incident. Speaking to Sportsmail from his home in Mendoza, Mendez said: ‘I am asked about it many, many times! In the streets, sometimes in London, or sometimes in Argentina, people still remember that. It was one of the trademarks of my career. It was an iconic punch — and that was before social media.’
When he recounts the tale, it provides a stark illustration of how much the game has changed. Back in those pre-professional days, open warfare between packs was common. When teams such as England and Argentina — both armed with powerful forwards — locked horns, there was always likely to be trouble.
As there was when Mendez encountered England prop Jeff Probyn. ‘Probyn thought that I’d grabbed at his balls, so he kicked me in the head, and I just reacted,’ Mendez said. ‘I punched Paul Ackford, who had absolutely nothing to do with it. The first white jersey I saw, I just punched him. That was it. I had to go off.
‘I just went completely out of my head. My mind blew — I wasn’t even thinking. Of course, nowadays, you are not allowed to do that, because your career would be finished.
‘As I walked off, I was saying to myself how stupid I was and that I would never be called to play for the Pumas again. That was my fear. I had had a rush of blood and I was regretting it. I was very scared.
‘But I was just a boy and everyone understood how young I was, with the way they reacted. I was looked after. It was very important to me that they understood I wasn’t in control when I reacted.’
The notoriety from that day was hard to shake off. Eight years later, Mendez was playing for Bath against London Scottish, whose flanker Simon Fenn needed several stitches after having his ear bitten. The entire Bath front row — Mendez, Kevin Yates and Victor Ubogu — were cited by their opponents. Eventually, Mendez and Ubogu were cleared. Yates was banned for six months.
‘Kevin Yates was ear-biting one of the players and it was a big thing,’ said Mendez. ‘I was cited for that and nothing happened, but everyone reminds me of that occasion.
‘Actually, Paul Ackford was writing for a newspaper and he did an article against me. I came back to him and said, “It wasn’t me, but if I find you in the street I’m going to punch you again!”’
The 1982 Falklands War between Britain and Argentina provided added tension on the field during Mendez’s career. He is glad that modern players from his country regard this merely as a high-stakes sporting rivalry, without the wider connotations.
‘Everyone in Argentina knows that was a stupid war done by stupid military politicans,’ he said. ‘Nowadays, everything is 100 per cent fine with England. Of course you want to beat them on the field, but it is no more than that.’
After calling time on a playing career which yielded 75 Test caps, plus the distinction of winning the Heineken Cup with two different English clubs — Bath and Northampton — Mendez was coaching his local club and province until a few years ago. Now, while running real estate and security businesses, he follows rugby as a fan whose nephew has become established in Argentina’s Under 20s.
Mendez, 47, recognises the calibre of Eddie Jones’s England team, but believes the Pumas can trouble them, in a legitimate way. ‘England have five or six players who could be in any World XV. They are candidates to win the World Cup. But Argentina are a Latin nation — and in Latin rugby nations, things can change very quickly.
‘If Argentina can put everything together, I really think they can put big pressure on England. It is not an impossible task.’
If they are to have a chance of causing an upset, the Pumas will need to keep 15 men on the field. For all their talk of waging war, actual fighting is now a history lesson.