Felipe Contepomi

Dr. Felipe Contepomi (born August 20 1977 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine rugby union footballer. He plays as a fly-half and centre for Leinster Rugby in Ireland, and has previously played for Bristol Rugby in England.

Contepomi played more than 50 games for Argentina, and has also captained the team. His twin brother Manuel is also a Puma.

He started playing rugby for Newman in Buenos Aires.

He played a major role in Leinster's run in the 2006 Heineken Cup, helping Leinster to a 41-35 win over Cup holders Toulouse, scoring 21 points in the process and winning the man of the match award. That year he was top scorer in both the Celtic League and Heineken Cup.

Largely as a result of his attacking play and characteristic panache, he has built up a cult following among many Leinster supporters.

In late January of 2006, Contepomi's girlfriend, Paula, gave birth to their daughter, Catalina. Only hours later, Contepomi played for Leinster against Glasgow Warriors, a game in which he went on to score 22 points.

In November 2006, Agustin Pichot, captain of Argentina, said that Contepomi was a better player than All Black fly-half, Dan Carter, the winner of the 2005 IRB Player of the Year award.

On May 31st, 2007, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin conferred him with the medical degrees of MB BCh BAO (NUI).

Contemponi was one of the star's of the Argentina national rugby union team during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where he was the second highest scorer, trailing only Percy Montgomery.

Contemponi was nominated by the IRB as one of the five candidates for the 2007 International Player of the Year award, which was won by Bryan Habana.