los Pumas, where to from here???
Pumas told to join Tri Nations
November 13, 2007 - 9:33AM
A chorus appears to be growing for Argentina to join the Tri Nations, rather than the Six Nations, as the Pumas look to find a home in international rugby's annual tournament calendar.
Despite Argentina submitting an application to join the northern hemisphere's Six Nations, and former great Hugo Porta coming out and saying it was "more viable" for the World Cup bronze medalists to play in the north, latest reactions appear to favour an alignment in the south.
The Six Nations committee met recently in London and gave a firm indication that they viewed a Pumas fit with the Tri Nations as the best option.
"The unanimous view was that a berth had to be found for Argentina in a major tournament," Martyn Thomas, the chairman of the Rugby Football Union's management board, told the Guardian newspaper. "Their performances not just in the World Cup but in recent years merit that.
"The feeling was that, logistically, they would be better off in the Tri Nations. They are a southern-hemisphere team and increasing the size of the Six Nations could lead to fixture problems."
The Guardian also quoted veteran Pumas back Felipe Contepomi backing a move into the Tri Nations.
"I think our future lies in the Tri Nations," said Contepomi. "Otherwise we risk becoming too reliant on European clubs signing up our emerging players."
The future of the Pumas is expected to be a hot topic at the IRB's conference on an "integrated" international season in England at the end of the month.
Solving the Pumas conundrum
November 13, 2007 - 9:38AM
It's a vexed issue in the rugby world - just where do the Pumas belong? Is it in the Tri-Nations along with their southern hemisphere mates or is it up north in an expanded Six Nations which is where all their professionals ply their trade?
There are clearly no easy answers, though given their outstanding performances on the international stage it has become increasingly obvious the Argentineans belong somewhere. RugbyHeaven co-editors Marc Hinton and Duncan Johnstone make their cases for Pumas inclusion in the world's leading competitions, one of which will surely come to pass before too long.
TRI-NATIONS - Marc Hinton
This is a win-win situation as far as I see it, providing the Argentineans can find a solution to their players being available at the end of their long season of club commitments in the north.
The Pumas win because they get to play in the world's leading annual international competition - and despite what the so-called pundits of the north will try to infer, the Tri-Nations is far superior to the standard of rugby on offer in the Six Nations.
And the Tri-Nations wins because it gets a much-needed makeover courtesy of the addition of a fourth, highly competitive team capable of giving the big three a real shakeup.
There are hurdles to clear before this can become a reality - notably the fact that with all the leading Argentineans playing their rugby in the UK or Europe, just how can their test stars be asked to commit to an extra two-month programme at the end of their long club season?
Semantics really. Maybe it just means that Pumas test players have to start their club campaigns a few weeks later to enable them to fit in their two-month break between seasons.
Maybe the Tri-Nations comes forward to fit in. The whole international window is up for review later this month, and it should be that the case of the Pumas entering an expanded Tri-Nations is discussed then. Instead of looking for reasons not to accommodate them, southern hemisphere officials must surely be saying, "We want them, now how can we best do it".
The addition of Argentina, who proved at the World Cup they're now one of the world's most competitive outfits, would really breathe some much needed life into the Tri-Nations which has clearly become tired and just a little too repetitive.
Plus, last time I looked Argentina was a massive country with a lot of upside in terms of potential commercial clout. OK, their economy isn't the flashest at the moment, but that may not always be the case and taking a top international competition into their midst could well provide just the boost that rugby needs to capture a bigger slice of a sporting market dominated by the round-ball code.
I know there's a lot of talk that the Tri-Nations should perhaps be looking after their own backyard in the Pacific before moving heaven and earth to open the doors to Argentina.
But the fact of the matter is Argentina could come straight into the competition now and add to the product. For all their underdog qualities, Fiji or Samoa or Tonga, or even a combination of all three, would not to do the same. Also, they would struggle to fill large stadiums or bring potential global television audiences in the sort of numbers that the Pumas could offer.
I'm not saying forget the Pacific. Maybe with the right backer, a combined islands outfit could join the Pumas in a new five-team super southern hemisphere championship. And surely the top couple of teams from that would then go forth to play off against the best two from up north in a global showdown operating in non-World Cup years.
That makes a heck of a lot of sense.
But the first step towards that is getting the Pumas into the new Four-Nations. They deserve it, and, let's face it, we the rugby fans of the south also deserve them. Now it's up to the movers and shakers to make it happen.
SIX NATIONS - Duncan Johnstone
There could be an argument to simply toss a coin on this one because there are compelling reasons to give the Pumas a permanent home on either side of the equator.
But when you hear Hugo Porta, Argentina's greatest player and IRB representative, declaring that the best fit for the Pumas is in the Six Nations then the rugby world should sit up and take notice.
The basis of the reasoning for planting the Pumas in Europe is that their leading players are virtually all playing professionally there.
In fact there are about 400 Argentines playing throughout Europe.
So to have them operating as a national team in the same time zone as test rugby up north is really the only answer.
That is the best way to avoid the complicated club v country situation that seems to ruin the international game in the northern hemisphere.
It would also be a big cost-cutting exercise, negating the need to be flying players back and forth between Europe and South America.
The Pumas seem content to be transplants with talk of basing them in Barcelona or Brussels while the Six Nations is played out.
There are other upsides to having the Pumas operating up north. Their presence in Europe would allow Sanzar to explore the possibility of incorporating a Pacific Islands or Asian factor into their competitions which seems a much more natural fit.
Perhaps the IRB could kill two birds with one stone here by trying to accommodate the needs of both the Pumas and the islanders, the teams that made the biggest moves at the World Cup.
It might sound odd to have Argentina placed alongside England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy. But they aren't exactly neighbours to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
The more you look at Argentina the more you realise that they are a special case that needs special attention.
Let's just hope that whether it's the Six Nations or the Tri-Nations, the IRB finds a home for the Pumas quick-smart.
They have been neglected for too long when rugby has been screaming out for ways to increase its depth of talent to make events like the World Cup and test rugby in general more competitive.
It's time for action.
