Pumas to join Sanzar party
14 Sep 2009
Sanzar has invited Argentina to join the Tri-Nations from 2012 to create a new Four Nations tournament.
The four teams will play each other on a home and away basis resulting in six matches per team and a total of 12 matches overall. The Four Nations will be played from mid-August (following the end of the new Super 15) for an eight or nine week period through until early to mid-October. In a World Cup year an abbreviated format will be played through July and August.
However, Sanzar has stressed that conditions are attached to the invitation. Argentina must secure the participation of their best players to play in the Four Nations, while Sanzar and Argentina must confirm the financial model that will apply.
‘To have the Pumas, third at the 2007 World Cup and currently ranked sixth in the world, join with the three top ranked international teams in world rugby will be exciting for fans, players, sponsors and broadcasters across our four countries and beyond,’ said SA Rugby acting MD Andy Marinos. ‘They play a different style to the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies and their inclusion will see the Tri-Nations evolve to be a truly southern hemisphere championship.’
Former Pumas captain Agustin Pichot, who is a member of the Four Nations project team, said: ‘I can’t express the joy of myself and the team that has been working on this project to get to this point. We are delighted to have the chance to become a great rugby nation and to play in top-level international rugby and we are committed to working with Sanzar to meet the conditions.
‘This exciting development will be vital to grow the game in Argentina. This is historic and everyone in Argentina should be proud.’
82 Comments
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
14 Sep 2009, 12:50 pm
Let the argies play in our domestic competitions: currie cup, vodacom cup, super 14, 1st division etc.
The currie cup is obviously going to be affected, why not do it in a positive way by changing with the landscape. Just think of the positives out of the IPL. Big names bring big crowds which gives you a big platform for big money.
As soon as I am a rich bugger I’m gonna buy myself a 2nd rate union and build it up. Imagine the griffons playing province in a final and some wonder kid flyhalve from georgia kicking the winning drop. We have so many teams but are missing the trick of filling them with players from countries who want a platform for exposure. At the start of a season any team should have the confidence of winning not just n.tvl, wp, lions, sharks and cheetahs.
14 Sep 2009, 13:02 pm
#3 DEE DAH: SANZARG
#4 WP_: yes I agree that had something to do with it, especially the Aussies
#13 jonnow: ha, nah I bet they’re not so keen on that
#15 kevin w: their European based players are available now the Tri Nations has been moved.
14 Sep 2009, 13:30 pm
#52 Big Hit: Not sure its the best move, the Boks whinge about travel now, whats it going to be like flying from SA to Buenos Aires for example ? that means more time in travelling east… must be the Australasians that have pumped for this, just to get them SA’s
and I can see the european clubs really releasing the players, not… happened with Samoa in a world cup, so to think they will release them for a SH comp is ridiculous…
14 Sep 2009, 14:11 pm
Hahah – now the Aussies can end no 4 on the log instead of third…
14 Sep 2009, 14:30 pm
#53 poppa69:
The alternative is even worse. French clubs will sign them but only on the basis they are ‘retired’ from International rugby, therefore losing them to the game at that level, incl potentially, RWCs. The same happens by default with NZ Test players, clubs knowing that theyre unavail if overseas. Thats why likes of Hayman get paid a fortune.
14 Sep 2009, 14:40 pm
#53 poppa69: the Euro clubs release them every year for Autumn internationals, they’ll probably be offered money too.
14 Sep 2009, 14:45 pm
#56 Big Hit: so that means the argie players will play in Europe, then throughout the SH, from Argentina to SA then to Australasia… man, thats some frequent flyer miles thats for sure
14 Sep 2009, 14:50 pm
#57 poppa69: nah I reckon the majority of them will play in the S14 for various teams but a few stars will play in the north, much like NZ/SA with Hayman/Van Niekerk etc except they’ll be available.
14 Sep 2009, 15:37 pm
Now all they need to do is add the Pacific Islanders to the mix. (If the Islanders can get Fiji back)
It might be a bit tedious at first having the Argies always finishing last, like Italy always used to do in the six-nations. Have the Pacific Islanders there would make it a bit of a dogfight for the wooden spoon, at least. And it would be great to grow the global game.
But provided the Argies can get their best players playing, theres no reason why they can’t eventually be contenders, because with their internationals playing regular rugby at the highest level in the hardest international competition in the world, they can only improve.
You certainly won’t have the boks saying Buenos Aires is boring.
14 Sep 2009, 15:53 pm
#59 Harlequin:
Cant see it happening. Its not just Fiji being the problem, Tonga and Samoa have a much greater rivallry and mistrust of each other. Simply, they dont get on. Most gang fights in Auckland, for eg, are between Tongans and Samoans.
It would be great tho and would also hopefully keep those players IN their respective island nations and not being thieved by NZ & Aus. Dont forget, however, that 50% of the last P.I. team that was here in November were born in NZ. So some qualification hurdles to jump there too.
But wouldnt it be brilliant. It would be disheartening for Pumas if they always rocked up as Spooners, and between Argies & Islanders, they would surely cause the odd upset of the big boys on a bad day. Not to mention an even better reason to double up a holiday in the islands with a 5Nations match in Suva/Apia/Nukualofa too. Love Suva, cool town, friendliest people on the planet.
Incidentally, did you know that one of the reasons why there are few Tests in Samoa (or is it Tonga ?) is that their 1 main ground is considerably smaller than IRB regulations permit. Therefore without the certain official stamp, insurance issues etc come in to play. The locals have known about it for years but havent done nowt. Thats life in the islands tho.
14 Sep 2009, 16:06 pm
#43 Shakes:
then they’ll finally realise that the wee maestro was right all along to raise concerns about hotel fatigue and second match syndrome… 
14 Sep 2009, 16:20 pm
Long overdue. The current model is too inbred. The argies have earned it the hard way. Not sure about them having to guarantee their best players when the others can’t. They should get the 15th super spot. They would have the travel schedule from hell, but it would help develop the game in an exciting marketplace.
14 Sep 2009, 16:25 pm
#59 Harlequin: What makes you think they will always finish last? They came 3rd last world cup without the benefit of being in a regular competition.
14 Sep 2009, 16:35 pm
#52 Big Hit:
SANZARTINA has a bit of a ring to it.
14 Sep 2009, 18:40 pm
62
The travel wouldn’t be too bad on them after all how many of them play at home in first place?
14 Sep 2009, 19:05 pm
#53 poppa69:
pops, you really ought to get yourself a better atlas – not that japanese version that shows them at the centre.
sa to argentina is a short hop across the atlantic – westbound.
doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work that one out.
14 Sep 2009, 20:03 pm
All right you budding brain surgeons.
A quick Google says flight time form Aus and NZ are about 19 hours. From J’burg its apparently under 17 hours.
A fair result for all travelling teams, no?
14 Sep 2009, 20:42 pm
Why don’t they start by making it a rule that every Super 14 team must have one Argie player in their squad?
These players can be picked from a pool of Argie players with the S14 franchises bidding for them, or something like that.
15 Sep 2009, 05:29 am
#66 charo: well Charo, Ive never flown from SA to Buenes Aires, and didnt realise an atlas showed the specific routes airplanes make
…in any case, the flight back would surely be the problem then? seeing as its west to east, isnt that always the common complaint?? or is it all east to west? fly east from SA to Argentina and then east from Argentina to SA ? I dont honestly know, perhaps a man with your intellectual capacity could enlighten me..
my overall point was the amount of extra travel all teams are going to have to do. SA have always complained that the “travel disadvantage” was what stopped their 3Ns tally being bigger, cant see how having extra travel added to the schedule will alleviate that conspiracy? can you?
and I know a super neurosurgeon, he’ll see you as soon as you call, dont waste time though, hes a busy man…
15 Sep 2009, 05:31 am
#69 poppa69:should be “fly west from SA and then west from Argentina”
15 Sep 2009, 07:39 am
go Pumas i am so happy for them, it is about time that we got them into our conference
15 Sep 2009, 07:49 am
#47 King Shark: Hahaha Watch SANZAR expand the game! Are you for real? Have Australia or New Zealand ever done anything to help out the Pacific Island nations on their doorstep? No they just cherry pick their best talent and leave them with no hope of ever competing anywhere near their true potential. I don’t include South Africa in this bracket, but to say SANZAR will expand the game of world rugby, when they allow a team that got to the semi finals of the world cup, with all their players playing in the European leagues is pretty stupid. There is no Union that really does anything to expand the world game, because they do everything in their own interest. It is actually the European clubs that are helping to grow the game, because they as employers provide a good level of professionalism to anyone who’s talented enough, but they wont prevent them from representing their own country. Hence Argentina’s rise within the game and hopefully in the future Georgia, Romania, USA and with a bit of luck many more countries.
Having said this, I’m very glad that Argentina have finally been included within an annual tournament, but unless they get their own franchise in the Super tournament, it will always be at the wrong time of the year for their players and they’ll be regarded as the “easy team”.
15 Sep 2009, 07:55 am
Bring it on. More travel for all concerned. The huge advantage for SA is that the ANZAC alliance won’t be quite as strong.
Matters pertaining to refereeing and citings should become a whole lot more consistent.
15 Sep 2009, 07:59 am
#72 HongKongSlong: I think the idea is for the franchises to employ 2 Argie players each and the new S15 franchise to get to choose 5 Argies.
This maybe rumour and speculation, but would be one way of employing them in the Southern Hemisphere.
15 Sep 2009, 08:01 am
#74 Connag: The other thing of course, is that 2012 is couple of years away and you would think, that a number of the Argy players in NH will be coming off contracts.
15 Sep 2009, 13:28 pm
#19 WP_: What about including all total of 19 teams?
15 Sep 2009, 13:32 pm
#72 HongKongSlong: “No they just cherry pick their best talent and leave them with no hope of ever competing anywhere near their true potential”
Yawn. Tell me which talents have they cherry picked in a last few years. Or even a decade.
Excluding long used example of Sivivatu.
15 Sep 2009, 16:07 pm
#77 Nils:
Even Sivivatu was educated in NZ tho.
Beast ?
15 Sep 2009, 23:43 pm
#78 WakaNathan: Rhodesia traditionally played in South Africa’s Currie cup. Yes we nurtured their players we did not merely rape them of their players.
16 Sep 2009, 07:01 am
#78 WakaNathan: No way. He was the Brightest talent in Fiji, he had to hide in Fiji jungles for 17 years, trying to evade mean Kiwi commandos, sent to the island.
Alas, not too long before his 18th birthday he was captured and sent to the slave ship bound to NZ.
Others were even more unlucky (like Mils or Roko), they were stolen from kindergarten in Suva in the middle of the night.
All others were extracted from their mother wombs already in NZ or their parents/grandparents were shipped chained to the deck.
16 Sep 2009, 07:02 am
#79 Connag: “Yes we nurtured their players we did not merely rape them of their players.”
Not you sound like BH.
16 Sep 2009, 07:04 am
#80 Nils: ouch, Mils was stolen on his long way to the Apia kindergarten, as he was too young to be there already.
2 years old kiddy. The brigthest talent in Samoa. Those Kiwi poachers definitely have crystall ball.
Pages: « 1 [2] Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.