SANZAR eye Argentine capital
SANZAR chief executive Greg Peters has “recommended” that Argentina hold two of their three home games in the new Rugby Championship in Buenos Aires, the nation’s capital.
Argentina will join New Zealand, South Africa and Australia next year in the new expanded version of the Tri-Nations competition which has been played for the last 15 years.
The Pumas will host the Springboks on August 25, the World Cup-winning All Blacks on August 29 and the current Tri-Nations champions the Wallabies on October 6 2012, but the venues for those matches have yet to be confirmed.
Speaking at the official Argentine launch function in Buenos Aires Peters made the suggestion that the bulk of the matches should be played in the capital city.
He said: “I strongly recommend the UAR (Argentine Rugby Union) hold two games in Buenos Aires and one outside.”
The SANZAR boss explained that it would make life a lot easier logistically, but he was met with some opposition by Argentinian Rugby Union (UAR) president Luis Castillo who would like to see high quality Test rugby taken to provincial areas and not merely confined to Buenos Aires.
There are a number of decent venues in the capital with Velez Sarsfield, the River Plate Stadium and FC Oeste all viable options for the competition.
Castillo was immensely proud of the Pumas’ inclusion in the Rugby Championship and said that it showed the UAR’s commitment to improving the game in Argentina.
He commented: “This is an historic day for national (Argentine) rugby. We are committed to showing we can be better.”
Former Pumas scrumhalf and captain Agustin Pichot, who played a vital role in Argentina’s inclusion in the competition, said that joining a major competition was crucial for the development of rugby in the South American country.
“After (third place at the World Cup in) 2007 we committed ourselves to forming a team off the field (to push this forward) because it was unfair that the Pumas weren’t (in a major competition),” Pichot said.
“I felt this as a player the most important thing was that the players should have the opportunity. It’s going to be very hard but that’s how you learn,” he added.
A key factor in Argentina’s participation was an International Rugby Board ruling obliging European clubs, where many of the Pumas play their rugby, to release them for the tournament and the June and November international windows.
Peters said that the strength of all of the teams involved should make for some top Test rugby.
“Next year we will have the first, second, fourth and seventh ranked teams in the world. We will have the best versus the best,” he said.
