Argentina joins the rugby elite
Source: AFP |
August 16, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A NEW era for southern hemisphere rugby union dawns on Saturday when Australia meets New Zealand in Sydney and South Africa faces Argentina in Cape Town as The Rugby Championship kicks off.
After 16 seasons of Tri-Nations fare dominated by the All Blacks with 10 titles, long-time outcast Argentina is joining for a six-round mini-league competition that carries lots of prestige if no prize money.
From Dunedin in the deep south of New Zealand to Mendoza in the far west of Argentina, teams ranked one, two, three and eight in the world will slug it out between August 18 and October 6 for a 56-centimeter, five-kilogram trophy.
It is a mix of gold and stainless steel, and whoever holds it can rightfully claim to be the best national rugby union team in the world with competition expected to be even tougher annually than at the quadrennial World Cup.
While World Cup fixtures vary between easy and difficult for giants of the game, there are unlikely to be many soft Championship outings, especially once Argentina gets used to the demands of six Tests within eight weeks.
Shunned for many years as they craved top-class competition, the Cape Town Test represents a coming of age for the Pumas, whose finest achievement was third place behind South Africa and England at the 2007 World Cup.
"We have done the groundwork, we have chosen the best squad, we are ready," stressed coach Santiago Phelan, whose build-up was boosted by the presence of 2011 World Cup-winning New Zealand coach Graham Henry.
After 16 seasons of Tri-Nations fare dominated by the All Blacks with 10 titles, long-time outcast Argentina is joining for a six-round mini-league competition that carries lots of prestige if no prize money.
From Dunedin in the deep south of New Zealand to Mendoza in the far west of Argentina, teams ranked one, two, three and eight in the world will slug it out between August 18 and October 6 for a 56-centimeter, five-kilogram trophy.
It is a mix of gold and stainless steel, and whoever holds it can rightfully claim to be the best national rugby union team in the world with competition expected to be even tougher annually than at the quadrennial World Cup.
While World Cup fixtures vary between easy and difficult for giants of the game, there are unlikely to be many soft Championship outings, especially once Argentina gets used to the demands of six Tests within eight weeks.
Shunned for many years as they craved top-class competition, the Cape Town Test represents a coming of age for the Pumas, whose finest achievement was third place behind South Africa and England at the 2007 World Cup.
"We have done the groundwork, we have chosen the best squad, we are ready," stressed coach Santiago Phelan, whose build-up was boosted by the presence of 2011 World Cup-winning New Zealand coach Graham Henry.
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