How Can Argentina Become A Rugby Force?

For a long time, rugby fans and administrators worldwide clamoured for Argentina to be included in regular international rugby competition.

Those calls were loudest in the aftermath of the 2007 Rugby World Cup when Argentina finished 3rd having beaten hosts, France twice and the likes of Ireland and Scotland despite not being in the 6 Nations or Tri Nations at the time.

Argentina romp towards a surprise 3rd at the 2007 Rugby World Cup

With an impasse reached with the 6 Nations, SANZAR finally opened its doors to Los Pumas, inviting them to join the Wallabies, All Blacks and Springboks in its annual international rugby competition in time for the 2012 edition, despite many Pumas players being based in France and England. The IRB eventually added the September/October international window to ensure the best players from Argentina were selected.

In the two seasons so far, Argentina has proven to be competent but not quite ready to be considered serious champions. They are still yet to win a game in the new Rugby Championship although they have come mighty close against the Boks and Wallabies.

Los Pumas came agonisingly close to upsetting the Wallabies earlier this year

This sort of performance may have been excusable in a time when Argentina was still considered a backwater of world rugby. But now that Argentina is officially part of international rugby's elite, plans must get underway to ensure Los Pumas can improve and eventually be champions.

This is imperative considering that many of the current crop, e.g. Leguizamon, Fernandez Lobbe, Contepomi and Fernandez are in the autumn of their careers. The signs are a bit worrying that the next tier of Argentina's players aren't quite up to international standard - they were thrashed twice by England's B team in June.

Perhaps the key would be encouraging Argentine players to play in Super Rugby - after all, Super Rugby is the world's best provincial competition even if the money isn't quite as good as in France or England. Indeed, the key could be having at least one Super Rugby franchise based in Buenos Aires - this would be more realistic should the plan to split Super Rugby into a South African/Argentine western conference and Australian/New Zealand eastern conference come to fruition in 2016.

Can Los Pumas gain as much recognition and support as Lionel Messi?

There is no doubt that Argentina has definitely got the potential to be a world beater in rugby just as it has shown to be in football, hockey and other sports. Argentines are a very proud and athletic people, possibly one of the most talented sporting nations in the world. What it currently lacks to succeed at the moment is the non-existence of any development and professional structure for its rugby players.

Until that is sorted, expect Argentina to finish at best 3rd in the Rugby Championship each season. Mind you Italy has finished last in all but two of the Six Nations championships it has been a part of since 2000 but has there been any word to kick them out?

In the end, being there and competing is all part of it, and no one is disputing that the Rugby Championship is richer for having Argentina, its players, fans and the Spanish language in the competition.