Argentina Steps Up Six Nations Bid
After reaching the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup, Argentina is stepping up its bid to join the Six Nations tournament through a specially arranged meeting with the International Rugby Board at the end of this month.
Argentina have long required the need for more frequent matches against the top teams and their World Cup success was achieved despite a lack of regular matches outside of the flagship tournament.
A place in the Southern Hemisphere Tri-Nations tournament is another option open to Argentina but almost the entire national squad play their rugby in Europe so joining the Six Nations would make the most logical sense.
The Union Argentina de Rugby, with help from the IRB, has been conducting a strategic review and will present the findings to the world governing body at the end of November.
Minister for sport Hugo Porta said: ‘The current players consider it more viable to play in the Six Nations. We will present our strategic plan to the IRB, which we have been working on at the UAR for a long time with the purpose of getting Argentina included in future international competitions.’
Any official application would have to go through either the Six Nations committee or SANZAR, the Tri-Nations governing body. However, there are commercial and logistical complications that would have to be considered, such as existing television and commercial deals.
