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In an era where constant travel can be rugby’s most debilitating issue for the All Blacks, Boks, and the Wallabies, why is Argentina in the Rugby Championship?
The big three in the southern hemisphere must first go through a torrid Super Rugby schedule, the toughest in world rugby, that requires constant travel within their own country, then two games in the other two.
Travel, travel, travel.
It’s a demanding schedule, bolstered by the three-Test international rugby window in June in all three countries, then back on the energy-sapping Super Rugby schedule until completion.
Let me tell Roarers who haven’t had to constantly travel, if you think it’s an exotic way of life, think again.
In the end it gets you, you end up wondering what city you’re in, and what’s your room number? Cities and room numbers seem to melt into one mess, and you yearn for some relief.
Adding Argentina has the reverse result.
It takes the Boks 10 hours 40 minutes on average to fly to Buenos Aires, plus the return, and they are the closest of the three.
The All Blacks take 13 hours 16, the Wallabies 15 hours 12, and for what? Just to make the Pumas the whipping boys of the tournament?
It’s not as though the Pumas are contributing to better rugby, they haven’t won a game in 12, with their ‘highlight’ a shock 16-all draw with the Boks in Mendoza in 2012, their first season in the Rugby Championship.
So far the Pumas have scored 168 points for, and let in 390, a deficit of 222 points.
But it gets worse. They keep ignoring Rugby law, as a law unto themselves. So to boil it all down to basics, the Pumas can’t win and won’t respect referees.
Historically, the Argentina stats aren’t any better. They have never beaten the All Blacks in 18 meetings, nor the Boks in 17.
Their best record among the big southern hemisphere trio is against the Wallabies, winning 4 of 16 in the 1970s and early 1980s, when they actually enjoyed a 21-all draw with the All Blacks, with legendary Pumas fly half Hugo Porta scoring all the points.
But since then all the Pumas have done is go through the motions, and that’s not good enough.
To date against other nations of import, the Pumas still can’t scrub up to be a competitive country. They have won 12 out of 47 against France, 6 out of 18 against Wales, 5 out of 15 against Ireland, and 4 out of 16 against England.
The only countries where the Pumas are in credit against a side that regularly competes at the highest level are Italy and Scotland, winning 13 of their 19 clashes with the Azzurri and 9 out of 14 against Scotland. But all that suggests is Italy shouldn’t be in the Six Nations, and it should return to the Five Nations.
Since Italy was admitted to the Six Nations in 2000, they have played 75 games, and lost 63. In the 15 years of the Six Nations, Italy has won the wooden spoon ten times, Scotland three, with Wales and France one each.
Both the Pumas and the Azzurri are a waste of space.
And it will never be any different.