Les Jaguares en pourparlers pour revenir dans le Super Rugby
La disparition prochaine des Melbourne Rebels pourrait ouvrir la voie à un retour des Jaguares, franchise de Super Rugby basée à Buenos Aires.
Et la roue pourrait tourner assez rapidement, ou du moins plus rapidement que ce à quoi s’attendait le président d’Argentina Rugby, Gabriel Travelaglini, lorsqu’il confiait, en septembre dernier, avoir reçu une invitation pour le retour de l’équipe, mais pas avant 2026.
Les difficultés financières du club de Melbourne ayant conduit à une mise sous tutelle à la fin du mois de janvier, les têtes pensantes du Super Rugby ont commencé à explorer des solutions potentielles pour que la compétition conserve son format à 12 équipes.
C’est dans ce contexte que l’expansion ou la réexpansion vers les Amériques ou le Japon a été évoquée comme l’une de ces solutions.
Nouvelle configuration en 2026
Mark Robinson, directeur général de New Zealand Rugby, l’a évoquée au cours des premières étapes de 2024, d’autres idées incluant une fusion entre Moana Pasifika et les Rebels, et elle semble avoir été bien accueillie par l’UAR.
« Nous avons reçu l’invitation, mais ce serait à partir de 2026 parce qu’ils ont déjà fermé l’actuel », avait confirmé Gabriel Travelaglini en septembre, faisant référence à l’accord sur les droits médiatiques de la compétition.
« Il est prévu de créer une franchise. Nous avons l’engagement qu’ils nous recevront et que nous jouerons des matchs à domicile et à l’extérieur. »
Mark Robinson a fait le point sur la situation cette semaine dans le podcast Rugby Direct.
« La plupart des travaux sur la configuration future de la compétition en termes de nombre d’équipes et de formats se concentrent sur 2026 et le prochain cycle de droits médiatiques », a-t-il expliqué.
Intérêt de l’Amérique du Nord et du Japon
« Manifestement, les difficultés auxquelles les Rebels sont confrontés ont conduit à accélérer certaines de ces discussions. Nous n’avons pas une certitude absolue quant à ce que l’avenir leur réserve, mais il est clairement remis en question à l’heure actuelle.
« Il est trop tôt pour dire quel sera le nombre d’équipes. Nous devons savoir exactement où en sont les Rebels et travailler ensuite sur le reste de l’année.
« De nombreuses discussions sont en cours concernant l’intérêt potentiel de l’Amérique du Sud, de l’Amérique du Nord et du Japon, mais nous avons besoin de davantage de détails avant de pouvoir approfondir. »
La côte ouest des Etats-Unis a été mentionnée comme un lieu potentiel d’implantation du club, de même que Hawaï.
Ces changements potentiels interviennent à un moment où la marque Super Rugby a enfin trouvé une certaine cohérence dans la structure de ses compétitions.
L’ère du Super Rugby Pacific a digéré la perte de l’Afrique du Sud et a placé la compétition sur une nouvelle trajectoire, loin des turbulences de la structure et des visages en perpétuel changement de la dernière décennie.
Mark Robinson a estimé que toutes les expérimentations précédentes – y compris le précédent passage des Jaguares dans la compétition de 2016 à 2019 – leur avaient permis de tirer des leçons précieuses et de cadrer la façon dont les décisions seraient prises désormais.
Comments on RugbyPass
lol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
195 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
1 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
4 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
4 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
195 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
195 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
195 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
3 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
3 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
4 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
195 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
195 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
195 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
195 Go to commentsForget the 85kg bit, that can become something else. However I do like the one off test on ANZAC day idea. SR plays Fri/ Sat, test players travel Sunday and the squads have the full week together before playing Saturday. Rest of SR has a week off. Either involve women's teams in same location or in the other country and rotate annually. Herbert is right in that change is needed.
3 Go to commentsI’ve read loads of nonsense before but this article takes the cake. Or perhaps someone changed the date for April Fool's Day.
3 Go to comments