Jaguares' continued improvement raises questions over the future of Argentina and Super Rugby
OPINION: Last night’s victory over the Hurricanes marked the third time in four attempts that the Jaguares have triumphed over a New Zealand team on their home ground.
In 2018, the Jaguares secured a 20-13 win over the Blues at Eden Park and then backed it up with 23-19 win a week later against the Chiefs in Rotorua. That second victory capped off the end of an undefeated four-match tour to Australia and New Zealand for the Jaguares.
It’s now the Jaguares’ fourth year playing in Super Rugby and they’ve comfortably been the most successful addition to the tournament to date.
Last year, the Jaguares made the Super Rugby finals for the first time and bowed out in the quarter-finals to the Lions.
This year, the Jaguares have continued to build on 2018’s success and are well placed to push for another finals spot. They’re currently fourth on the overall ladder and can’t be overtaken in round 14 by any teams that will have played an equal number of matches. Factor in that the Jaguares’ final four games include matches against three teams sitting in the bottom five of the competition and Jaguares supporters have every reason to be confident.
When the Jaguares were first introduced to Super Rugby, Argentinian players were required to represent the team (or another based in Argentina) if they wanted to play international football. This guaranteed a strong squad from day one. It also benefited the national team by giving its player plenty of time together in camp.
This ruling, however, meant that a number of stars conceded the ability to play for Argentina in exchange for the better lifestyles on offer in Europe. The likes of Juan Figallo, Facundo Isa and Marcelo Bosch have all been excluded from selection at one point or another due to representing clubs outside of Argentina.
Various figures rightly questioned the legitimacy of the Jaguares and the Pumas operating in separate competitions with two different coaches when the sides were comprised of basically the same players. The Jaguares offered a clear local pathway from club to international rugby, but it was a very linear path. This rule also hampered development opportunities as only 23 Argentinian players could be playing top level rugby each week. Unsurprisingly, the Argentina national team have not improved in recent years.
This requirement has since been dropped with Pumas coach Mario Ledesma now allowed to call on foreign based players should the need arise. Although there were fears this policy change could lead to a mass exodus, Argentina now have the best of both worlds, with young athletes able to develop under the guidance of the Jaguares and Pumas coaches in Argentina before potentially heading overseas to hone their craft.
The current selection policy also means that cultivating players in key positions is no longer such a challenge. Nicolás Sánchez, with over 70 international caps to his name, is a tried and tested first-five. He left the Jaguares at the end of 2018 and is now playing for Stade Francais which has allowed Joaquín Díaz Bonilla and Domingo Miotti to develop at the Jaguares. Had Sánchez remained in Argentina, the Pumas would be required to use a back-up flyhalf in their match-day squad who was also only a back-up at Super Rugby level.
There’s no question that the current situation will benefit Argentina in the long-run.
Players have not been departing the country in droves even though the money on offer in Europe far trumps what’s available in Argentina. This is partly because Ledesma and the Argentinian selectors favour picking players who are locally based and partly because the Jaguares players very much enjoy representing their Super Rugby side.
Even with the slightly more relaxed rules, the national side is still comprised of predominantly Jaguares players. Only five players who represented Argentina in 2018’s November series will not line up for the Jaguares in 2020. This means that the Jaguares are still able to put out an international quality side in Super Rugby each week, giving them a distinct advantage over other teams.
What then, does the future hold for the Argentinian set-up?
Americas Rugby News reported earlier in the year that a fully professional South American club competition is on the horizon which could include teams from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. This competition would not be anywhere near the level of Super Rugby but it would give Argentina a genuine alternative system for developing young players.
The Pumas are effectively selecting from a pool of about 40 candidates at present. A professional South American competition could change this. The next step, of course, is for Argentina to gain a greater footing in the next level up.
Super Rugby is a broken competition. In 2021 the tournament will likely revert to a 15-team, full round-robin due to the omission of Japan’s Sunwolves. What will happen in the future is anyone’s guess, but Argentina desperately need a second team playing at the same level as the Jaguares to improve their chances on the international stage. Super Rugby is obviously where Argentina are currently represented, but adding a second team to the competition would once again require a complete revamp – something which fans will be pessimistic about, given past expansions haven’t exactly increased the quality of product on offer.
It’s still too early for a second Super Rugby team to be introduced in Argentina for a number of reasons, but the Jaguares concept simply doesn’t make sense for the long-term future. There’s already plenty of debate regarding which direction Super Rugby should take moving forward – the Jaguares’ continued improvement just adds to the already countless factors that need to be considered.
Comments on RugbyPass
Except for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to comments