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
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments