http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/147314e2-2c3d-11...144feabdc0.html
"We had no structures at all. We could never plan ahead. Whether we were good or bad was a matter of luck."
To hear AgustÃn Pichot, the scrum-half who led Argentina to third place at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, explain the circumstances under which his 73 caps between 1995 and 2007 were won is to wonder even more at that achievement.
Argentina is the great outsider of the rugby world. It is Spanish-speaking in a game dominated by those whose first language is English or French; a southern-hemisphere nation whose best players are professionals in the north.
The most important rugby nation not guaranteed annual international competition, it was singled out in 1995 as the one honest country in a world that professed amateurism but paid its players. Even Argentina's "Pumas" nickname is a mistake â€" conferred on the team by a South African journalist who mistook their emblem of a jaguar.
Now, inspired by the magnificent effort in 2007, comes a chance to end its isolation: Argentina has finally been invited to join the southern hemisphere's Tri Nations giants â€" New Zealand, South Africa and Australia â€" in a championship from 2012.
It is a huge challenge. Mark Egan, head of development and performance at the International Rugby Board (IRB), says: "The Argentinian union [UAR] is terrific, but it was not organised for the professional game." The UAR earned unflattering headlines when it went into receivership in 2006. "It did that to protect itself in a dispute with a commercial partner," he says. "[But] it is now in the black and attracting good sponsors," including Visa and Standard Bank.
Pichot, who led Argentina 31 times and is now a member of the UAR's high-performance commission, says the Tri Nations invitation will transform the union's balance sheet.
"At the moment, our income is roughly $5m. To join the Tri Nations will cost $8m-$12m annually, but generate $12m-$15m, providing a surplus of perhaps $3m," he says.
The former captain's long-term hope is that this extra cash flow will underpin the creation of an Argentinian team in the Super 15 tournament â€" now contested by Australian, New Zealand and South African regional franchises â€" from 2015. "Then we could keep our players here rather than their having to go abroad to play professionally," he says.
The plan is that Argentina's entry in the Tri Nations tournament will coincide with a restructuring of the competition. Under current rules, each team plays both of the others three times between July and September. Once the competition becomes the Four Nations, each will play the others twice, in September and October.
The decision to include Argentina is, Egan points out, enlightened self-interest by the three existing members. "They are well aware of the extra interest Argentina will bring, and the variety it will add to the tournament," he says. "But it also means losing what, in the short term at least, is a more attractive home fixture and taking on an extremely tough trip to Buenos Aires."
The UAR hopes Argentina's inclusion in the Four Nations will also allow the team's players to obtain contracts with existing Super 15 franchises, including next year's newcomers, Melbourne. Such contracts would be an easier logistical fit with Four Nations commitments. Currently, 100 Argentinians play in professional leagues in Europe. Inevitably, many will still be in Europe in 2012, but Egan says: "The UAR is talking to French clubs in particular about player release and fitting club commitments together with the international programme."
At the same time, the UAR is working with the IRB on building the next generation of Argentinian rugby stars. The aim is to avoid repeating the experience of Italy, which, since entering Europe's Six Nations championship, has been unable to match the achievements of the brilliant 1990s generation that promoted its team to the big league.
The IRB is investing £1.25m ($1.95m) a year in a high-performance programme, supplemented by £400,000 a year from the UAR. Five regional centres, known as "pladars", provide 180 players aged between 17 and 23 with high-performance training programmes. These use modern gyms and include advice on training, preparation, nutrition, sports science and rehabilitation. "It is the sort of facility Argentina has not had before," says Egan.
Scholarships are provided for college-age players, and stipends of about 3,000 pesos ($750) per month for those a little older.
It is not high living, but given Argentina's traditions â€" club competitions remain strictly amateur â€" it is as much of a revolution as the facilities provided by the pladars.
The A-team, known as the Jaguars, has been funded for an enhanced international programme, including entry this year to the Vodacom Cup, South Africa's provincial competition.
"All this means that by 2012, Argentina should have a group of players aged between 21 and 26 with the international experience they need to compete against the three strongest teams in the world," says Egan.
Pichot has no doubt what is at stake. "If anything were to stop all of this happening, we would return to the chaos of the 1990s. But we are a proud nation. If we get it right, we can only get better."[/b]
