When Argentina join the Rugby power houses of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in the newly named Rugby Championship this year they will be embarking on the latest stage in their rise to Rugby’s top table.
Argentina’s inclusion in the tournament marks the end of the historic Tri Nations and a new stage for Southern hemisphere Rugby too.
Argentina have now announced the venues for their home encounters in the forthcoming championships. They will play their first home game against South Africa, on August 25th, this first clash will take place in Mendoza at the Estadio Malvinas.
This will be followed their game against New Zealand. They will take on the world champions on September 29th in La Plata, near Buenos Aires. And their final home game will be against Australia in Rosario on October 6th. Sadly the latest rugby betting odds suggest that Argentina are going to struggle to win either of the matches.
The competition kicks off on August 18th with a repeat of the World Cup semi final, with Australia taking on New Zealand in Sydney whilst Argentina make their debut against South Africa in Cape Town on the same day.
The head of Argentinian Rugby, UAR president Luis Castillo has said this year will be “an unprecedented one for rugby in Argentina”.
The Pumas will play 12 matches including six on Argentine soil. And all of them against the world’s leading Betfair Rugby Union playing nations.
Argentina forced their way onto the world stage with their third place finish in the 2007 World Cup and cemented their place at the top table with further impressive displays including effectively eliminating Scotland from the 2011 tournament. They are now in the process of attempting to gain Argentine representation in the ‘Super Rugby’ club tournament.
The rise of Argentine Rugby is well underway, some would say well behind schedule and their Rugby Championship campaign will mark another step in the right direction for this new force on the World stage.