Loose Pass
In the first edition of Loose Pass for 2012 we will mostly be talking Pumas, Ireland, and bringing out the all-knowing crystal ball…
This week we will mostly be talking Pumas, Ireland, and crystal balls…
So, Argentina have played one of their trump cards this week, taking their (we already hate calling it this) Rugby Championship games to Mendoza and Rosario, with the one remaining game set for La Plata, just outside Buenos Aires.
Madness not to be in the capital? SANZAR seem to think so, stating euphemistically that they hoped at least two of the matches would be in Buenos Aires.
Hmmm. Were the motives for that statement entirely altruistic? Or was it a case of SANZAR officials not entirely recognising both Mendoza and Rosario's place in Argentinean rugby culture, the place of rugby in Argentinean sporting culture, and the opportunities afforded by both for a unique view of a wonderful country.
For the record, it's a great choice. The *ugh* Rugby Championship will come to Argentina at the peak of the soccer season, when Buenos Aires will be overrun by riotous (in the London summer of 2011 sense) soccer fans on sportsdays and rugby will barely get a look in.
Meanwhile, rugby fans and officials alike can partake of: skiing in the Andes, wine-tasting of some of the world's finest Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, all at one of National Geographic's top ten historic destinations in the world in Mendoza.
In Rosario, you are welcomed to a thriving industry hub, Argentina's third-largest city with a long and exhaustive list of museums and artifacts from the country's history, as well as to the famous old rugby clubs of Club Atl̩tico del Rosario Рone of the four UAR founding clubs Рand also Jockey Club de Rosario and Duendes Rugby Club, both former winners of the Nacional de Clubes title.
And La Plata? It's 60km from Buenos Aires, even if you do get bored of the multiple cultural sights the provincial capital has to offer. Argentina is not third world, you could probably do it after a game.
SANZAR really hoped there'd be two Tests in Buenos Aires? We don't see them hoping for Tests in certain cities in the other countries every year… what we want to know is, were the motives behind their expressed disappointment altruistic? Like hell…
Three weeks ago, we touched on a looming Irish problem, noting that most of their provincial propping stock was hewn from overseas coalfaces.
Well, perhaps they were reading and the IRFU made a knee-jerk reaction just before Christmas, but Irish fans have greeted the new foreign player restrictions this week with a mixture of skepticism and relief – a straight split down the middle of the two.
Ulster had more than half of their points this weekend scored by imports. Leinster had all of theirs. That's not healthy. And we repeat: more than half of what seems to be the provincial starting propping stocks in Ireland hails from overseas.
Short-term – say the next five years – it's going to be ugly in the Heineken Cup and we don't see a repeat of the 2009 Grand Slam anytime soon either under these restrictions. But long-term, this cannot be anything but good for Irish rugby.
It's the start of a new year and so we'll do a little crystal-balling:
Six Nations champions: Wales
Aviva Premiership champions: Saracens
RaboDirect Pro12 champions: Leinster
Top 14 champions: Clermont
Heineken Cup champions: Toulouse
Super 15 champions: Reds
The *ugh* Rugby Championship champions: Australia
Happy new year!
Loose Pass compiled by Richard Anderson