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Details continue to emerge following the recent interview of Agustín Pichot by Santiago Ángel. Revelations sparked inquiries which have resulted in Ignacio Chans confirming professional plans for Uruguay and Brazil.
Pichot notified Ángel of not only the plans for the Argentina XV to play in the Currie Cup but for others from South America to follow them. The World Rugby Vice-Chairman is seeking to have Uruguay and Brazil combine to field a team in the Rugby Challenge, South Africa’s third division competition.
Pichot held back from expanding on revealing the plans. What he did reveal, however, was that the Argentina XV are looking to replicate the former Pampas XV and Uruguay and Brazil to be a similar project, only one level lower.
Although the Currie Cup is the national domestic league it is the second tier level. At the top is Super Rugby. The Rugby Challenge is a new project acting as the third tier. It replaced the former Vodacom Cup.
Unión de Rugby del Uruguay (URU) President Sebastián Piñeyrúa has confirmed that Pichot’s comments are indeed accurate. He went further, writes Chans, by noting that URU players would compete for three months in South Africa.
With Uruguay having no professional competition to play in, the move has been warmly received by the local community. Together with existing initiatives for Los Teros it will give the country’s best players opportunities like none other from previous eras.
Combining with the High Performance Center at the Estadio Charrúa it is the latest part of a puzzle which is becoming complete. Uruguay has the Americas Rugby Championship, Nations Cup, Americas Pacific Challenge and November Internationals. With the Rugby Challenge added the schedule is virtually full with players set to now be able to play the sport full-time as semi-professionals.
Brazil has benefitted from Pichot’s vision. Wins over Chile, Paraguay, Portugal, Colombia, Canada and the USA have seen Os Tupis profile rising within the region and beyond. Increased opportunities have been declared as being sought from Brazilian authorities.
Combining Uruguay and Brazil is likely to be a short-term option. The long-term goal would be for both to have independent professional structures in place. The same is true of Chile, a country fully integrated in the Americas set-up but missing from the South African plans.
