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The early exit of Los Pumas from RWC 2019 saw the road to RWC 2023 officially beginning early. Argentina was out of Quarter Finals contention with a match in hand. The 47-17 win over the USA was bitter-sweet though it did see innovation in selecting in certain positions.
The year 2019 was hectic for Argentina. Success in Super Rugby came with a cost as play-off’s followed the regular season with a Quarter Final, Semi Final, and Final. From there the players had 14 days before starting the Rugby Championship.
Too much travel and too many matches without sufficient rest caught up with the players. Would the result have been any different in RWC 2019 with alternate planning? Perhaps not though better planning and preparation would certainly have provided better opportunities.
In 2020 Los Pumas will continue to closely resemble Los Jaguares. Some from Europe will be considered though no more than in 2019. An important change in regards to 2019 is that the final round of Super Rugby will be on May 29/30 with the play-off’s taking place on June 05/06, 12/13, and 20.
The June Internationals will seize to exist with restructuring making them the July Internationals. Los Pumas will thereby play in July at home and in November in Europe. The Rugby Championship will fall in between, giving Los Pumas 12 test matches.
The details of the plans for 2020 are starting to emerge. France are close to confirming a tour to Argentina for test matches on July 04 and 11 while Los Pumas are also expected to play host to Italy on July 18.
In November thus far a match against England has been confirmed for November 14. Two additional matches are to be added against other Six Nations unions.
Argentina’s test rugby plans for 2020 are thereby unchanged from the previous RWC cycle, being identical to that of 2017, and 2018. Aside from the June to July change the only other alteration is who tours Argentina in June and who Argentina faces in Europe in November.
An improved Pumas side will no doubt achieve more wins though there is still room for innovations in the scheduling of international competition. Considering the number of players on the Jaguares roster as well as Jaguares XV players there is more than sufficient room to add matches, with a key factor in this being who to play against.
In both July and November 2020 there are available dates for Argentina to add test matches against Tier 2 opposition. Argentina would have an added match to use a similar side to that which faced the USA in Kumagaya while the opposition would have the desired opportunity to host a Rugby Championship team. Who then should Argentina organize matches against? – Uruguay and Georgia.
On July 25 Los Pumas could face Los Teros at the Estadio Charrúa while on November 07 or 28 Argentina could either begin their November tour or conclude their year against Georgia. In both instances it is feasible to predict large crowds.
In November 2016 Argentina defeated Japan in Tokyo but lost against Wales, Scotland, and England in the UK. In November 2017 Los Pumas defeated Italy but lost against England and Ireland. Finally in November 2018 Los Pumas were beaten by Ireland, France and Scotland. The return in Europe was thus 1 win and 8 losses over three tours.
In 2017 Argentina defeated Italy and Georgia but lost all remaining matches. Georgia’s performance against Australia at RWC 2019 was impressive while Uruguay made history in beating Fiji. Scheduling test matches against both in 2020 would be not only timely but highly appropriate.
In addition to Argentina providing emerging talent with valuable opportunities such games would also serve as testing grounds to build upon. They would also not be without benefits for the World Rankings. Indeed if Los Pumas were to face Uruguay today in Montevideo and win then Argentina would gain world Rankings points. The same applies to a match against Georgia in Tbilisi.
