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Rugby World Cup 2023 will begin on September 08, 2023. Teams are to have a thin corrider in which to prepare in between the completion of professional seasons and the World Cup. There will be RWC warm-ups played. What are desirable World Cup warm-up matches for the Americas?
Obtaining player release of the best players is absolutely essential for RWC preparations. It is paramount that fixtures are scheduled at appropriate times and this needs to take rest into consideration.
There is a juggling act to have players coming together from different countries and hemispheres. The Súper Liga Americana de Rugby (SLAR) and Major League Rugby (MLR) finished in May and June in 2022. For the Rugby World Cup Qualifiers this was a factor for Chile’s success; Los Cóndores roster had more preperation time together than did the USA’s roster.
Competitions also conclude at differing times in Europe. League finals are to be in May and stretching into June. European test teams will not tour in July 2023 but will compete in a series of RWC 2023 warm-up matches in August. While individual teams will prepare differently the overall structure is for elite players to rest in June and enter their training regimes in July.
Most South African players are now on the European season. That is either in in the United Rugby Championship (URC) or across different leagues. Argentine players are too. what are the dates going to be for the 2023 Rugby Championship? In 2019 it was from July 20 to August 11 with teams playing three rather than six fixtures.
RWC 2019 started 12 days later than will RWC 2023. Dates for the 2023 Rugby Championship are all but certain to replicate this change. As such, the rest time for Argentina’s players is different to that of RWC opponents England.
Assuming the 2023 Rugby Championship does finish two weeks before the dates from the 2019 tournament then the competition would be played entirely in July. This suggests Los Pumas’ rest time will need to be split with some players missing one or two matches of the Rugby Championship and consideration even being made for some to be rested altogether.
In fact, Argentina’s desirable World Cup warm-up matches are arguably against South Africa or any Tier 1 team. Instead, it is favorable to not play the usual extra match outside of the Rugby Championship against South Africa. South Africa presently have a match against Wales on August 19. Playing vs Argentina on the weekend of August 05 is not desirable.
Los Pumas will have the three highly demanding matches within the Rugby Championship itself. In order to have all players at 100% it is desirable to instead play closer to home. Argentina could play away capped test matches against Chile and Uruguay.
Santiago and Montevideo are ideal locations for RWC 2023 warm-up matches in August. Even if it has not been made official at that point in time, the 33-man Pumas roster will have been decided upon. The matches would be historic and a celebration of South American rugby with three teams going to the World Cup.
Needless to say, both Uruguay and Chile would benefit tremendously from hosting a Tier 1 opponent. A home match against Los Pumas could be part of a warm-up series for both Chile and Uruguay. They could also play host to each other and an additional opponent. A warm-up match for both against Brazil is possible. A four match series of this kind would be excellent preparation for Chile and Uruguay. Either July or August would work though August is the desirable time following June rest and July RWC training camps.
With Chile now a RWC team there is no need for Uruguay to schedule a pre-RWC tour like that of 2015. The tour to Japan and Spain served Uruguay well; however, in 2023 doing so would not be productive enough to justify the investment. It makes far more sense to play in South America.
If the USA does succeed in qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2023 then players will require rest in June and July. In other words, for the USA, the August 05-29 period is the desirable time to schedule warm-up matches. The USA will be in need of multiple fixtures. Three games ought to be scheduled in August.
The USA should have home and away matches against Canada. A third match should be arranged against a RWC 2023 competitor. Italy ought to be a top priority and it is possible given Italy faced Russia in a RWC 2019 warm-up match. One matches against a South American country is another possibility and is favored to a tour to Fiji or Japan before the tournament.
