Jaguares in need of French renaissance
The great remapping of southern-hemisphere rugby union appears to be imminent, signalling the death of Super Rugby after a 25-year run which peaked in the early 2000s with the days of Super 12.
The easy explanation for the competition’s demise is that the more teams were added, the poorer the product became. A bloated 18-team structure thankfully only lasted two years. The addition of the underpowered Kings, South Africa’s sixth franchise, was laughable, and Japan’s Sunwolves were an admirable but ultimately failed experiment. The Jaguares, however, have been a successful exception to the rule; having reached last year’s final.
Unlike in Japan, where the domestic Top League dominates, meaning the Sunwolves were always given delayed access to their best players, the Argentina Rugby Union focused on bringing back the country’s leading talent from abroad to form the Jaguares squad and, eventually, found the right coaches, with Mario Ledesma, now in charge of Argentina, and successor Gonzalo Quesada combining for a record of 22 wins and 14 losses over the past two years, reaching the play-offs in 2018 and then the 2019 final.
Capable of mauling the life out of sides, but also flinging the ball about, the Jaguares have been a triumph. Now their players are sitting at home wondering where they will be playing next year. The 2020 calendar has been wiped out due to Covid-19 at a crippling cost, with the Jaguares’s top players now free to leave.
“We had to be straight with the players so they know the situation, with the uncertainty and the huge impact in the southern hemisphere,” Marcelo Rodriguez, president of the Argentine Rugby Union, said this week.
The bane of Super Rugby’s existence was long flight times between countries and adjusting to multi-hour time differences. In the long run it makes sense for New Zealand and Australia to pair up and form a new competition, with some (incredibly overdue) Pacific Island involvement.
South African Rugby has been fluttering its eyelashes at Europe for almost a decade, enticed by the lack of jet lag and bounty of commercial opportunities. The Pro14 already contains South Africa’s Cheetahs and Kings.
Where, importantly, does all this leave Argentina? An exodus has begun, with Quesada already at Stade Francais and eight players having recently confirmed moves to England and France. There is a chance the whole franchise could end up on the scrap heap.
“I’ve been talking with a lot of the players, and they are lost. They can’t believe it,” Juan Manuel Leguizamon, the former Argentina back row, tells The Daily Telegraph.
“We already have many players who have left for Europe. The union is working hard to find a competition. To be honest, I don’t know what is going to happen if the Jaguares are not going to play Super Rugby next season. Some may have left, but we still have another 35 players with no competition, no club.”
Forgive me for having not fine-tuned the logistics, but it would be fantastic to see Argentina involved in French rugby, with the Jaguares part of the Top 14 (or Top 15) and playing home matches in Buenos Aires.
Or, to cut down on travel time, based nearby in northern Spain, either in Bilbao, where the 2018 Champions Cup final was held, or San Sebastian.
Argentina’s players would be part of a leading competition and could also help to grow the Spanish market, where there is huge potential, although supporters back home would miss out.
There is a strong connection between Argentina and the French top flight, with a host of top players, including Facundo Isa, Marcos Kremer and Nicolas Sanchez now in the Top 14. When Argentina stunned France in the opening game of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the bulk of Los Pumas were playing locally. A third of Argentina’s starting XV belonged to Stade Francais.
Adding the Jaguares to the Top 14 might end up being an administrative nightmare. But abandoning Argentina at this point is unforgivable. Given the strides the country has made in professional rugby since that famous night 13 years ago, if Super Rugby is dead, then the sport owes them a viable solution.
‘I have been talking to the players and they are lost. They can’t believe it’