Pumas are set to roam in Europe again

THESE are fraught times for the aviation industry, unless you happen to be running flights out of Buenos Aires.

Matias Alemanno’s deal with Gloucester means all three of Argentina’s highclass locks at the last World Cup are now based in Europe, together with the multi-tasking Marcos Kremer, who has just surfaced in Bordeaux.

A one-way ticket out of Ministro Pistarini International Airport is the latest lifestyle accessory for the pro rugby player.

This is not encouraging news for the Jaguares, who are watching their Super Rugby set-up fall apart before their eyes, but as the whole idea of Super Rugby is crumbling, it may not make much difference.

And, anyway, the Pumas tend to have more going for them at World Cup level when they are “citizens of nowhere”, to borrow one of Theresa May’s more fragrant phrases.

In 2007, when they played brilliantly and finished third, 16 of their number were drawn from French clubs, including such prime influences as Agustin Pichot, Juan Martin Hernandez, Patricio Albacete and Gonzalo Longo. Another half-dozen were playing in England.

Eight years later, when they performed almost as well and finished fourth, they were still overwhelmingly an off-shore concern.

Yet the Pumas were deeply disappointing in 2019, despite having spent every waking hour together over an entire World Cup cycle. They looked bored to death with each other and played like it.

Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned.