Rugby: Farewell to Tri Nations era

Argentina will be regular visitors. Photo / Getty Images

It may feel as if the Tri Nations has only just begun, but this year is also a farewell. This is the last time the tournament will take place in its current format and it's hard to know whether to celebrate or mourn the change.

Next year the Tri Nations will be shortened to just two rounds and, from 2012, it will feature Argentina in a Four Nations series when teams play each other twice.

For a tournament that is frequently criticised for being stale, repetitive and devoid of intrigue, the Tri Nations has the look of a competition in rude health. If it is stale, that fact is regularly forgotten when match days come along. The competition was compelling last year, as it has been this year.

The doubters haven't stayed away. Stadiums remain full in New Zealand and South Africa and TV viewing figures, after a dip in 2007 and 2008, are climbing again.

The complexity of the Tri Nations is that its repetition is highlighted as its weakness when it is, in fact, its key strength.

There is nowhere to hide in the Tri Nations. There are no soft games. Since the existing format's inception in 2006, the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies have, for the most part, been the three top-ranked teams in the world.

The margin between defeat and victory is tight. Even though the All Blacks have won the last eight against the Wallabies, the players have never felt the results have come easily.

"The difference between us is not much," says Wallaby utility back Adam Ashley-Cooper. "It comes down to critical moments and they have been a better team at taking their opportunities."

That intensity has given the Tri Nations an edge the Six Nations doesn't quite have. The pressure in the Tri Nations is relentless, as the All Blacks discovered in 2008 and last year.

A defeat to the Springboks in Wellington was followed by a loss in Sydney and all of a sudden half the team were playing to save their careers; the coaching panel were clinging on, uncertain about their jobs.

That was the case last year, too, when the Springboks had the All Blacks' number. How would the All Blacks respond? Could they out-think, out-play the Springboks in Hamilton after playing so badly in the Republic?

The danger for the game down here is that everyone realises how good the Tri Nations has been only when it is drastically changed.

The introduction of Argentina in 2012 has many positives, not the least of which is that without entry into a top flight competition, the Pumas would stand no chance of fulfilling their potential.

That potential is considerable. The Pumas finished third at the last World Cup and they have a depth of rugged, skilled forwards and a backline that holds down starting places in some of the biggest European clubs.

They will also bring a different style of rugby - a more upright, forward-orientated game that will rely on the power of their scrum, their strength at the collision and ability to hold possession.

That potential is going to take considerable time to be fulfilled. Inevitably they will struggle at first; providing an easier prospect of championship points to the established three heavyweights.

For the players, the prospect of change is being welcomed. It's not that they see the current Tri Nations as broken or stale. The prospect of something new; of visiting a little-understood country; of being exposed to different players and strategies is one they will enjoy regardless of how competitive or otherwise the Pumas prove to be.

"It would be nice to play Argentina," says Mils Muliaina. "It would be good to have a change in the Tri Nations and see where they are at rugby wise and to travel somewhere different.

"It is going to refresh the Tri Nations and if I am still around I would love to go over there.

"I don't think it is stale at all. It [Tri Nations] is one, two and three [in the world] and I think it is the best competition bar the World Cup because of who you are competing against.

"To have another team in there as well and to not have to play Australia and South Africa three times might be something a little different. It will broaden the competition a little bit more."