Gregor Paul: Sanzar place an illusion for Argentinians

Horacio Agulla and his Argentinian team-mates exceeded expectations at the last World Cup but nothing has been done since about the 'Argentina question'. Photo / Getty Images

When Eva Peron asked her country not to cry, she had no idea Argentina was going to be so abysmally treated by the rugby world and Sanzar in particular.

It's a constant struggle for the Pumas to hold back the tears as they hear Sanzar executives talk a great game while delivering zip. With Sanzar's negotiations with News Corporation in full swing, the 'Argentina question' is on the table.

Sanzar would love everyone to believe they are fighting for the Pumas, working every angle to find a way to bring them into an expanded Tri Nations.

All the right things will be said to News. The impression will be given this is a problem Sanzar want to solve. But the reality is a little different.

If something was going to be done, if there was a genuine intention to bring Argentina on board, we wouldn't be hearing about it.

Detail around these negotiations is locked down tightly. Bringing in the Pumas would be a major happening, so why would Sanzar want any whiff of this in the public domain?

Unless, of course, they just want to give the impression they are doing everything while really just going through the same old routine of humouring the Argentinians.

It's been that way for so long now, credibility is in short supply. Cynicism has to be rife because progress hasn't been slow, it's been non-existent.

After Argentina stole the show at the last World Cup, travelling further and with more conviction than the Wallabies and All Blacks, they shamed the IRB into taking them seriously.

There was a so-called lock-in in November 2007 that involved every major stakeholder in world rugby. A plan was hatched to do something about Argentina, to provide meaningful, regular test exposure.

The plan hinted that a short-term fixture list had to be put in place until Sanzar's existing broadcast deal came up for renewal. The longer-term plan has always, supposedly, been to bring them into the Tri Nations.

Yet, Sanzar has done little to facilitate that. There are only vague plans in front of the broadcast partners that say Argentina remain of interest but not until they hatch a sustainable business plan and a means by which they can access their best players for the proposed August-September-October Tri Nations window.

Argentina will be kept in their holding pattern. The carrot will be dangled a little longer and the Pumas' best hope now is the International Players Association.

If it were up to the players, Argentina would be in. For many senior All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks, the shine, if there ever was one, has come off the Tri Nations.

The extended format of playing each other three times each hasn't gripped everyone.

The introduction of Argentina would be a fresh challenge; a new place to travel; a new style of rugby to counter. It would also lessen the exposure to both South Africa and Australia, as Argentina's arrival would pave the way for each team to play the other three twice.

And there is also a feeling among the players that the time is now for Sanzar to take definitive action. This whole sorry episode could go on forever if no one takes a risk.

It's a bit like having a baby - there never will be an ideal time. You just do it and cope. That's the key to the Pumas.

Sanzar has to be bold and pick a year for them to come on board. No ifs, buts or pots and pans. It's chicken and egg at the moment. Argentina can't build a business plan without Tri Nations inclusion and nor can they access their players without inclusion.

If Sanzar allows, or even encourages, all Super 15 sides to recruit limited numbers of Argentinians, it will be tempting for some frontline Pumas.

If the Pumas have a fixed date for Tri Nations entry, then the Super 15 proposition becomes hugely attractive.

A well-paid Super 15 contract and annual competition featuring the best teams in the world - how about that? That will bring big numbers of Argentinians out of Europe.

Maybe that's all a bit simplistic but it's a plan at least.

It's better than the IRB's, who are labouring under the impression that Argentina can build a domestic competition that will bring their players home.

That's ambitious in the extreme and surely Scotland, Italy, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji have shown that it's possible to compete without any domestic base?

The unwanted child of world rugby needs action - and they need it now before another broadcast deal is signed off and Argentina is still a maybe.