SANZAR invite Argentina to make a Four Nations from 2012

The International Rugby Board has welcomed the announcement that SANZAR has invited Argentina to join an expanded Tri Nations tournament from 2012.

Argentinas invitation is the culmination of an IRB-led process that started in November 2007 with the historic Woking Accord where the Games major stakeholders agreed that a transition programme for Argentinas full integration into the senior international playing calendar was a key priority.

It is proposed that Argentina, will join Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to create a new Four Nations tournament. The proposed format will see the four teams playing on a home and away basis meaning six matches per team and a total of 12 matches overall. The Four Nations would be played from mid-August for an eight or nine week period through until early to mid-October. In a Rugby World Cup year an abbreviated format would be played through July and August.

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: (quote) The IRB welcomes the news that SANZAR has invited Argentina to join a new Four Nations from 2012. A key recommendation of the Woking Forum was to prioritise finding a solution that would lead to Argentinas integration into an annual tournament structure. Todays announcement is extremely exciting for the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) and Rugby fans around the world. The IRB will continue to work closely with the UAR and SANZAR to try to ensure that Argentinas proposed inclusion becomes a reality. We will work with all stakeholders to try to ensure that appropriate conditions of invitation are met, including the participation of Argentinas top players and the implementation of a sound and sustainable financial model. Todays announcement is a significant milestone and the IRB would like to express its thanks to SANZAR for its commitment to the process. (end quote)

UAR President Porfirio Carreras said:(quote) This a momentous time for Rugby in Argentina and I would like to thank my board and everyone who supported us to reach this point. We are very much looking forward to playing in the best competition in world Rugby in 2012 alongside our partners in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. (end quote)

This decision is a great one for the long term development of our game in Argentina and will also give new impetus to the Four Nations.

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