They’ve each played six matches and between them they’ve picked up just two wins - that’s not a good return for the three new teams in this year’s expanded Super Rugby competition.
The Jaguares, Kings and Sunwolves have been a major disappointment, with the Kings’ one win coming against the Sunwolves, while the Jaguares won first-up in round one, against the Cheetahs - a side that’s also battling to make an impact in this year’s competition.
It’s not good enough for what is supposed to be the premier “provincial” competition in the Southern Hemisphere.
While one has to feel for the Kings - who had a controversy-filled build-up to the competition and have actually played some damn good rugby at times, without much success - and the Sunwolves, who’ve lost a number of games by only a few points, the Jaguares have let themselves and the competition down.
Yes, the men from Argentina have also had a few close shaves, like the Sunwolves picking up three losing bonus points, but much more was expected of the South Americans. They started well against the Cheetahs and looked as if they were going to cause a good few problems for a number of teams, but they’ve been shown up in a competition that is at times every bit as tough as Test rugby.
The Jaguares are a squad packed with Test stars and they play the kind of rugby that Argentina got the world excited about last year, yet they’ve managed to score just 14 tries, to go with the 18 they’ve conceded.
While all three of the newcomers have been competitive, now that the competition is in full swing and the better teams have found their rhythm and momentum, they’re likely to find it increasingly more difficult to stay in the race. And let’s not forget that Super Rugby is a marathon and not a sprint so everyone who comes up against the Jaguares, Sunwolves and Kings will from now on fancy their chances of picking up maximum points.
It is true though the Jaguares - who look to be the most organised of the three - still have a good few home games to come and they’ll be hoping to make the most of what are normally tough conditions for visiting teams. In fact, if they’re to justify their place in the competition they’re going to have to stand up and win some of those games.
On that note, it is extremely disappointing to have read that the Argentina Rugby Union, together with Sanzaar and the Australian Rugby Union, have decided to play their Rugby Championship match against the Wallabies at Twickenham in London on October 8.
Surely Argentinian rugby fans should be able to see the most of their national team and playing at a neutral venue like Twickenham levels the playing field when Los Pumas would otherwise have had home ground advantage if they’d played in Argentina.
It seems the prospect of banking a good few pounds was just too much to resist - to the detriment of the fans.
The Star