MONDAY MAUL: By GREG GROWDEN in Lyon - SMH | Monday, 10 September 2007
What a magnifique opening two days of the World Cup for the southern hemisphere alliance.
The tournament could not have begun in a more startling fashion than having Argentina humiliating the home nation on the opening night when they played the perfect bash-and-barge game to down the French.
Then the All Blacks and Wallabies did their respective countries proud with conclusive victories over Italy and Japan on Saturday. Sure, there's a long way to go in the World Cup, but up here in the north, especially in the Paris region, everything has gone eerily quiet. Suddenly they are no longer criticising the south for conjuring up basketball rugby.
As the World Cup continues to emphasise the large difference between the sharks and the plankton in international rugby, the All Blacks and Wallabies are at least showing the way by playing admirable and finely tuned football.
In Marseille, the All Blacks performed as if they were involved in the 100 metres heats of the world athletics championships. They flew out of the blocks, scoring 38 points in just 19 minutes with immaculate ensemble play. Then they took their foot off the gas. For the second half, the All Blacks cruised to the line, knowing that there are far more important battles to come.
In Lyons, the Wallabies performed as if they were in a marathon. They began slowly, sat in behind the main pack, stumbled a couple of times, and took big sips at the drink stations. Eventually they found their rhythm at the 20-kilometre mark, and took off Forrest Gump-like, accelerating past everyone, scoring 68 points in the second half.
What was most impressive about the Wallabies was their conditioning. They were peaking near the end of the Japan game – due reward for long weeks of training in Sydney, Portugal and France. At last there was something to show for all the exasperation and perspiration.
This high level of fitness will be crucial come finals time.
And one can imagine the Argentine Rugby Union at the moment cluttering the email stream and hogging the fax line to SANZAR pleading for a look-in to either the Tri-Nations or the Super 14 as soon as possible. And the Argies have every right to state their case.
With the Tri-Nations struggling to retain attention because of a tired formula, it warrants the introduction of an effervescent team such as the Pumas. And why isn't the world's best halfback, Agustin Pichot, not sighted more in the southern hemisphere? He can teach a lot of other halfbacks, in Australia particularly, the most effective way to antagonise opponents.
The SANZAR boffins will immediately say that introducing Argentina would be a logistical nightmare, and the travel involved would become unbearable. There are two simple solutions.
One is to devise the draw so that the Argentina leg can be like a mini tour for the visiting teams, and similarly, when the Pumas visit Australia and New Zealand, make them stay for several weeks and turn it into a rugby festival. The Pumas are crowd-pleasers and Australian audiences will take to them – far more than when the Springboks sent their half-baked back-up team to Sydney this year and made a mockery of the Tri-Nations.
The second solution has been bandied around for some time. If going to and from Buenos Aires is too difficult – and this is always said by people who haven't been there and experienced one of the truly majestic rugby cities – then why not have the Pumas basing themselves in South Africa?
Numerous officials have been pushing that idea for some time, and it has some merit.
It is high time SANZAR stopped sitting on their hands and instead thought seriously about the Pumas. It could easily revive the Tri-Nations tournament.
The Pumas have already revived the World Cup.
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