SANZAR CEO Andy Marinos (File)

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Sydney - SANZAR has extended a conditional invitation to Argentina to join the Tri-Nations from 2012 to create a new “Four Nations” Championship.

Andy Marinos, Acting Managing Director of SA Rugby and CEO of SANZAR said: “To have the Pumas, third at Rugby World Cup 2007 and currently ranked sixth in the world, join with the three top ranked international teams in world rugby will be exciting for fans, players, sponsors and broadcasters across our four countries and beyond.  They play a different style to the All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies and their inclusion will see the Tri-Nations evolve to be a truly Southern Hemisphere Championship”

“With the significant progress the UAR has made in transforming rugby in Argentina and making the case to SANZAR for it to be included in the Tri-Nations, we are confident that SANZAR, the UAR and the IRB can work together to confirm the Pumas participation from 2012”

The President of the UAR, Porfirio Carreras, said: “This is 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 working with our partners in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to secure our place in the best competition in world rugby in 2012”

The format for the new Four Nations 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 will be played from mid-August (following the end of the new Super Rugby competition) for an eight or nine week period through until early to mid-October.  In a Rugby World Cup year an abbreviated format will be played through July and August.