Pampas bulls roaming SA fields

In Stellenbosch, where Danie Craven lived and died and where the culture of Springbok rugby was born, a rival country's entire rugby future is being reshaped by an unlikely group.

Their average age is 23, their squad has only 76 Test caps between them and they are playing in a tournament that lies a distant third behind Super 14 and Currie Cup.

But the "Pampas XV" may be the most important team to have left Argentina in recent years.

The squad arrived in SA last month as guests of the SA Rugby Union, who are footing the bill for their stay in Stellenbosch, where the team will be based for the duration of the Vodacom Cup.

The team, coached by Daniel Hourcade (who took Portugal to the 2007 Rugby World Cup) and ex-Pumas prop Mauricio Reggiardo, yesterday picked up their first win in SA with a 73-14 win against Border at Newlands, their adopted home ground.

The Vodacom Cup champion pockets R1-million but the Pampas XV are not here for the money.

Lifting the trophy won't hurt but they have a bigger aim in mind - to change Argentina's rugby landscape.

The game across the Atlantic, 15 years after professionalism, essentially remains as amateur as it was when Hugo Porta led the side in the 1980s.

But Argentina's rugby culture is slowly changing, as the country confronts the demands that being part of an expanded Tri-Nations tournament will place on their elite player base.

Their plan is to create a pool of Argentine-based players to represent the Pumas alongside their more illustrious European-based compatriots, and the Pampas XV experiment represents the first steps.

The Argentine Rugby Union has established a national high-performance plan, which gives 50 of the best home-based players, including Pampas skipper Agustin Creevy, a chance to train like professionals.

The cream have been given the chance to stake their claim as part of the Pampas XV.

Creevy, 24, the ex-Biarritz flanker-turned-hooker, is one of a growing band who have left Europe to base themselves in Argentina. He played against Scotland in November and is one of the Pumas' brightest front-row prospects.

"It's a great opportunity to play in SA and we are really enjoying our stay," he said this week. "It's going to help grow not only this team but also rugby back in our country."

Team manager Franco Rossi, 41, the former Pumas eighthman, runs one of the union's five high-performance centres, in Rosario - the others being located in the traditional rugby hotbeds of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Cuyo and Tucuman.

"What we need in Argentina is to raise our level, and being here will do that," he said. "Our goal is to play in a Four Nations from 2012 and that's why we have brought these young players here.

"The success of the tour would be if we could develop international careers for them as Argentine-based players.

"There is a great debate in Argentina with the traditionalists on one side and the pro-professionalism guys on the other. People are afraid the spirit of the game will disappear.

"I've played professional rugby so I know what works and I believe in what we're doing. I'm not afraid of the changes."

Rossi is excited to see how the team develops, especially in their final three pool matches against Western Province, Free State and the Sharks XV.

"Our first game against Eastern Province (27-27) was a good test and we know we have to improve," he said. "Each player knows just what an amazing opportunity this is."

Creevy agrees, saying he has no doubts about the benefits of the Pampas experience.

"For me, and for every player here, if we think about the World Cup and the expanding Tri-Nations, it's the most exciting time ever to be a young Argentine rugby player," he said.

PAMPAS XV'S REMAINING VODACOM CUP FIXTURES:

March 19: Boland (Wellington);

March 27: W Province (Newlands);April 10: Free State (Newlands);

April 16: Sharks XV (Durban)