• Rugby Championship has helped Pumas improve,defence coach believes
• Bouza says it is easier to get quick ball in southern hemisphere conditions
After Argentina reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 2007 they implored the Six Nations committee to allow them to join the championship, not least because most of their players were based in Europe. It did not happen and eight years on their presence in the final four is less of a shock than it was then and they believe a lot to thank the major European nations for.
Instead of being caught up in the rough and tumble of the Six Nations they believe spent the final four years in the Rugby Championship, and honing their game so that it is now a mixture of power and finesse rather than centred on the set pieces. Their progress contrasts with that of Italy,who are in much the same state nowadays as they were when they joined the old Five Nations at the start of the century.
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Source: theguardian.com