Argentina name Rugby Championship venues

Fri, Dec 30, 2011, 1:00 AM
AAP
by AAP

Argentina will play their home matches in next year's inaugural Rugby Championship at Mendoza, La Plata and Rosario, the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR) announced on Thursday.

The Rugby Championship replaces the Tri-Nations after Argentina were invited to compete against the superpowers of rugby in the southern hemisphere.

The UAR revealed that the Pumas will play their first home match against South Africa, on August 25, at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in the western city of Mendoza.

They will then face World Cup winners New Zealand in La Plata, just outside Buenos Aires, on September 29, while their final match in the competition will be against Australia in Rosario, 300 kilometres to the north of the capital, on October 6.

"Next year will be an unprecedented one for rugby in Argentina, with the Pumas playing a total of 12 matches, including six at home, against the strongest nations in the world," said UAR president Luis Castillo.

The competition begins on August 18 with the Wallabies playing the All Blacks in Sydney and South Africa taking on Argentina in Cape Town.

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