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===Expansion=== The competition was expanded in 2006 and saw each of the three nations play each other three times, although the 2007 series reverted to a double round-robin to reduce fixture congestion in a [[2007 Rugby World Cup|World Cup]] year. Historically there were persistent rumours about the inclusion of [[Argentina national rugby union team|Argentina]]<ref name="Argentina">{{cite web | title=Argentina accuse New Zealand of dirty tricks | work=sarugby.com | url=http://www.sarugby.com/news/News/article/sid=4503.html |access-date=27 October 2006}}</ref> and this was formalised on 14 September 2009 when it was announced that Argentina would become part of the competition in 2012.<ref>[http://www.scrum.com/trinations/rugby/story/102505.html "Argentina invited to join the Tri-Nations"], ''scrum.com'', 14 September 2009.</ref> There have also been rumours about a Pacific Islands team being included too.<ref name="irb">{{cite web | title=IRB boss wants Argentina in Tri-Nations | work=[[Australian Rugby Union|rugby.com.au]] | url=http://www.rugby.com.au/news/irb_boss_wants__argentina_in_tri-nations,12234.html |access-date=27 October 2006}}</ref> Until then, Argentina was the only [[List of international rugby union teams#Tier 1|tier 1]] nation that had no regular competition, and some, among them former Pumas captain [[Agustín Pichot]],<ref name="Pichot">[http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0500rugbyunion/0200news/tm_objectid=17254377%26method=full%26siteid=50082-name_page.html "Six Nations would be magnificent seven with us, pleads Pichot"], ''[[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]]'', 19 June 2006.</ref> had even spoken of them joining the [[Six Nations Championship|Six Nations]]. However, a spokesperson said: "We belong in a tournament in the southern hemisphere and not in an expanded Six Nations". The inclusion of Argentina did have some support from some bodies, South African Rugby Union deputy chief executive saying: "We would support (their) request to play in the Tri-Nations". Former Springbok coach Jake White also said: "I think it would add a new dimension to the tournament and perhaps refresh it." Since 2007 a deal between the [[International Rugby Board]] (IRB), the world governing body for the sport, was brokering a deal with [[SANZAAR|SANZAR]] to admit Argentina to the Tri Nations as early as 2008<ref name="Argentina deal">{{cite news|url=http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article1434537.ece |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110604135535/http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/article1434537.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 June 2011 |title=Ambitious Argentina poised to secure TriNations place |newspaper=The Sunday Times |first=Nick |last=Cain |date=2007-02-25 |access-date=2007-02-26 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Sunday Times'' reported that many players and fans in the SANZAR countries disliked the expansion to a triple round-robin, noting that former All Blacks scrum-half [[Justin Marshall]] accused SANZAR of overkill in 2006. Also, the piece added that South Africa is highly dissatisfied with the current Tri Nations format, as it requires that the Boks tour for a month while the Wallabies and All Blacks fly in and out of South Africa in a week. The addition of Argentina would even out travel commitments for all teams involved. ''The Sunday Times'' noted that there were two main stumbling blocks to adding Argentina: * Division of broadcast revenue, which is currently shared equally by the four [[SANZAAR]] countries. * At the time, the biggest stumbling block was possibly the [[Argentine Rugby Union]] (UAR). ''The Times'' noted that some UAR members were "deeply attached to amateurism", adding that the IRB had a blueprint on the table for a South American provincial competition similar to SANZAR's [[Super Rugby]], featuring six Argentine provincial sides and one each from Uruguay and Chile, but UAR had yet to approve it. However, by August 2007, it became clear that there would be no expansion of the series before the current television contract between SANZAR and [[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]] expires in 2010. An IRB spokesman stated that the main problems with adding the Pumas to the Tri Nations, besides media contracts, were fixture congestion and the lack of a professional structure in Argentina.<ref name="Pumas delayed">{{cite web |url=http://www.rugbyrugby.com/tournaments/tri_nations/story_13807145000.php |title=Pumas will stay crouched until 2010 |publisher=RugbyRugby.com |date=2007-08-13 |access-date=2007-10-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014022443/http://rugbyrugby.com/tournaments/tri_nations/story_13807145000.php |archive-date=2007-10-14 }}</ref> Domestic rugby in Argentina is still amateur; in fact, the UAR constitution specifically prohibited professional rugby in the country until December 2007,<ref name="Pumas 6N push">{{cite news|url=http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/news/pumas-push-for-six-nations/2007/11/08/1194329377234.html |title=Pumas push for Six Nations |agency=Associated Press |work=Rugby Heaven |date=2007-11-08 |access-date=2007-12-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705091655/http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/news/pumas-push-for-six-nations/2007/11/08/1194329377234.html |archive-date=5 July 2008 }}</ref> and even did not allow for a professional league.<ref name="Amateur2007">{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/01/03/srabou103.xml |title= Argentina's amateur decision angers Pichot |newspaper=telegraph.co.uk |access-date=2008-01-07 |date=2008-01-02 |last=Gallagher |first=Brendan | location=London}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Because of this, a large majority of the Pumas play for European club teams, which would likely create further scheduling conflicts. Admission of Argentina<ref>{{cite news|url=http://en.espn.co.uk/argentina/rugby/story/102505.html|title=Argentina invited to join the Tri-Nations|work=ESPN scrum|date=19 September 2009|access-date=21 September 2020}}</ref> was therefore submitted to several conditions for the UAR: * Ensure its best players would be available at the Tri-nations time of year, late summer, which is exactly when France's Top 14 and England's Premiership start their first games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/argentina/rugby/story/115474.html|title=Argentina edge nearer Four Nations|work=ESPN scrum}}</ref> * Develop professional rugby inside Argentina thanks to a SANZAR loan and financial support from the IRB; Professionalisation has since entered Argentina. * Reform competitions into a single united professional league. There are now regional leagues being the one from Buenos Aires city the strongest and a short 4-team clubs national championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://espndeportes.espn.com/rugby/|title=Rugby Resultados, Noticias, Estadsticas, Posiciones, Equipos - ESPN Deportes}}</ref> In November 2007, the IRB held a conference on the future worldwide growth of the sport, with the status of ''Los Pumas'' a key topic of discussion. The most important decision made at the conference, with regard to the Tri Nations, was the agreement of the UAR to establish a professional rugby structure between 2008 and 2012, at which time Argentina would be "fully integrated into the Southern top-flight Rugby playing structure."<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2021332.html#rugby+lays+foundations+continued+growth |title=Rugby lays foundations for continued growth |publisher=International Rugby Board |date=2007-11-30 |access-date=2007-12-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202170940/http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2021332.html#rugby+lays+foundations+continued+growth |archive-date=2007-12-02 }}</ref> At the time of the IRB conference, the UAR had already scheduled a special meeting for 28 December 2007 to amend its constitution to allow players to be paid.<ref name="Pumas 6N push"/> Shortly after the IRB conference, [[New Zealand Rugby Union]] deputy chief executive Steve Tew expressed doubts that, within ten years, a professional domestic competition in Argentina would be sufficiently viable to retain elite players in South America despite all the good intentions and funding of the IRB.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/news/pumas-have-to-wait-nzru/2007/12/04/1196530635733.html |title=Pumas have to wait: NZRU |publisher=RugbyHeaven.com |date=2007-11-30 |access-date=2007-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725035928/http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/news/pumas-have-to-wait-nzru/2007/12/04/1196530635733.html |archive-date=25 July 2008 }}</ref> The aforementioned UAR meeting did not result in the formation of a professional league. The 23 provincial delegates voted unanimously to keep their domestic league amateur, but approved a plan to centrally contract the Pumas selection pool to the UAR as professionals.<ref name="Amateur2007"/> In February 2009, the UAR announced that under a plan supervised and financed by the IRB, it had contracted 31 local players, who will each receive 2,300 [[Argentine peso]]s (US$655/[[pound sterling|£]]452) per month. The eventual goal is for these players to form the core of a future Pumas selection pool.<ref name=2009UARContract>{{cite news|url=http://www.rugbyrugby.com/news/story_4209102243.php |title=Home grown Pumas finally turn pro |author=South African Press Association |author-link=South African Press Association |publisher=RugbyRugby.com |date=2009-02-04 |access-date=2009-02-04}}</ref> Argentina officially joined The Rugby Championship in a meeting in [[Buenos Aires]] on 23 November 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/85398/argentina-is-now-part-of-rugby-championship|title=Argentina is now part of Rugby Championship|last=Deges|first=Frankie|work=Buenos Aires Herald|access-date=23 November 2011}}</ref> [[Japan national rugby union team|Japan]] have been in talks with joining the competition as they seek to face better opponents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americasrugbynews.com/2021/06/29/plans-for-japan-to-join-rugby-championship-from-2024/|title=Plans for Japan to join Rugby Championship from 2024 |date=29 June 2021 |access-date=14 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news24.com/sport/rugby/rugbychampionship/japan-in-talks-to-join-rugby-championship-20220101|title=Japan in talks to join Rugby Championship |access-date=14 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rugbypass.com/news/japan-in-talks-to-join-rugby-championship/|title=Japan in talks to join Rugby Championship or Six Nations|date=January 2022 |access-date=14 July 2022}}</ref> They previously played in the [[Asia Rugby Championship]] which they dominated in for many years, facing lower competition. [[Fiji national rugby union team|Fiji]] have also been mentioned as another potential candidate to join the competition, as they tend to be the better performing tier 2 country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fijitimes.com/fiji-will-not-be-part-of-the-rugby-championship/|title=Fiji will not be part of The Rugby Championship|date=4 November 2021 |access-date=14 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rugbypass.com/news/ex-all-black-wants-fiji-japan-to-be-added-to-2021-rugby-championship/|title=Ex-All Black wants Fiji, Japan to be added to 2021 Rugby Championship|date=12 July 2021 |access-date=14 July 2022}}</ref> Along with Fiji, [[Samoa national rugby union team|Samoa]] and [[Tonga national rugby union team|Tonga]], other smaller potentials to join, compete in the annual [[World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup]]. On 5 October 2023, Flying Fijians head coach [[Simon Raiwalui]] confirmed that there were ongoing discussions of Fiji being part of the competition after the [[2023 Rugby World Cup]]. He mentioned the need of results, rankings and administrative structures for admission into Rugby Championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fijivillage.com/news/Raiwalui-confirms-discussions-are-ongoing-for-Flying-Fijians-to-join-Rugby-Championships-after-RWC-5r8x4f/|publisher= [[Fijivillage]]|last=Raqio|first= Mosese|title=Raiwalui confirms discussions are ongoing for Flying Fijians to join Rugby Championships after RWC|date=5 October 2023|access-date=6 October 2023}}</ref>
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