The Irish provincial model should be a template for Italy and Argentina in the coming years, writes Tony Ward in The Irish Independent.
"For Italian and Argentinian rugby, this is their NAMA -- a watershed. Both countries are attempting to set in place a professional structure to keep the best emerging talent at home and to attract those who have already flown the coop back to where the heart is.
"Think back to the early days of professionalism: all the early signs pointed to rugby in this country following the path of soccer, with the vast majority of our elite plying their trade abroad. Some did emigrate and some are still away, but the number is minuscule, thanks in the main to the way in which Philip Browne and the IRFU have gone about their business.
"We all like to trot out the line that, on any given day, any one of the Six Nations can beat any other but, in the case of the Italians, is that really true? They have never beaten Ireland, France or England in the competition. However, on the back of entrance into the Magners League next season, the seeds for future Six Nations competitiveness are being sown. The arrival of Treviso and the new Aironi Region (a renamed Viadana) cannot come quickly enough."
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