Rugby Championship hits peak then heads into purgatory

MELBOURNE :It took more than a decade but this year's Rugby Championship finally lived up to what it had long promised fans: being fast, fierce and wide open to the finish.

Now, having found its spark, the full version of the four-nation tournament will fade from view for at least two years as champions South Africa and New Zealand plot a traditional tour in 2026 without Australia and Argentina.

Ironically or perhaps fittingly, the decisive match of the Southern Hemisphere's premier competition was played out in the Northern Hemisphere at Twickenham, where the Springboks celebrated back-to-back titles with a 29-27 win over the Pumas.

It was another reminder of the commercial forces that have long squeezed the tournament into unnatural places and cramped its dimensions in the global calendar.

There were other reminders on show as coaches waged and lost battles with Northern Hemisphere clubs to keep their best players in camp.

Australia's fans may wonder why Will Skelton missed half the Rugby Championship while on club duty in France and whether the big lock could have made a difference.

Without him, the Wallabies slumped to a series of tight defeats and finished third on the table following a 28-14 loss to the second-placed All Blacks in Perth on Saturday.

Despite finishing with two wins and four losses, Australia played to capacity crowds at their home games and will have lost few fans from falling short in most of them.

Joe Schmidt's side proved they have the game to trouble the best, beating world champions South Africa at Ellis Park for the first time since the 1960s.

The last-placed Pumas also bowed out with two wins and four defeats, a record that suggests nothing of their competitiveness throughout.

The Pumas suffered only