Argentina's coach Marcelo Loffreda last night made a renewed plea for the Pumas to be added to the Six Nations Championship, arguing they would raise the standard of the tournament and broaden the horizons of the game in Europe by being based in Spain.

The Argentinians this week climbed to fifth in the world rankings, their highest-ever position, with only one Six Nations team, France, above them, and in recent years they have defeated all of the participating countries, and picked up victories in Marseille, Twickenham and Cardiff.

Despite their success, though, doors have stayed shut to them, Australia opposing their entry into the Tri-Nations and England and France saying there is no room in the calendar for an extra Six Nations fixture.

"The International Rugby Board has been very supportive, but nothing is happening," said Loffreda, who is Leicester-bound after the World Cup. "The Six Nations would be better for us because most of our players are based in Europe, and Spain would be a natural country to play in."

All but one of the starting 15 to face Wales tomorrow earn their living in Europe, the stand-in full-back Federico Serra the exception.

Meanwhile, France said yesterday they had postponed until August 31st a final decision on whether prop Sylvain Marconnet can play at the World Cup.

The 31-year-old, France's mostcapped prop with 71 international appearances, is struggling to recover from an operation on his left shinbone following a skiing accident in March.

"Sylvain had a series of medical checks which showed that the calcification of his left leg was still developing," France team officer Lionel Rossigneux said. "It has been decided to grant him a new extension until August 31st after a new series of tests."

Despite his injury, the Stade Francais player has been named in France's World Cup squad. But Perpignan's Nicolas Mas has been called to the training camp and will replace him if he is ruled unfit.

Lawrence Dallaglio has rejected the suggestion by the former captain Will Carling that his presence in England's World Cup squad might affect team spirit. "I'm just not a divisive person," said the 35-year-old former captain.