Argentina's future in international rugby will be discussed during a series of IRB workshops in England this week.

For the Pumas to build on their third place at the World Cup, however, the Argentinian Rugby Union (UAR) must also submit their draft plan for sustained success this week, a senior IRB official said.

"Argentina's position in international competitions will come up in the workshops," Mark Egan, IRB's head of rugby services, said.

"But it won't be a case of Argentina giving the forum a presentation and demanding they be included in X,Y and Z competitions," Egan said.

Egan said recent reports out of Argentina had given the misguided impression that the Integrated Season Forum workshops, involving the whole international rugby community, were the scene for Argentina to present their long-delayed plan.

This was due in part to the November 30th IRB deadline for the draft coinciding with the three-day workshop starting today.

The IRB has been withholding a 3.1 million fund from Argentina for more than two years, because the amateur UAR has dallied over the draft.

Egan said that playing in a top international competition, something long overdue for Argentina, cannot come without a complete restructuring of the UAR along professional lines.

Negotiations over Argentina's insertion in the Six Nations, to whom the UAR recently sent a formal request for inclusion, or Tri-Nations is something the IRB cannot directly influence but it wants to fund the infrastructure that would make the Pumas viable participants in either competition or a proposed World Series.

"Once the outcomes are agreed and a comprehensive strategic plan for the union is in place, then the IRB executive committee will consider how the funding should be released," Egan said.