“If the one from (South African fly-half Manie) went in Libbok We ended up like the first match against Australia,” summed up the head coach of The Pumas, Felipe Contepomi how the tables can turn and the result of a match does not exactly reflect the role of the loser. The euphoria over yesterday’s victory against South Africa It is strengthened by those achieved against the other two powers in this same Rugby Championship: New Zealand y Australia.
“What dimension do I give to those victories? I think we were able, at times, to impose our game against three powers. Then, the results… I didn’t see the table well, but I think we can win or finish third. So it doesn’t make sense to focus on the results, but on how we progress. For me, the important thing is the 80 minutes and the actions that happened in those 80 minutes,” Contepomi responded to Clarion at the press conference after the match.
“We are in a process in which We want these matches to stop being feats and be able to compete on equal terms with the powers, even though sometimes you win and other times you lose. So far we are doing well, except for the second round against New Zealand, but afterwards we were competing on equal terms,” he stressed.
Before the match took the course it did, it was one that looked like it was heading for a defeat for Los Pumas. The first 12 minutes were fatal. “One tries, rather than staying calm, to trust. At the start, we were over the top. They made unusual penalties. When they stopped looking at the result and we were able to play the game we wanted to propose, we played very nice rugby” he boasted. For that reason and because Libbok’s goal did not enter, with one match to go the victory against South Africa puts us in a head-to-head fight for the title.
Julian Montoya The captain, who was also present at the conference, was the voice of the group. Are the players motivated to reach the last date with the chances of something new?
“A while ago, beating New Zealand was something unprecedented, the number of tries against Australia, beating the three powers… so we are thinking about the process. We are thinking about the next match, about the opponent. We know what the match represents, but we have to think about it as always, work on the things we couldn’t do today and we have to improve,” said the captain.
Captain Julian Montoya’s words after the victory. . Photos Emmanuel Fernandez –
28 players will travel to South Africa – Marcos Kremer will be absent – and the squad will travel with a logical change. The team’s starting opener is no longer Santiago Carreras and the number 10 shirt seems to have been left in the hands of Thomas AlbornozThe change, which during the Michael Cheika era was something of a matter of state, was made by Contepomi, who also used him in that position at the start of the cycle.
“Santiago Carreras is an excellent number 10, as is Cepillo (Albornoz), Nico Sánchez, (Domingo) Mingo Miotti and all the number 10s we have in mind. Carreras is an excellent player, who can play as a number 10, wing, fullback and helps us in many areas,” he cut short the possibility of controversy.
When he came in as a replacement Bautista DelguyNegro Carreras added his 50 parties with the Argentine jersey. The Contepomi process included a good number of players who began to earn their first caps with the National Team, joining figures who have already played in several World Cups.
Although it may seem hot, Santiago del Estero has not yet delivered all it can in terms of heat stress. The thermometer hit 36 degrees, enough for any average Santiago resident to say that heat, really heat, is suffered in December and January, with temperatures above 50. The day had already faded and in this province the triumph of Los Pumas resonates like a breath of fresh air, like the one that Contepomi infuses his team.
