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Original Pumas a secret weapon

Argentina's first tour abroad in 1965 was to South Africa, where they were given the nickname of the Pumas, and members of that squad who managed to beat the Junior Springboks in Johannesburg were at Kings Park to witness the current side make history and hand South Africa a demoralising 37-25 defeat.

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The 1965 team lined up next to the field for the singing of the anthem, with emotion clear to see on the faces of the current team and the legends, and after the match there was jubilation in the stands and in the changerooms as Pumas past and present celebrated what will surely go down as one of the most memorable moments in Argentina's rugby history.

Coach Daniel Hourcade revealed that the legends had played an inspirational role in the build-up to the match and had been so fired up that they had wanted to take the field themselves.

"It was very emotional for us, they started the history of the Pumas. We had a dinner on Thursday night and they were very emotional, they were crying and wanted to go on the field with us," he said.

Argentina struck first with an early try to wing Juan Imhoff who would go on to score a hat-trick, and they never looked back as they outclassed the Springboks in just about every aspect of the game.

Hourcade said that his team managed to take their hosts by surprise, and added that the result is invaluable to them with just one match left before the World Cup next month.

"I think we surprised them, the game started with that early try and we also had opportunities to get more points with the kicks at the posts.

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"We had a very good defence, I think we surprised them and took advantage of that. 

"I don't think it was about bad play from the Boks, I think it was a great effort and we won the mental battle and mental strength is probably the key to beating the Springboks. 

"It is so important to get this type of victory because they give you more self-belief and they give you more comfort to keep working on what you are doing," he said.

Argentina have always been renowned for their formidable scrum, which played a central role in their dominance at Kings Park, but there was far more to their performance than that as they beat Springbok tackles with ease, frustrated the home team at the breakdown and showed huge commitment on defence as well.

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"The scrum is always going to be important, but it is not the only thing. That is why we try to add different aspects to our game.

"South Africa waited for us with three or four players at the back, which is why we didn't want to kick it at them and decided to attack," he said.

Captain Agustin Creevy said that preparations for this match could not have gone better, and said that they never doubted that they were capable of upsetting the Springboks.

"This is what this team has, we can lose one weekend and learn from our mistakes and then play a game like we did today.

"We had a very good week with great training sessions and that is what you have to do if you want wins like this.

"The Rugby Championship has helped us a lot to increase our level. In every game we play against South Africa, New Zealand and Australia we learn something new," he said.

Hourcade said that although the team had exceeded expectations, he does not see them as favourites for the clash with the Springboks in Buenos Aires next week, and added that he will be sticking to his original plan of making more changes for that match.

"I don't think we are going to be favourites, the Pumas is a team that is capable of winning big games but we are aware that we are not on the same level as these type of teams and we are expecting a terrible game next week.

"Next week we are going to make changes, respecting the plan that we had from before the tournament. 

"There are some great players that did not play today and when those players have an opportunity it will make very good competition for places," he said.

By Michael de Vries, in Durban

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