Contepomi's plea to Los Pumas ahead of Twickenham rematch
REACTION: Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi had a simple plea for his side if they were to upset South Africa at Twickenham this coming Saturday.
Argentina went down heavily to the defending champions by 30-67 at Kings Park at the weekend, after trailing 23-25 at the break.
The Boks’ second-half surge proved to be too much for Los Pumas to handle as they succumbed to the pressure and power of the Boks.
Contepomi conceded that the Boks were too good for his side and that they would take the lessons from the defeat.
The article continues below…
“South Africa was too strong for us. Especially at the end of the first half and the start of the second half.
“Once we trailed in the game against South Africa with the power and physicality they possess, we found it difficult.
“It’s something for us to learn from.
“It’s always great to play in South Africa, but we know the massive challenge we face when we come to their shores.
“It’s a proud rugby nation. The stadium [atmosphere] was magnificent for some of our guys who played in South Africa for the first time.
“There are some young lads who came on this trip to South Africa for the first time, which is a good learning experience for them.”
The result eliminated Argentina from the Rugby Championship race, with the three remaining teams still in the running for the title.
Argentina could still have a say in the outcome of the tournament should they upset the Boks in London this coming weekend.
Depending on the result of the earlier match between Australia and New Zealand, either one of these teams can clinch the title should the Boks end on the losing side and fail to accumulate any log points.
The Los Pumas mentor pleaded with his team to “fight harder” if they were to stun the Boks in the decider round of the tournament.
The article continues below…
“I would like to think we can fight harder,” Contepomi told @rugby365com.
“I always notice and value the spirit and hard work of the boys a lot.
“It’s a team that works really hard in training.
“Unfortunately, today [Saturday] we couldn’t transfer the hard work onto the pitch.
“We also couldn’t stay in the fight when we had to, but the guys worked hard, and I’m proud of them because of the way they work week in and out and the massive effort they put in.
“So yeah, I’m proud of them.”
Captain Julian Montoya echoed his coach’s sentiments and said that despite scoring 30 points away from home against the Boks, they still had many scoring opportunities that they couldn’t convert into points.
Montoya also said that if Los Pumas want to cause an upset this coming weekend, they’ll need to be able to get onto the level of the Boks.
The article continues below…
“Yes, we scored a lot of points, but we also had many scoring opportunities we didn’t convert into points and conceded too many points.
“As Felipe [Contepomi] said, we fought hard, but we need to fight harder if we want to get to the next level.
“We need to get to a level where we can match [the Boks] to compete against the best team in the world in their backyard, and we didn’t deliver.
“It hurts a lot. We have to look at ourselves first.
“Firstly, I need to put my hand up [as captain] and then, as a team, we need to review the game.
“It’s going to hurt. We need to review [the match] and it’s not going to be a nice one, but we need to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
“We need to be better and give credit to South Africa.
“They played well, and we couldn’t come back from a difficult situation as we usually do.
“We weren’t accurate enough. We lost the contact [battle] against a team that’s very pragmatic, who have a lot of skillsets when they’re on the front foot.
“We will review this during the week and get ready for Saturday’s rematch.”
