Pumas to hit back on home soil
Argentina captain Felipe Contepomi is looking for a big response from his team when they face the Springboks on home soil this weekend.
The Pumas were blown away by the Boks in Soweto on Saturday, conceding nine tries to one in a resounding 73-13 defeat, so they will have everything to prove in the return fixture in Mendoza.
Contepomi, who scored his team's only try in the final stages of the game, admitted that they had been outclassed by a rampant Bok side and added that they have a lot of work to do if they are to turn things around.
"[It was] a very tough day at the office, we need to improve a lot, South Africa played a magnificent game. Once they got on the front foot it was very difficult to stop them, physically they ruled us out of the game.
"We will have to prepare well [work very hard] for next week [the return match in Mendoza]," he said.
The experienced inside back was not willing to look for excuses, but remains hopeful that his team were able to learn from the experience.
"I can give you a hundred excuses, but we don't look for excuses – we are very grateful that we are in this tournament.
"For us every match is a learning curve, today was very tough to swallow and I hope we can swing it [turn it around] for next week," he said.
Last year the Pumas proved that they are an entirely different prospect at home when they held the Springboks to a draw in Mendoza, so they will be hoping to rally once again and show what they are capable of.
Contepomi stressed the need to bounce back quickly in order to salvage some pride and take some momentum into the rest of the competition
"We need to keep growing, we know we are playing against the three best teams in the world, for us it is a great challenge and I hope that next week we are better than [we were] in this match
"We are grateful to be playing the three best rugby nations in this Championship and I hope we can do much better when the Springboks play in Argentina next weekend," he said.
