Rassie refuses to buy into Argentina discipline debate
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has refused to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Argentina’s discipline, insisting it is not South Africa’s place to judge what unfolded in Los Pumas’ fiery Nations Championship defeat to England.
Argentina’s ill-tempered 24-31 loss last month was overshadowed by a string of flashpoints, with seven yellow cards issued and flyhalf Tomás Albornoz later charged by World Rugby for alleged misconduct.
Despite the scrutiny surrounding Felipe Contepomi’s side, Erasmus dismissed suggestions that the Springboks would place any emphasis on Argentina’s recent disciplinary issues.
“What happened in the previous game regarding refereeing, it’s not for us to comment on,” Erasmus said.
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Instead, the Springbok coach believes the match against England was an anomaly rather than a reflection of Argentina’s character.
“We’ve played Argentina for a long time and we’ve never experienced them as a team that is negative or too feisty,” he said.
“They’re very hard men and they’re very physical, but we’ve never found them to be unsportsmanlike in games.”
Rather than focusing on the previous Test, Erasmus said the Springboks’ attention is on the challenge awaiting them in Buenos Aires, where South Africa have often found life difficult.
“We want to try and beat Argentina in Argentina, which is a really tough thing to do. Whether people believe it or not, we’ve lost here before and they’ve given us the biggest hiding we’ve had since this coaching team has been together.”
The world champions also face the added challenge of preparing for an unfamiliar Argentina side, with 10 new players included in Felipe Contepomi’s squad.
“We know Argentina well because we play them regularly, but there are 10 new guys we don’t know. We don’t know exactly what this team will look like.”
Erasmus also acknowledged the unique challenge Contepomi faces in assembling a national side, with Argentina’s leading players scattered across clubs in Europe and elsewhere.
“Their players are spread all over the world and they don’t have a core group playing together in Argentina,” Erasmus explained.
“We also select players from all over the world, but we’re fortunate to have a strong domestic system that allows players to come together and build cohesion more quickly.”
Whatever Argentina’s recent disciplinary record or squad changes, Erasmus expects nothing less than another bruising encounter.
“We believe we have to be very brave against them,” he said. “Playing Argentina in Buenos Aires is always one of the toughest challenges in international rugby.”
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