'I did something stupid, I had a horrible feeling inside me'

New Argentina assistant coach Felipe Contepomi has recalled the embarrassing gaffe where he wheeled away thinking he had landed a match-winning drop goal at Toulouse – only to quickly realise the last-minute score left Stade Francais still beaten by three points. The Top 14 incident, which happened in October 2011, came after Contepomi had taken a blow to the head that required 15 staples and wearing a scrum cap before he returned to the field.

It’s a situation Contepomi feels wouldn’t happen these days as he reckons he would have failed an HIA if that process was in situ at the time. It wasn’t and it left the miscalculating Contepomi getting things all wrong in the most pressurised of circumstances.

He mistakenly believed that Stade Francais were only trailing by two points with the match about to end. Instead, they were losing 18-12 to Toulouse and the jubilation Contepomi initial felt when he belted over his drop goal quickly turned to depression when he realised his teammates were angry with him.

Recalling the incident on Midi Olympique, the French rugby website, Contepomi said: “I see all the guys with their hands on their heads, their eyes dismayed. Obviously, I immediately understood that I did something stupid. I had a horrible feeling inside me.

“I don’t know why, I was convinced that we were only two points behind. The worst thing is that in my whole career I only scored three or four drops. No more. I didn’t try it often because it didn’t correspond to my rugby education. I liked the game, attacking the line, even though I had a kick that wasn’t bad.

“The worst thing is that this drop was really disgusting. The ball struggled to rise. Moreover, it passes just above the crossbar. I even believe that I had hit with the ankle. Really, horrible stuff… it’s dangerous to play after taking a blow to the head. I was forced to leave the field to have my skull stitched up. I remember that the doc [Alexis Savigny] had decided to put staples in me to go faster. I can still hear the noise in my head: clack, clack, clack…

“I returned to the field with about 15 staples and a helmet to try to protect myself. But I think if I had to pass the concussion protocol, I would never have returned to take the field. But hey, at the time, it was a bit old-fashioned.”

The gaffe didn’t affect his relationship with coach Cheika in the long run – Cheika recruited Contepomi from Leinster this year when he became head coach of Argentina. But the memory of that day in Toulouse eleven years ago remains inescapable.

“I can assure you that the scar that I have on my skull, I see it every day when I look in the mirror,” he added. “It’s probably the most important I’ve had in my career and it inevitably reminds me of that moment of embarrassment that I experienced.”