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'It is the defining rugby image of 2020' - World media reacts to Pumas upset win over All Blacks
UK rugby writer Stephen Jones – renowned for winding up New Zealand rugby fans – is at it again, suggesting the All Blacks need to spend time playing tier-2 rugby.
He tweeted that given the All Blacks’ “recent miserable record, culminating in today’s beasting” at the hands of the Pumas, it was only fair they should be recuperating against tier-2 nations, and that the Cook Islands should be promoted.
When legendary rugby commentator Keith Quinn pointed out that Jones’ team, Wales, hadn’t beaten the All Blacks since 1953, Jones responded: “Try to cop today a bit better than that mate.”
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I believe given their recent miserable record culminating in today’s beasting at hands of Pumas that New Zealand spen recuperating time in Tier 2 and are replaced in TRC by Cook Islands. Only fair.
— Stephen Jones (@stephenjones9) November 14, 2020
The exchange came as the world’s media heaped praise on the Pumas and scorn on the All Blacks.
The Sydney Morning Herald said the All Blacks were “humiliated in a manner rarely seen”. The Times UK selected a pivotal moment that summed up the game. And The Daily Telegraph, also in Sydney, reported that most rugby fans will be smiling today.
Here’s how the world media reported Argentina pulling off one of the great test rugby upsets, stunning the All Blacks for the first time 25-15.
Upset for the Ages
“There won’t be a rugby fan in the world – at least outside of New Zealand – who didn’t get a kick out of seeing Argentina’s historic victory over the All Blacks at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday,” The Daily Telegraph’s match report said, with the website saying that every rugby fan – ‘well, maybe not the Kiwis” – would be smiling.
“The only thing better than the spontaneous celebrations of the Pumas when the final whistle blew was the glum look on the faces of the All Blacks.
“The Kiwis were spared the usual vitriol that follows their rare losses when they were narrowly beaten by the Wallabies last weekend – mainly because they had already wrapped up the Bledisloe Cup and fielded a weakened line-up.
“But the side that lost to the Pumas was arguably New Zealand’s best so the recriminations will be severe this time.”
Argentina beat All Blacks for first time in stunning boilover
“After 402 days without featuring in any international rugby, Argentina have beaten the All Blacks for the first time ever to secure the country’s greatest Test victory of all time,” the Sydney Morning Herald’s Tom Decent wrote.
The stunning 25-15 boilover will live long in the memory of those at Bankwest Stadium and Argentinians all over the world as Ian Foster’s All Blacks were humiliated in a manner rarely seen, orchestrated by Mario Ledesma and Michael Cheika.”
Sport24 in South Africa described the Pumas’ victory as “stunning”, while Australia’s news.com.au said the All Blacks have been “sentenced to a nine-year meltdown”.
In The Times UK, Stuart Barnes wrote: “No question, it is the defining rugby image of 2020. The All Blacks trailed Argentina in Parramatta, Sydney, by 12 points with six minutes remaining. Richie Mo’unga surged towards the Pumas’ tryline, only to find the rock that was the Argentina captain, Pablo Matera, over the ball. Immovable, winning the penalty to consign New Zealand to a second consecutive defeat for the first time since 2011.
Two weeks in a row now, the #AllBlacks have suffered surprise losses. What have the new head coach and captain got to say for themselves? #NZLvARGhttps://t.co/EOoUokTmbZ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 14, 2020
“The cameras closed in on the stone-faced skipper, ball held tight in his massive arms. No hint of a smile, pure focus and the widest-eyed determination to see the remaining minutes to its conclusion. His team-mates congratulated him but his eyes were elsewhere. Maybe looking towards his coach, the soon-to-be-tearful Mario Ledesma.
“In these grey times around the world — Argentina has suffered more than its share from the pandemic — it is wonderful to be able to write about something truly great. The day Argentina beat the All Blacks and all that upbeat emotion summed up by the Puma leader and his wide-eyed stare through the ages.”
‘Great moment in Argentina sport history’
La Nacion in Argentina described the result as “the end of one of the last utopias of Argentinean sport”. Claudio Cerviño writes in today’s issue of La Nacion that Argentina will never have to say they’ve never seen their team win against the All Blacks, “the best in the world, the ones who are born with a rugby ball, who feel the sport like no other in the South Pacific”.
Cerviño says this victory last night rivals some of the greatest moments of sport for the nation – a moment many believed would never happen. He compares the Pumas performance last night to the country’s Davis Cup victory in Croatia in 2016, a trophy that many Argentinean greats had tried to grab and missed before.
Mariano Ryan writes in his analysis for Clarin that the Pumas were “strong against adversity” and called this victory one of the “highest impact” ones in the history of the sport. According to Ryan, the match proved that Argentina has put together a solid team.
Headlines don’t come much better
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‘One of the biggest upsets’
The UK’s Daily Mail described Argentina’s win as “one of the biggest upsets in test rugby history”.
“The Argentinians were given almost no chance of registering their maiden victory over the All Blacks in their tournament opener after being kept off the pitch for almost the entire season by the global health crisis.”
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“I honestly thought they would run out of juice”
All Blacks legend John Kirwan was quick to speak out about the loss, saying he was left “shocked”.
“I honestly thought they would run out of juice. Have we ever seen anything like this? They completely outplayed us all across the field. Our discipline in the first half was just silly. This was the most amazing, courageous performance I’ve seen in a long, long time,” he said.
“The Pumas were far hungrier and they will go down in history… there will be a party for a week.
“The decisive moment was Rieko [Ioane]’s knock on [in the final 10 minutes, with the All Blacks on the attack]. I thought we could have still won it till then.
“England showed the blueprint to beating the All Blacks in the World Cup. Get off your [defensive] line, make you tackles, put them under pressure. We saw that last week [in the defeat to Wallabies in Brisbane] and we saw it tonight. If you do that, the All Blacks have no backup plan.
“Am I dreaming – cause I just heard someone [Foster] say they played with more passion, more want. That’s usually what they say about us.
“Discipline… you can’t do that stuff. Coles slapped that guy in the face. Rieko dropped the ball.”
Meanwhile, Honey Hireme-Smiler on the influence of former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who is now an assistant with Pumas:
“You could see Michael Cheika’s influence in the defeat. The Pumas’ line-speed was brutal and their defence worked.”
Social Media reacts
Royal Commission about to be launched in NZ.
The @AllBlacks have just lost 2 in a row…
This time to @lospumas ??? #NZLvARG— Ben Davis (@BenDavis74) November 14, 2020
Hook every NZ media melt down piece straight into my veins #NZLvARG
— Sam Phillips (@samphillips06) November 14, 2020
‘Argentina’s performance today makes a mockery of the Springboks not wanting to travel for The Rugby Championship’ #NZLvARG https://t.co/6VAdjGioRg
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 14, 2020
They’ll be going into meltdown in New Zealand right now #NZLvARG
— Cameron Mee (@cameron_mee1) November 14, 2020
Pumas’ result removes the notion that you need stacks of top quality test matches to get up to speed.
Dont play for months.
Just play a couple of friendlies.
Then roll up and beat the All Blacks.— Paul Williams (@thepaulwilliams) November 14, 2020
The cohesion of this Argentina team – having not played together for a year – has been really brilliant.
— Brian O’Driscoll (@BrianODriscoll) November 14, 2020
Seeing Argentinians cry after winning at rugby make me sad that in New Zealand it only happens when we lose.
— Matt Nippert (@MattNippert) November 14, 2020
That’s the uplifting rugby story of a tumultuous 2020. Argentina hadn’t played for a year, rock up and beat the All Blacks for the first time ever. You gotta love sport.
— Owain Jones (@OwainJTJones) November 14, 2020
‘Horribly vulnerable and highly beatable’
NZME’s Gregor Paul didn’t hold back in last night’s premium column..
“Argentina have made history and the All Blacks have the sort of problems that suggest they are horribly vulnerable and highly beatable. It wasn’t that they lost to the Pumas, it was that they never really got anywhere near them.
“The All Blacks had nothing. Really nothing and rarely in the last 10 years, maybe even in the last 20, have they played with such a sense of being rattled and so badly outclassed.”
‘We’ve been through hell’
Argentinian coach Mario Ledesma – who played 84 tests for the Pumas – choked on tears as he tried to describe what the win meant.
“We’ve been through hell,” he said, in obvious reference to his team having been hit by Covid-19, and also being starved of rugby.
“After everything that has happened this year…if I told you what it meant I wouldn’t be able to talk.”
Ledesma said that through the tough year, his players “just kept ticking, making efforts, and staying positive.”
“It’s unreal, unreal after everything that has happened,” Ledesma said. “I’m just so proud of them, it’s incredible.”
The Pumas released a video on the morning of the match, revealing how their players had dealt with the COVID-19 lockdown. Some had spent as long as four months in isolation and more than a dozen contracted COVID-19 before they came to Australia.
From backyard scrum sessions, to defence drills in team rooms, to meals in hotel isolation, the group had gone through it all to make the truncated tournament possible.
