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Jaguares may have lost, but impressive season will impact Argentina for years to come

Jaguares head coach Gonzalo Quesada after the 2019 Super Rugby final. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Gonzalo Queseda’s downcast Jaguares players were quickly reminded of the impact they’d made in soccer-mad Argentina soon after losing the Super Rugby final.

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A resolute performance wasn’t enough to stop competition kingpins the Crusaders winning 19-3 in Christchurch.

The scoreline didn’t do justice to Queseda’s men, who had more ball and created more chances than the All Blacks-laden hosts but lacked the finishing touches.

Queseda could understand the tears in the sheds but wanted his team to realise what they’d achieved in just their fourth season of existence.

“For us it’s amazing. This year we put a big commitment to try to represent something,” he said.

“A lot of kids have started playing this season. Our country’s proud, our clubs were educated. They’re proud of the boys and I think that’s important for rugby in our country.”

The Jaguares handled their hellish travel schedule better than previously and showcased some of the competition’ s best players.

Consistently outstanding flanker Pablo Matera was named player of the final and is among a host of the team’s hardened Pumas players who look set to have an impact on the Rugby Championship and World Cup.

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Queseda believes the Jaguares will be better for their final defeat but for now, is content to soak up the flow of tributes coming their way from opponents and commentators.

“We played some of the best teams in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

“Seeing the way you guys are looking at us is quite a moment. We have a lot of humility but are super-proud,” he said.

– AAP

WATCH: The trailer for the new RugbyPass documentary on former Crusaders player, Nemani Nadolo

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Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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