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Steve Hansen believes Jaguares and Pumas have narrowed the gap on New Zealand sides

New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen

Steve Hansen has issued not just the Crusaders, but his own All Blacks, with a warning about the ominously strong state of Argentina rugby.

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Veteran New Zealand Test coach Hansen said he can’t help but be impressed by the giant strides made the Jaguares in the last year, noting this Saturday’s Super Rugby final features the competition’s two strongest teams.

While the Crusaders start favourites because of home advantage and their enviable pedigree, Hansen believes the South Americans provide a very real threat.

The Argentina Rugby Union (UAR) has succeeded in getting the Jaguares to work in closely with the Pumas program in a World Cup year, luring a number of additional Test candidates to the Super Rugby team.

No fewer than 37 of the 46-strong World Cup squad named by Argentina coach Mario Ledesma are aligned with this year’s Jaguares.

A handful of big-name stars, such as five-eighth Nicolas Sanchez, are based in Europe but have previously represented the Jaguares, meaning they should slot easily into the national team’s methods when they gather in Buenos Aires next week.

Hansen says it all points to a significant challenge to open the All Blacks’ Test season at Velez Sarsfield on July 21, pointing at the flair on show when the Jaguares dissected the Brumbies 39-7 in last week’s semi-final.

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“They have always had big bruising forwards, but their backs have scored some sensational tries,” Hansen told journalists.

“They really opened the Brumbies up and every opportunity they had off turnover ball they punished.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence and together as a team rather than as a group of individuals.”

Traditionally renowned for their scrummaging, Hansen noted the Jaguares and Pumas have let that element of their game decline slightly in recent years to improve other aspects.

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They played more of a “Super Rugby-type” game, employing the sort of ball movement that should be effective for the Pumas in the warm temperatures of Japan during the World Cup.

“The biggest weapon they’ve gained is confidence. They’ve got a belief,” Hansen said.

“They’re worthy finalists. They’re going down there believing 100 per cent they can beat the Crusaders, so that will make them dangerous.”

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Flankly 2 hours 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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