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‘Understanding why’: Pumas moving on ‘quickly’ from England defeat
By Finn Morton
Argentina have turned their focus to “three very, very important games” at the Rugby World Cup after losing their tournament opener 27-10 to a 14-man England on Saturday.
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Backrower Tom Curry was sent to the sin bin inside the opening few minutes, and that incident was upgraded to a red card offence shortly after. England had their backs up against the wall.
Wins have proved hard to come by for Steve Borthwick’s team this year, but this incident seemed to galvanise the English on the sport’s biggest stage in Marseille.
Los Pumas were able to split possession 50-50 with their opponents and also finished with a slight advantage in the territory battle with 53 per cent.
But a depleted England outfit won on the scoreboard, and that’s the stat that counts.
England are riding high after a statement performance, but the same can’t be said for Los Pumas. Argentina may need to win all three of their Pool D matches against Samoa, Chile and Japan if they’re to qualify for the quarter-finals in France.
“At this time the focus was on the best way to analyse the match technically,” Argentina forwards coach Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe said.
“It was the first game in a World Cup in which nothing could be defined, in which the team’s great preparation could not be shown. Solutions could not be found at the time.
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“We have to quickly analyse our game as there are three very, very important games left.”
With former coach Eddie Jones at the helm, England were bested by their Argentine rivals on an unforgettable day at Twickenham last November.
England played another three Tests under Jones before replacing the rugby guru with Steve Borthwick, but things haven’t exactly gone to plan.
In the Borthwick era, England had only managed to win 3 from 9 Tests ahead of the Rugby World Cup. That’s what makes the win over Argentina, against all odds, so staggering.
As for Los Pumas, they were a fan-favourite pick to make it out of the group – some even tipped them to top their pool. Argentina recently beat Australia in Sydney and ran world champion South Africa close two months ago.
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But one result, be that a win or a loss, can’t define a campaign. Following the defeat to England, Fernandez Lobbe insisted that Los Pumas are still “a solid team.”
“The team had been inspiring other things. If one thinks that in two years we showed confidence and lost it by one game, then it would not be a solid team. It is a solid team, with solid players,” Fernandez Lobbe added.
“Now, it is understanding why the image that the team gave was one of a lack of confidence. There are three games left to build the dream that this team is chasing. It is not hiding or putting aside errors. This is a team that sticks together and looks for solutions.”
Argentina will return to Rugby World Cup action in just under two weeks’ time when they take on Samoa in Saint-Etienne, and later Chile and Japan to conclude pool play.
Very disappointing to see how coaches deposit all the blame on the players. He is not the coach? He didn’t talk to the players during half time? He didn’t tell the players how to adapt game plan to the new circumstances?