Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

'When we face New Zealand teams we know that we do it as an equal'

Agustin Creevy greets Jaguares team-mate Marcos Kremer after the quarter-final win over the Chiefs (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

Jaguares skipper Agustín Creevy is delighted his Super Rugby team has improved so quickly in a short space of time against New Zealand opposition.  

ADVERTISEMENT

On the go in the tournament since 2016, the hooker lost his first seven encounters versus Kiwi teams. However, that run has since altered and he is now in Christchurch hoping to celebrate what would be the sixth win in his last eight matches against the country whose clubs the Jaguares benchmark themselves against. 

Many felt the Argentina franchise would be only making up the numbers for many years in the tournament, but they have now qualified for their first final in just their fourth season in operation and they have no fears in facing defending champions Crusaders who are gunning for a third consecutive title.

“Confronting the New Zealand franchises is special,” said Creevy. “They are the teams that we watched and followed when we started in this tournament. Today we are very happy to face them because we do it on an equal footing and we enter the field to beat them.

“You can win or lose, but today we are up to the teams of this country. When we face them we know that we do it as an equal. 

“That speaks of the growth of this team in the game and in its mentality. The New Zealand teams are always respected, but we do not see it [winning] as an impossibility. Finals are 50/50 and Saturday will be a great game.

“We knew that the opportunity to be in a Super Rugby final would come. Maybe, I thought we were going to take a little longer to achieve it and that’s why I’m very grateful to be part of this great moment.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We arrived here because there was a maturation of all those who made up Jaguares. Before we entered the field to see what happened and today we are aware that all the matches can be won.

“Each year we learned and matured. Last season we reached the quarter-finals, making an important breakthrough, and the big jump came this year. There are players who used to be boys and now they have grown up and they are the ones who lead the team. Everyone knows what their role is in the group.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzVBXdCgqbr/

“We grew in every way. This year there were many active players with our rotation and that allowed us to be all playing high-level matches. The star is the team.”

WATCH: Crusaders forward Matt Todd explains how the New Zealand team will cope with its injuries going into the Super Rugby final

ADVERTISEMENT
Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

F
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?

4 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING 'World-class finisher' offers All Blacks selection solution Mark Tele'a scores a double at Allianz Stadium
Search