WITH THE CLOCK running down at Aviva Stadium Argentina had history within their reach. Felipe Contepomi’s men had delivered an energy-sapping second-half defensive effort to hold Ireland scoreless in the second 40, and having clawed a 22-9 half-time deficit back to just three points, the Pumas were in the Ireland 22 and on the prowl.
A nervous home crowd watched on as the visitors inched forward, before an Argentina knock-on triggered a roar of relief as those in blue and white shirts fell to the turf.
To win, or even draw, in Dublin would have felt special for all involved. None would have felt it more than head coach Felipe Contepomi, who called this city home for 10 years as a player and a coach with Leinster.
“Look, it’s disappointing obviously because it hurts and I hate losing more than what I love, which is winning,” Contepomi said.
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“The performance itself, we didn’t start well but we got into the game and I think we ended up in good form. When you play against the best teams in the world you know it’s going to go to the 80th minute and it will be small margins, and that was it.
“So yeah, it’s disappointing. I think we’ve a lot to improve but we’ve got a good platform of where to improve.
Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“We put ourselves in a position to maybe get the opportunity to win the game. Yeah, you missed the opportunity, but at the same time you’re playing against a top team in the world, they won’t give you an easy entrance to their in-goal, you know?”
Some of Argentina’s defensive work was outstanding and while their attack didn’t fire as many shots as they would have liked, their only try of the night was a beauty – the brilliant Juan Cruz Mallía leaving Garry Ringrose, Caelan Doris and Mack Hansen in his wake as a weaved home from distance.
With only 44 minutes played they will feel they should have kicked on from there, but ultimately they could only add a Tomas Albornoz penalty to their total.
“Maybe sometimes you say that you deserve to win or this or that, but deserving is not enough, we need to be better,” added captain Julian Montoya.
“We need to be better, and we need to learn, but I’m very proud of the team and the fight we showed.
We had a lot of positives, some negatives as well and against a quality team like Ireland you pay the price. But we want to improve and we’re going to keep working hard in the week to be better.”
Mixed emotions ahead of a season sign-off in France next week. It’s been a highly encouraging year for Contepomi, who has watched his men record wins against France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Headline results, but Contepomi sees the bigger picture and would pick holes in each performance. Last night’s determined effort was no different.
“I’m very proud of the boys because, you know, definitely one thing [we need] to get better at is Ireland started fast and we need to start these sort of games better,” Contepomi said.
“But then we stick to it, and we stay there, and we stayed in the game. And in the moments where Ireland really threw all their armament and all their tricks and everything, we defended well, and we kept disciplined.
“We had two-man tackles and moved quickly [to fill the line]. So for us, definitely I’m proud of that and I think it’s part of the game. It’s not only attack but also defence and the boys had a great game in defence, especially the second half.
“Maybe we need to learn to start a bit faster rather than stay comfortable and see how we are and then go. And that’s part of the learning and playing against the top teams in the world because those things happened against New Zealand, South Africa. It happened against Australia in the second Test match as well.
“Now Ireland, teams that they are used to, top four, top teams that they are used to, start like that and so on. So it’s a learning curve for us and yeah, we are trying to find solutions. If you know one give me a ring mate. I welcome it.”
Argentina’s long wait for a first Test win in Dublin continues, but this is a team moving in the right direction.
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'We put ourselves in a position to maybe win the game'
WITH THE CLOCK running down at Aviva Stadium Argentina had history within their reach. Felipe Contepomi’s men had delivered an energy-sapping second-half defensive effort to hold Ireland scoreless in the second 40, and having clawed a 22-9 half-time deficit back to just three points, the Pumas were in the Ireland 22 and on the prowl.
A nervous home crowd watched on as the visitors inched forward, before an Argentina knock-on triggered a roar of relief as those in blue and white shirts fell to the turf.
To win, or even draw, in Dublin would have felt special for all involved. None would have felt it more than head coach Felipe Contepomi, who called this city home for 10 years as a player and a coach with Leinster.
“Look, it’s disappointing obviously because it hurts and I hate losing more than what I love, which is winning,” Contepomi said.
“The performance itself, we didn’t start well but we got into the game and I think we ended up in good form. When you play against the best teams in the world you know it’s going to go to the 80th minute and it will be small margins, and that was it.
“So yeah, it’s disappointing. I think we’ve a lot to improve but we’ve got a good platform of where to improve.
“We put ourselves in a position to maybe get the opportunity to win the game. Yeah, you missed the opportunity, but at the same time you’re playing against a top team in the world, they won’t give you an easy entrance to their in-goal, you know?”
Some of Argentina’s defensive work was outstanding and while their attack didn’t fire as many shots as they would have liked, their only try of the night was a beauty – the brilliant Juan Cruz Mallía leaving Garry Ringrose, Caelan Doris and Mack Hansen in his wake as a weaved home from distance.
With only 44 minutes played they will feel they should have kicked on from there, but ultimately they could only add a Tomas Albornoz penalty to their total.
“Maybe sometimes you say that you deserve to win or this or that, but deserving is not enough, we need to be better,” added captain Julian Montoya.
“We need to be better, and we need to learn, but I’m very proud of the team and the fight we showed.
Mixed emotions ahead of a season sign-off in France next week. It’s been a highly encouraging year for Contepomi, who has watched his men record wins against France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Headline results, but Contepomi sees the bigger picture and would pick holes in each performance. Last night’s determined effort was no different.
“I’m very proud of the boys because, you know, definitely one thing [we need] to get better at is Ireland started fast and we need to start these sort of games better,” Contepomi said.
“But then we stick to it, and we stay there, and we stayed in the game. And in the moments where Ireland really threw all their armament and all their tricks and everything, we defended well, and we kept disciplined.
“We had two-man tackles and moved quickly [to fill the line]. So for us, definitely I’m proud of that and I think it’s part of the game. It’s not only attack but also defence and the boys had a great game in defence, especially the second half.
“Maybe we need to learn to start a bit faster rather than stay comfortable and see how we are and then go. And that’s part of the learning and playing against the top teams in the world because those things happened against New Zealand, South Africa. It happened against Australia in the second Test match as well.
“Now Ireland, teams that they are used to, top four, top teams that they are used to, start like that and so on. So it’s a learning curve for us and yeah, we are trying to find solutions. If you know one give me a ring mate. I welcome it.”
Argentina’s long wait for a first Test win in Dublin continues, but this is a team moving in the right direction.
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Felipe Contepomi Pumas Rugby Argentina