Advertisement
Argentina boss Michael Cheika. James Crombie/INPHO

'Felipe's time at Leinster has taken him to another level' - Cheika

The former Leinster pair are leading Argentina into a World Cup semi-final.

ANY LEINSTER FANS looking for skin in the game this Friday night have a pretty good choice.

Joe Schmidt is a key part of the New Zealand set-up and thereโ€™s no doubt his detailed coaching will be vital ahead of this World Cup semi-final in Paris, while the Argentina coaching staff is led by two other Leinster legends.

When Michael Cheika took on the job last year, he knew he needed to have Felipe Contepomi with him.

Contepomi had been an important player under Cheika back in his days coaching Leinster from 2005 until 2010, a period that saw him lead the province to their first Heineken Cup title.

โ€˜Dr Philโ€™ missed that final against Leicester, having been injured in the semi-final win over Munster on a day that Johnny Sexton stepped up in a big way.

Contepomi left Leinster that summer, with Cheika departing a year later, but they ended up working together for another stint soon after as Cheika brought Contepomi to Stade Franรงais in 2011.

Their paths diverged thereafter but once Contepomi stepped into coaching after his retirement from playing, it always seemed likely there would be a reunion. Contepomi returned to Leinster in 2018 as backs and attack coach, building his reputation to the point where Cheika knew he needed to recruit his former out-half for the Argentina set-up last year.

The pair of them have now coached Los Pumas into the World Cup semi-finals and Cheika believes Contepomiโ€™s influence has been vital.

โ€œMate, Felipe has been unreal,โ€ said Cheika this evening in Paris after naming his Argentina team.

โ€œHe has a lot of good, new ideas. One of his strengths is heโ€™s extremely open to learning new things.

felipe-contepomi Pumas assistant coach Felipe Contepomi [left]. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

โ€œWeโ€™ve had some where Iโ€™d bring something to the table, heโ€™d be very opinionated on what he wants but heโ€™s open to hearing things as well to add to his repertoire.

โ€œHis time at Leinster has taken him to another level. The great players donโ€™t always make the great coaches but he was a great player and heโ€™s going to be a great coach.

โ€œThatโ€™s coming along, heโ€™s got the knack. He studies the opposition well, he has a rapport with players and heโ€™s going to be doing a great job for Argentina Iโ€™m sure.

โ€œA lot of the ideas he had as a player, plus what he learned at Leinster as a coach, itโ€™s really forming him nicely right now.โ€

Of course, Cheikaโ€™s influence has been the real key for this Argentina side. They opened their World Cup with a miserable performance in defeat to 14-man England but steadied the ship with pool wins over Samoa, Chile, and Japan to earn a quarter-final spot.

The first half was tricky against Wales last weekend but the Pumas were strong thereafter to win 29-17 and earn their place against the All Blacks on Friday night.

Theyโ€™re underdogs, but Cheika likes it that way. Whether with Leinster, winning Super Rugby with the Waratahs in 2014, or guiding the Wallabies into the 2015 World Cup final, he has a habit of surprising people.

โ€œYes, theyโ€™ve helped me as well as the times that Iโ€™ve messed it up too,โ€ said Cheika of drawing on those experiences now with Argentina.

โ€œWhen I havenโ€™t gone good, thatโ€™s helped me as well because thatโ€™s probably where you get more. But theyโ€™re all different experiences. This is very different because Iโ€™m dealing with a different culture and people.

โ€œItโ€™s one that I really love being around and Iโ€™m very connected to. So those experiences have definitely helped me in preparing one for the other for the other. So the Leinster one to the Waratahs one to the Wallabies one. In that collective order, that helps me have a set of experiences that help me in this situation.

โ€œItโ€™s a big situation but itโ€™s a beautiful one. Itโ€™s a great opportunity for us and weโ€™re doing everything we can with that to try and take it.โ€

michael-cheika Cheika in 2010 during his time with Leinster. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO

It helps that Argentina have actually beaten the All Blacks before. They enjoyed their first-ever win against the Kiwis in Sydney in 2020 and then pulled off a big shock win away to the New Zealanders in Christchurch last year.

โ€œYou canโ€™t say that one game means we can do it as there are a lot of games where we havenโ€™t,โ€ said Cheika.

โ€œThat moment has to be just a part of it. What we have done since then, all the successes and failures [matter].

โ€œThe other team are heavy favourites, everyone is expecting a New Zealand and South Africa final. We just have to focus on what we can do.โ€

Cheika has made just one change to his team after last weekendโ€™s quarter-final win over Wales, with Gonzalo Bertranou coming in for Tomรกs Cubelli at scrum-half for this clash with the All Blacks.

Argentina (v New Zealand):

  • 15. Juan Cruz Mallia
  • 14. Emiliano Boffelli
  • 13. Lucio Cinti
  • 12. Santiago Chocobares
  • 11. Mateo Carreras
  • 10. Santiago Carreras
  • 9. Gonzalo Bertranou
  • 1. Thomas Gallo
  • 2. Juliรกn Montoya (c)
  • 3. Francisco Gรณmez Kodela
  • 4. Guido Petti Pagadizabal
  • 5. Tomas Lavanini
  • 6. Juan Martin Gonzalez
  • 7. Marcos Kremer
  • 8. Facundo Isa

Replacements:

  • 16. Agustรญn Creevy
  • 17. Joel Sclavi
  • 18. Eduardo Bello
  • 19. Matias Alemanno
  • 20. Rodrigo Bruni
  • 21. Lautaro Bazan Velez
  • 22. Nicolas Sanchez
  • 23. Matรญas Moroni

 Referee: Angus Gardner [Australia].

Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Shimmy Shammy
    Favourite Shimmy Shammy
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 3:32 PM

    Right call

    103
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Padraic McHugh
    Favourite Padraic McHugh
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 4:00 PM

    @Shimmy Shammy: Will you cop on.Anywhere else on the pitch it would have been a straight red no questionโ€™s asked.

    109
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seagoat returns
    Favourite Seagoat returns
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 4:12 PM

    @Padraic McHugh: This should of been a red but they got it wrong. End of discussion. Would rather see the ref association and FA learn from this and use VAR more effectively. No long term logic in handing out a ban because the Ref and VAR got it wrong.

    62
    See 2 more replies โ–พ
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Kenh28
    Favourite Kenh28
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 4:17 PM

    @Shimmy Shammy: man United fans deluded as usual

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Shimmy Shammy
    Favourite Shimmy Shammy
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 5:47 PM

    @Kenh28: Wrong call made on the pitch, I think everyone is agreed on that. Liverpool fans looking for special treatment is what is delusional.

    54
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Crampsie
    Favourite Paul Crampsie
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 5:02 PM

    Itโ€™s bad enough losing VVD for the season without Everton further gaining by Pickford being suspended. Keeping him in goal is punishment enough.

    72
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave O'Shaughnessy
    Favourite Dave O'Shaughnessy
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 7:18 PM

    @Paul Crampsie: Whatโ€™s done is done, time for LFC to pick themselves up, hopefully full of furious raging fire to win the league.

    7
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Crampsie
    Favourite Paul Crampsie
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 10:25 PM

    @Dave Oโ€™Shaughnessy: agreed, the other worry though is that weโ€™re left with Gomez and Matip, I think they can rise to the challenge but both are pretty injury prone. If either gets injured we will struggle.

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute King B
    Favourite King B
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 4:11 PM

    Heโ€™s a liability so heโ€™ll get caught out again during the season, a retrospective ban is meaningless to Liverpool but this canโ€™t be allowed to happen again, especially with the ability to watch it over and over again to help make up your mind, challenges like that have ruined a players careers in the past.

    47
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Didithedevil
    Favourite Didithedevil
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 4:50 PM

    Plain and simple itโ€™s because heโ€™s Englandโ€™s number 1! Shocking again from the frank spencer brigade!

    46
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Fergus O'Connor
    Favourite Fergus O'Connor
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 4:58 PM

    We see these moments of madness from Pickford in every game. Heโ€™s panicked and flung himself into the situation without thinking. Anyone who thinks itโ€™s pre-meditated or intentional gives him far too much credit.

    37
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute King B
    Favourite King B
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 5:22 PM

    @Fergus Oโ€™Connor: Ya it was pure instinctive which makes it much worse because heโ€™ll do it again.

    15
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Ger Power
    Favourite Ger Power
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 5:25 PM

    Just like Liverpool will find it hard to win the league without VVD Everton will eventually slip back due to Pickford errors. While no action will be taken on Pickford surely there has to be consequences for the VAR official and the Ref. How they both saw it and thought nothing of it is baffling

    30
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Conor Flynn
    Favourite Conor Flynn
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 9:47 PM

    I remember van Dijk went in late and studs up on Mertens against Napoli last year and only got a yellow when he should have seen red. His defense was โ€œthatโ€™s footballโ€, this is football too I guess.

    29
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Eric Murphy
    Favourite Eric Murphy
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 5:35 PM

    Fairly amusing that all last season it was โ€˜liVARpoolโ€™ and people just moaning about the calls they were getting and the second it goes against liverpool just a bunch of fellas saying โ€œget over itโ€

    11
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stephen Foster
    Favourite Stephen Foster
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 5:58 PM

    @Eric Murphy: I think youโ€™re making their point. Liverpool got a lot of dodgy VAR decisions last season and the first time one goes against them they are up in arms. Short memory. Swings and roundabouts.

    50
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave O'Shaughnessy
    Favourite Dave O'Shaughnessy
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 7:26 PM

    @Stephen Foster: Is thatโ€™s the Premier League title they won by 23 points? Yeah, VAR was the reason for that.

    Christ please change the record on this utter rubbish about LFC getting the majority of favourable VAR decisions, they were middle of the road for favourable calls according to searchable stats, United as an example received much more positive outcomes on VAR.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Peter Byrne
    Favourite Peter Byrne
    Report
    Oct 19th 2020, 11:57 PM

    Reminds me of world cup 1982 Germany v France. German keeper charged out to demolish Patrick Battison of France. He wasnโ€™t even booked. How come goalkeepers always get away with this kind of behaviour. Pickford should have got red card.

    8
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel