For Argentina, an unexpected semi-final against New Zealand

At the final whistle of Argentina’s first match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, on September 9 against England, who would have imagined that the Pumas would reach the quarter-finals of the competition? However, on Friday, October 20, at 9pm, at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), the South American team faces New Zealand for a place in the final.

The opening performance of the Argentine XV, more than a month ago, at the Stade-Vélodrome in Marseille, had reached mediocre levels. The large number of large numbers of the Rencontre face in a large English equipment, the pumas are often incapable of developing a tactical attack on the surface of the environment, to protect against the virus and during intensive use during the day. In the man. Add to that incredible clumsiness (sixteen hand fouls) and astonishing indiscipline (fourteen penalty kicks) and you had the makings of one of the least exciting matches of the World Cup, ending in a huge victory for XV De La Rose (27-10).

Where did the Argentines go, who lost by just one point to South Africa (22-21), and beat Australia in the Rugby Championship (34-31), a few weeks ago? A priori not in the Marseille park. “We barely played at all. The game was constantly choppy, and when we did play, we lacked control. The opposition controlled the pace and did it very well. They pinned us down.”Coach Michael Cheika took sharp notice after the match. “It was the first World Cup match for the team and for many of the players.”For his part, he tried to justify his deputy, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobby.

“The team has improved since the first match.”

After this setback for the team “She asked herself.”In the words of attacking coach Andres Bordoy. And she learned from her failure. “When you lose these kind of games, you learn more than you think, especially at the start of the Rugby World Cup.”Captain Julian Montoya noted. Above all, the Argentines immediately found themselves up against the wall: a second defeat in the group stage was synonymous with elimination. On Friday night, against the All Blacks, they will almost certainly play their fifth match in the knockout stage. As the bitch summed up: After the defeat to XV de la Rose, “We played one final match a week.”.

It worked out for them, especially thanks to being in an affordable set and part of the table. By winning thirteen days later over Samoa (19-10), the Pumas not only maintained their World Cup hopes, but also reassured themselves about the fundamentals of the game. “Against England, we didn’t know what to do. There was much better.”Rejoice after meeting Julian Montoya. “We got off the bus and out of the locker room today.”Only half joked – Michael Cheika.

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