The Argentine rugby team clashes this Saturday against New Zealand, in the Malvinas Argentinas, for the debut of the Rugby Championship.
Rugby is not the most popular sport in Argentina, but on some occasions they contradict the ruling. The choice of Mendoza as the setting for the debut of Los Pumas in the Rugby Championship (RCH) 2023 against the All Blacks They gave the routine of Cuyana a foretaste of the upcoming winter holidays: almost full hotels and the circulation of a flow of tourists that is increasing minute by minute: it is estimated that about 20 thousand peopleamong the 36,000 that will populate the Malvinas Argentinas on Saturday, arrive from other provinces.
If a siren breaks the Mendoza harmony, “they are the Cougars”. Thus, in the street, they explain what is out of the ordinary. “It’s that the Pumas are there”is frequently explained, just like a question “Are there tickets?”. The answer since a few days is the same, “no”. Although it is enough to go through the web or review Telegram groups to find them. They are like the blue dollar: illegally sold -resale is not allowed- and more expensive than their price, but some are available.
And that fervor has to do with several factors. The rival is first class. Still not past their prime All Blacks are the reigning champions of the RCH and they also arouse the interest of Mendoza, mainly boys: the guards at the hotel where the New Zealand team stays are staffed by the majority of adolescents armed with indelible fibrons.
Saturday’s crash
The Pumas, at the Malvinas Argentinas Stadium in Mendoza. (Fernando De la Orden, special envoy)
For the Los Pumas coach, Saturday’s opportunity is key: Michael Cheika has his head divided in that game, the rest of the competition for the RCH and the World Cup in France that is coming up. He has 47 players in mind, Ignacio Calles was dropped from the original list, and he put together a XV to try to win. Not to test ideas. The laboratory will work in different passages of the test match and is flat in training. The Australian said in clear Spanish that he wants the Argentine team to reach the World Cup final. His goal, he even said, is to win that hypothetical instance. And much of that was transmitted to those directed by him: the message that is heard by the most experienced and the least is the same, although without Cheika’s forcefulness.
“There is an illusion and a very beautiful energy”, summed up the captain Julian Montoyawithout undermining the coach’s optimism, but taking on the challenge. That is why the first date against New Zealand will be key to understanding how much of this illusion of the hooker and the conviction of the coach are in tune with reality., The All Blacks are not going to simplify things. On Saturday, a team that will focus more on the damage it can do than on the damage it can do will take to the field. Coach Ian Foster came through 2022 with many questions and after the World Cup he will be replaced by Scott Robertson, a multi-time Super Rugby champion with the Crusaders. The final stretch of the coach is all or nothing: he already has a replacement.
The Pumas, at the Malvinas Argentinas Stadium in Mendoza. (Fernando De la Orden, special envoy)
“We already beat him twice, let’s hope this time is the third”released Santiago Grondona, with just 10 caps behind him, but with the first on the historic day that Los Pumas beat Al Blacks for the first time. The impetus that fits the description that Montoya gave about the mood of the group.
The Pumas, at the Malvinas Argentinas Stadium in Mendoza. (Fernando De la Orden, special envoy)
And the group, precisely, is shaped by Cheika who incorporated an old acquaintance into his staff: physical trainer Brad Harrington, who has among his strengths an aspect that escapes bodybuilding and has to do with mental preparation. Also Australian, he accompanied the head coach in other teams, with which he was champion. The Pumas, it seems, are convinced that they have what to be protagonists with. “We have to think about our plan to play the All Blacks and not about what they are going to try to do”summarized Pedro Rubiolosummoned to Los Pumas for the first time last year, but with a speech that is the same as that offered by the captain and the coach.
All this, then, is what is reflected in Mendoza and explains why the field will be full for the first time with test matches.
Mendoza. Special delivery.
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2023-07-08 05:01:06
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