The captain of Los Pumas 7 explains why they are the best in the world: “The big goal is to win gold in Paris”

Life smiles at them The Pumas 7. The Argentines are experiencing a great moment World Circuit of that specialty. They reached the final on the four dates played during the season. They lost the first and then added three titles in a row, an unprecedented achievement in their history in the competition. They lead the standings by a wide margin over their stock. Furthermore, they are a solid, strong team, with their own identity. The recipe for that great gift doesn’t have many secrets. As the captain recognized Santiago Alvarez FourcadeSimply always aim to improve.

“This gift is the result of work done over many years. Starting from Santiago Gomez Coraour coach, trying to give a structure to Seven, passing through all the players who were in the team and arriving at the youngest who came in and gave him that leap in quality he needed”, summed up the 30-year-old from Bahia. chatting with Clarion from Los Angeles.

He added: “As Santi said at the weekend, we always aim to improve, individually and as a group. Try to improve every day, whether in training, practicing something technical or tactical or in breaks and eating. And don’t think or go crazy to win and overtake the rival, because we know that we have to do many things before we can do it. The important thing is always the process and enjoying all those steps.”

-How can we abstract ourselves from the search for victory and concentrate on the process, taking into account that, in the long run, sport thrives on results?

-Obviously we play to win and add medals, but as a group we are very attached to the idea of ​​setting ourselves objectives not of results, but of always trying to do things a little better. If we look at the videos from the weekend, there are certainly many things to correct. So, for example, if we see that we increase the number of losses, during the week we work to lower it. And after the next tournament we’ll see if we can do it. Let’s try not to set ourselves the goal of reaching the semi-finals. This is the end of the road.

-You talk a lot about fun. Is this another key to this moment?

-It’s a very important thing. If we didn’t enjoy it and our daily life became very burdensome, it would clearly be impossible. Having the group we have, let’s say the family we have, is very important to improve day after day. We are a group of friends who travel and play as if we were playing for our club. We take it like this, but with the responsibility of knowing that we actually represent Argentina.

In The Angelsthe Albiceleste team will play the fifth round of a season that began last year on Saturday and Sunday, with silver up for grabs Dubai and the gold inside Cape Town and continued in 2024 with the consecrations in Perth AND Vancouverwhere just four days ago they lifted the trophy for the third consecutive year.

“It’s difficult to put into words what these medals mean and what we are achieving, especially because it is very recent. We haven’t fallen much yet. There is some relief because we see that everything we have done is paying off and that we’re going on the right path. But above all, a lot of joy in being able to always fight in the top four, something we’ve wanted for a long time. We’re having fun, even if we’re at Seven and we don’t do it. “We have time to think about what we’ve achieved . A tournament ends and we are already thinking about what will come”, acknowledged the center who emerged in ALMOST.

-Historically talking about Argentine rugby meant talking about teams that fought with great determination but almost always from the bottom. You’ve changed that reality a bit and for a few years now you’ve been a protagonist in all the tournaments you play. Have they gotten used to being favourites?

-We feel that way. We know that we are one of the teams that everyone wants to face and that everyone wants to win, because we manage to have consistency and good victories are not isolated. And we managed to maintain it over time, which is the most complicated thing. We are all super aware of where we are, but at the same time we are very insistent on the idea of ​​not thinking about that, but focusing on what is ours. When it comes to training and playing, we try to put them out of our heads and think about trying to improve on what we did yesterday.

-It’s about finding a balance between believing enough to be able to play as equals with the powers but not enough to trust yourself.

-Yes exactly. Having humility off the pitch is great. But on the pitch you have to believe in it a little. Or rather, fill yourself with confidence to do it in the best way, without thinking that you have the problem in front of you All blackTO Fiji oh South Africa, which are the powers of the Seven. It’s a mix of things, a balance that allows us to continue working with our feet on the ground even off the pitch, but when the time comes to play we enter with a lot of confidence.

-Whoever joins the team plays well and can make the difference. Does it also have to do with mental, physical and rugby balance?

-It’s a mix of everything. We are all in great shape physically, rugby, technically and mentally. And internal competition also contributes to the growth of the group and is an important part of everything we are achieving. Beyond the fact that we get along very well with each other, no one can relax a bit because behind it there is someone who arrives with a lot of desire and energy and is also very technically prepared. This makes each person grow individually and this influences the growth of the group.

-Do you feel close to your ceiling?

-We still have a lot to grow. If we talk about the game, there are many things we can continue to improve or change, to surprise our rivals. In the same way, just as we don’t think about results, we don’t think about whether we are at the limit, because we have a year ahead of us with many objectives and races to which we would like to arrive prepared and do the best job. We enjoy what we do and always try to be better.

Scope, Paris 2024

The biggest goal that Los Pumas 7 have for this 2024 are the Paris Olympic Games. In the French capital they could add the second medal, after the bronze one obtained Tokyo 2020. The current two-time Pan American champions (in Santiago 2023 They revalidated the title they had won Lima 2019), the Argentines are big favorites for the Olympic tournament, which will be played from 24 to 30 July at Stadium of France. And they know it.

“The Games are our great objective. We are anxious, we are already thinking about it and talking about it. We are aware that we are at a high level and we are playing very good rugby. But we try to abstract ourselves from this and continue on the path that has taken us so far. here”, commented Álvarez Fourcade.

“Paris will be exceptional. It is a country where rugby is very popular and there is a lot of history behind it. Sevens, as a discipline within the Olympic Games where there are a million sports, will be very important. And in a city ​​where the organization will certainly be very good, we will have a very nice experience,” said the former Olympian from Rio 2016 -Argentina were sixth after losing to Great Britain in quarters – and in the Japanese date.

And he adds: “As a team we have confidence and we feel that we can fight for the gold. But I go back to what I said before: we know that we have to do many things first. We will not go to the Games and so on because the medal will appear. We have to go step by step. We still have some stages of the season left and there are several things to improve. We want to enjoy the journey to get to Paris in the best possible way. Then this is rugby, it’s a sport, and there’s also luck. You can throw the ball from side to side and lose a game. But if we come well prepared, surely that luck will help us as we go on our way. For now we are confident that we are on the right path.