The Puma get off the plane that deposited them in Hamilton. Photo: video capture.
Time to have fun, rest and recover. The Sunday following the historic Los Pumas victory is over New Zeland had the transfer to Hamilton, the venue next Saturday for the rematch for the fourth round of the Rugby Championship. But the departure from the city of Christchurch was not without controversy: the DT of the All Blacks, Ian Fostercomplained of a tactical trick used by the Albiceleste and the Australian coach Michele Sheika He answered.
What happened? Questioned Foster, who was ratified in the position ahead of this series of home games but is still hanging by a thread, criticized Los Pumas for the tactic used in several passes of the 25-18 victory, which was the first about New Zealand as a visitor and second in history.
It is that the Albicelestes players have “blocked” anyone who had the icing on the cake inside the ruck – when they fell to the ground and defended possession -, which motivated the penalty for penalties against the All Blacks. for holding the ball.
“Overall, I feel like they managed to get away with not letting the ball carrier go to the ground, and we weren’t able to deal with him,” the New Zealand manager told local media.
“It was an area where we were hit in the penalty shootout at critical moments. I’m probably a little surprised by that,” he admitted after noting that Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli did not intervene to prevent it.
And the Australian Cheika, who seems to have found the Los Pumas formula to break down the barriers that have historically cost them, retorted the question with irony: “He has to be an expert because his team always does, so he definitely needs to know.”.
And without saying it, he exposed the shortcomings of the colleague when he praised the New Zealand manager Scott Robertsonwho directs the Argentine captain Paolo Matera in the Crusaders franchise. “I think the Crusaders have left an important mark and Scott Robertson has left an important mark on Pablo. This shows the quality of the team and his coach, he has come back much better as a player, mentally and technically,” he said in statements reproduced by the team. International AFP agency.
The truth is that New Zealand, a three-time World Champion, is going through one of the worst streak in its history with only two victories in their last eight games, which generates uncertainty a year before the World Cup in France.
flight to Hamilton
The Pumas and All Blacks will meet next Saturday in the city of Hamilton, where Cheika hopes his team will maintain the intensity of the first game as rivals “come with everything” in search of a rematch.
The match will be played at FMG Stadium Waikato from 4:05 am (Argentina time) with broadcast from ESPN and the Star + platform.
The Argentine team arrived this Sunday at the venue for their next meeting, located approximately 950 kilometers north of Christchurch.
“The team is already established here in Hamilton, which will be the venue for the second game against the All Blacks. We are very happy with yesterday’s game, today is a day of rest to recover from Saturday’s game and away from home, but tomorrow we leave. the training week. We can’t wait to correct last Saturday’s details and organize a good show next Saturday. “he said to the pillar Edoardo Bello on the team’s official Twitter account.
The Pumas were at the forefront of the Rubgy Championship positions with 9 points, the same as Australia, a rival they faced at home in the first two days with a balance of one defeat and one win.
After the series with New Zealand, the Argentine team will close its participation against the current world champions, the South African Springboks. The first match will be on Saturday 17 September at 16:10 at the Vélez Sarsfield stadium and the rematch a week later in the city of Durban.
Source: Clarin
