What has changed so that Los Pumas can compete on equal terms with the giants of the southern hemisphere

This is a new face Cougarssensational Rugby Championship team, just like that for the first time it surpassed three southern powers in the same seasonsomething previously only accomplished by England, in 2002 and 2003, and Ireland in the 2016 and 2022 seasons. Despite the defeat against South Africa, they managed to make a milestone in the competition.

These numbers beg the question: What has changed for Los Pumas to reach the final match of the tournament with a chance to become champions for the first time in history?

No doubt there were many things, but above all this was key the consistency the team has achieved over the past few months. Arrival Felipe Contepomi the position was a continuation of a process that began in 2022 with the recruitment of an Australian Michael Cheika like Head coach.

A fourth-place finish at the World Cup in France marked the end of that run, with performances that generally never reached a satisfactory performance. It was more than anything about a team that showed up in fits and starts, in fits and starts; some more than others, but generally with the challenge of not being a team with regularity, despite the excellent fourth place achieved in France.

So for the 2023 World Cup, they suffered a lot to qualify for the group stage and apart from the second half against Wales, in the quarter-finals, the team was permanently up and down. The start of the Contepomi cycle in Mendoza hasn’t changed much. With very little work ahead The Blues in the debut, they were left with the premiere of the new process without doing much more than their rival.

However, little by little, Felipe began to show his signs. First, with a reassuring message to the group, not looking at results, but creating trust and belonging that was based on work. In this way, they clearly improved in the return against the French, where the victory gave them the necessary air to expand the base with new faces in defeat against Teros in Maldonado, Uruguay, in the third game of the July window.

And then came the big challenge. The Rugby Championship was approaching and still without the desired balance, no one expected this gift from the national team.

In addition, the debut was not easy at all. We had to visit the All Blacks twice and those games did not bode well, after a clear and memorable defeat against men in black in the semi-finals of the last World Cup.

However, in Wellington, Los Pumas stepped up, winning 38 to 30 and also achieving a record, scoring 38 goals at home against the three-time world champions for the first time; and as if that wasn’t enough, back them up with four attempts to surprise the oval world.

The return, on the other hand, was brutal, with the Kiwis 42-10. The great performance from week to week could not be repeated again. The imbalance was present again. And then came the series against Australia in our country and the excitement was born again; but against the Wallabies the series started with a fall that hurt a lot. in La Plata, 20 to 19 on the last ball of a game that, although anyone could have got it, Los Pumas, with their own mistakes, did not know how to win.

And the revenge came and again the challenge to prove that the work will bear fruit. It was clear that this test could not have been better. In the Elephant Graveyard, Santa Fe’s emblematic Colón Field, where history has toppled several of Argentina’s soccer greats, including Pelé Santos, There, Los Pumas achieved one of their best productions in history, defeating the Wallabies by 40 points. 67:27 it was the worst defeat in history for the Australians.

And Los Pumas believed again. They have never conceded so many tries against the powers that be. Racing angles, variations, playing behind teammates’ backs, vertigo, agility, surprise. Breaks and resources, something more like a New Zealand team than a typical Argentinian one. All we claimed in the last World Cup, where the team had no imagination, bumped and bumped into the opponent’s defense and repeatedly used the foot to give the ball to the opponent without being able to control the moments and fights from each game were left behind.

Mental issues, confidence and composure on the part of the staff were key. The certainty of knowing that the path was correct and also the attacking options. Felipe Contepomi has called up New Zealander Kendryck Lynn to his coaching group to join him along with Juan Martín Fernández Lobb and Andrés Bordoy. With a different vision, Kenny added freshness and verticality to Argentina’s attacks. The Pumas started to hurt a lot with every deep attack of the opponent. With 20 tries, they have already surpassed their best mark in the tournament, which was 18 wins in the 2018 season.

But this is not only reflected in the numbers. They also show us that 20 tries assisted in this competition ranks them as the second most efficient team in the tournament.

In addition, Felipe expanded the base. In those eight games played, he used 42 players, Contepomi achieved a mix between the youngest and the oldest. He has rotated and made variations so much that the only player to start in the eight games played so far is Mateo Carreras, a winger from Tucumán who already has 13 tries in just 26 games. The back trained in Los Tarcos no doubt aims to break a record that seemed unattainable, that of another Tucuman, José María Núñez Piossek, who is the all-time record scorer for Los Pumas with 29 attempts.

In addition to the result, Reaching these levels is already an achievement for Argentinian rugby. Contepomi and his team, along with the belief and work of his players, have undoubtedly made a difference. They managed to start to change what was so much demanded of Los Pumas – dignified defeats and sporadic performances. The slogan “historic triumph” will not be repeated; Argentina’s national team seems to have acquired a new identity, a new status. With many things still to improve, Los Pumas have earned the respect of the oval world. And they did it in the best way, playing very good rugby.