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Thursday

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Creevy has message for Ledesma two years after his last Pumas cap

Liam Heagney

13 Oct 2021

(Photo by Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images)

Agustin Creevy hasn’t given up hope of playing at the 2023 World Cup in France at the age of 38 even though he hasn’t been capped since coming off the Pumas bench in their October 2019 World Cup win over the USA in Japan. The veteran has since linked up with London Irish in the Premiership but hasn’t been involved in the last two Rugby Championship under Mario Ledesma.

Asked by RugbyPass if he was now officially retired from the international scene given that he hasn’t been capped by the Pumas in two years, the 36-year-old Creevy replied: “No, no, no, I would like to play but at the moment the coaches have other priorities. I don’t know. You need to ask them.”

Yet while it was clear from Creevy that he does want to play again for Argentina, the former Pumas skipper also acknowledged the uplifting change not being away for long periods from his family was having, both on his domestic life and his form for Irish for whom he has scored three tries in four Premiership appearances this season.

Louis Rees-Zammit as you have never seen him before

Louis Rees-Zammit joins Marc, Max and Ryan this week to reveal all about being the youngest player on the Lions Tour to South Africa, taking care of Bill, fines, becoming a social media sensation, Gloucester initiations and lots more. We also cover all the weekly action, including Max’s incredible game against Harlequins, another W for Ryan against South African opposition and the potential fallout from the agents v clubs row in the premiership. Enjoy!

Louis Rees-Zammit as you have never seen him before

“I’m okay. I feel good. I’m playing,” he said when asked to rate his current form. “With no Pumas, I feel I can spend more time with my family. It is the first time I have been with my family together. It was maybe six years (before that) because I was playing in Super Rugby and was travelling a lot but now I am here in London and I’m really happy to be here.

“My wife is working, our daughter is in the nursery, everything is going good. Obviously, I want to stay here because I love this club and it is a really good bond for me. I enjoy playing and I have a few more years left playing and I try to enjoy every day.”

'Too many years fighting for that moment… I did everything, I gave my life to get this moment, I am part of that’
When @lospumas finally beat NZ @agustincreevy was 10k miles away in London. He recalls the decision that changed it all, w/ @heagneyl ???https://t.co/26M8D8Deel
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 29, 2020

It’s good to hear he is enjoying himself because the results for London Irish haven’t been kind. Between four rounds of this season and the closing half-dozen at the end of last term, they are winless in ten outings (nine losses and a draw) and you have to back to a March encounter versus Bath to find the last time they put a W on the board in the Premiership. The saving grace is they haven’t been dreadful in those matches as five of the losses have been by five points or less, competitiveness that suggested a win is surely now overdue.

“Last season was a good season for us,” reflected Creevy ahead of the next assignment for London Irish, next Sunday’s home clash with Gloucester. “It wasn’t the best but it was good. We had a lot of wins and this season is a problem. When we think about it, the discipline is a bit messy.

“We need to improve when we are defending and trying to get the ball back, we don’t have patience sometimes. We need to work on that and we are training for it. It is something that is easy to fix but we need to put it here in our mind. We are a little bit frustrated because we didn’t get the win yet. It was our mistake but the humour of the club is not bad.

“We are frustrated because we are doing a lot of things to win but we can’t get it. I’m sure we are going to win and we are going to start to be a really successful team, but we need a bit of time to fix things. The team is really strong, we have a really good group. In my whole career, I can tell you when we don’t have a good group but in this case, we gave a really bonded group and that is the most important thing, it’s a team with a good soul. To be honest, it is not dark.”

"He is a funny little man…"
– London Irish were recently criticised for having Paddy Jackson in a leadership role, but Nick Phipps explains the No10's genuine value to the club as a leader#LondonIrish #PremRugby #LIRvLEI https://t.co/6av94icmZX
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 5, 2021