'We're fully aware of what they're capable of': The Pumas stars the Wallabies need to shut down to avoid same fate as All Blacks
With Rugby Australia’s trophy cabinet as bare as their coffers, Wallabies captain Michael Hooper has highlighted the significance of landing the Tri Nations title.
Victory over Argentina in Newcastle on Saturday night and then again the following week in Sydney will secure Australia the crown.
Bereft of the Bledisloe Cup since 2003 and with only two Rugby Championship triumphs in the past decade – 2011 and 2015 – the Wallabies are making no secret of their desperation to get their hands on some meaningful silverware.
“We’re aware there’s silverware on the line and you want to put that out there. We want to be aware of that,” Hooper said after Australia’s captain’s run in the Hunter Valley on Friday.
“We want to be in this position. We had the Bledisloe before and unfortunately we were unable to hold that up this year.
“And so this opportunity has arisen now and we’re doing everything we can now to make it happen.
“We want to be a team that is consistent and grows in the right direction and, with that, we make no bones about it that we want to put some silverware on in our closet again.
“We’re clear on what we’re trying to achieve and the pressure is on.”
But the Pumas proved in emphatic fashion with their rousing and historic victory over the All Blacks last Saturday that they are a force to be reckoned with.
“We’re fully aware of what they’re capable of,” Hooper said.
NRL star Shaun Johnson has appeared to criticise rugby for sending players off for "hitting too hard" and wondered why rugby league isn't as big as union globally.https://t.co/beu09IRVSd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 19, 2020
“So you see a result like that, it doesn’t come as a surprise. It just confirms to us that this is what we’re preparing for.
“They were great in so many areas of the game, showed so much heart and were disciplined and they’ve got some really good players coming through and they’re going to be a threat tomorrow night.”
Hooper nominated his Pumas counterpart and inspirational blindside flanker Pablo Matera, who was immense against the All Blacks, and flyhalf and record-setting point-scorer Nicolas Sanchez as Argentina’s chief threats.
“Matera’s been a world-class back-row player for many years now so it’s not a surprise to myself,” the skipper said.
“He’s a dangerous ball runner, he’s good over the ball so no surprises there. He’s the leader of their group.
“So I’m excited for the challenge.”
The passionate Pumas revelled in front of almost 10,000 fans at Bankwest Stadium last start and are again expected to rise to the occasion at a sold-out McDonald Jones Stadium.
Adding spice, former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika will be sitting alongside Pumas mentor Mario Ledesma as one of Argentina’s assistants.
“It’s going to be good. I’ve been really happy with ‘Cheik’ being in that role,” said Hooper, who played under Cheika for seven years in total at the NSW Waratahs and Wallabies, including two World Cups.
“He can offer a hell of a lot. He’s a great coach.”
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Ledesma has full respect for the Wallabies, who are backing up from their own win over the All Blacks.
“It’s a really balanced team,” Ledesma said.
“It’s been a couple of years already that they have an important set-piece – lineout, scrum, driving maul, and obviously offensive threats with the likes of (Hunter) Paisaimi or (Jordan) Petaia or Marika Koroibete.
“The threats are coming from many different places so we have to be spot on with our game plan and our kicking game and control the tempo of the game.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments