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'They are a great team, but…’: Why Los Pumas ‘can beat’ the All Blacks again
The stage is set in Mendoza for what promises to be another exciting instalment of a fiery southern hemisphere rugby rivalry between Los Pumas and the All Blacks.
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Especially over the last few years, this unmissable rivalry has reached new heights. The Argentines have made history with some truly memorable victories.
Los Pumas shocked the rugby world with a stunning win over the All Blacks in 2020, and that match will ripple throughout history as a milestone occasion for South American rugby.
Argentina had brought an end to a run of almost 30 winless Tests against their southern hemisphere rivals – and they weren’t done there, either.
Just last year, the Pumas upset the All Blacks in Christchurch. It was the All Blacks first-ever loss to Argentina on New Zealand soil.
But Los Pumas want more.
They aren’t close to done or content with what they’ve accomplished.
Ahead of their Rugby Championship opener against the All Blacks in Mendoza, 20-year-old replacement Pedro Rubiolo said Los Pumas “can beat” the New Zealanders again.
“Playing against the All Blacks is always a plus because they are one of the best teams,” Rubiolo told reporters. “I think we can make it an equal match and we’re going to try to win.
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“The truth is that I think they are a great team, but we have been improving year after year and we can beat them again.
“We have to go day by day and game by game,” Rubiolo added.
“We always look at the World Cup, which I would love to go to, but first things first. Saturday s against the All Blacks and we are focused on that.”
With some legendary Argentine rugby stars etching their names into rugby folklore with a couple of incredible wins over the All Blacks over the last few years, another matchday squad of 23 players are hoping to do the same on Saturday.
Argentina have never beaten the All Blacks at home but will be playing with plenty of confidence when they take the field at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas.
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“We know what it means to play against New Zealand in Argentina and what team they are, but we are focused on us,” replacement Santiago Grondona told reporters on Friday.
“We had a great week in which we prepared very well and we hope that everything will come out on the pitch tomorrow.
“We trust in our team and the most important thing is that we are united.
“We beat them twice and we know how to do it and it will depend on how we feel tomorrow. Let’s go for another victory.”
The Rugby Championship clash between Argentina and New Zealand in Mendoza will get underway at 7.10 am (NZST) on Sunday morning.
Comments on RugbyPass
Think it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
235 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
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