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Watch: Incredible sacrifices Pumas players made during lockdown
By Online Editors
If you thought Argentina's win over the All Blacks on Saturday was thanks to a stroke of luck, you'd be very wrong.
The Pumas claimed a 25-15 win over the All Blacks on Saturday in Sydney - their first-ever victory over New Zealand.
A video posted to Los Pumas' Twitter page has now shed light on some of the extreme sacrifices and challenges players faced while preparing for the match.
The video showed clips of how player's trained individually during lockdown and as a team while in isolation.
"I trained over a hundred days in my apartment," Pumas hooker Julian Montoya said.
"I practised passes in the garage at home," said Tomas Cubelli
Footage of Santiago Socino showed how he simulated lineout throws with his dad on the roof of their house, while Nicolas Sanchez said he ran 21m in his lounge.
Other players mentioned how they hadn't seen their family since August, and have had to undergo 16 covid tests since training began.
The video has already racked up more than 700,000 views and 12,300 likes.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks passion has been questioned after captain Sam Cane said it was evident throughout the defeat that the Pumas wanted victory more.
Head coach Ian Foster had similar comments.
"The first 40 minutes they played with all the passion that we were expecting but they were also accurate. We were ill-disciplined again and that's disappointing," he said after the game.
"For a country that hasn't played all year, they had a big cause to play for and you could see that. They turned a perceived disadvantage into an advantage, they were rested."
The All Blacks have a bye this week as they prepare for a chance to reverse Saturday's result.
They play Argentina again on November 28.
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Latest Comments
Get world rugby to buy a few Islands in the Mediterranean. Name them Rugby Island #1, #2, #3 etc. All teams are based there all season and as the knockouts progress, losers go home for a few months rest. Sell the TV rights to any and all.
Have an open ballot/lottery each week to fly fans out to fill the stadiums. They get to enter the draw if they pay their taxes and avoid crime which would encourage good social engagement from rugby supporters as responsible citizens. The school kids get in the draw if they are applying themselves at school and reaching their potential.
Or maybe there is some magic way to prioritise both domestic rugby and international rugby by having the same players playing for 12 months of the year...
Go to commentsPerhaps he would have been better off going under the knife earlier, rather than travelling to Europe to hold tackle bags.
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