AP – Prepare for the best and hope for the worst. That’s all Samoa can do as it tries to gauge which Argentina will turn up for their Rugby World Cup match tonight in Saint-Etienne, France.
Even Argentina can’t be sure.The Pumas lost to England in Marseille despite a man advantage for about 65 minutes. They had South Africa on the rack at Ellis Park then collapsed against the Springboks second string at home.
They toppled England at Twickenham then lost to Wales in Cardiff. They beat the All Blacks for the first time in New Zealand then lost to them by 50 points a week later. Argentina can be magnificent one week and pitiful the next. It all depends on where the players’ heads are at.
Coming to the Rugby World Cup, the Pumas were favored to top Pool ‘D’ and its not beyond them yet.
They said their preparation was the best ever but it didn’t show in the opening match against England to their utter frustration.
The Pumas never got a mental grip on proceedings after the yellow card – later upgraded to red – to England flanker Tom Curry and doubt turned into confusion which turned into depression. The leadership went missing and the manner of the defeat was embarrassing because they didn’t fire a shot and England won 27-10 without scoring a try.
Since then, the senior players have stepped up and encouraged open discussions about getting back on track. Coach Michael Cheika returned training to the basics and hammered the point home about discipline. Argentina coughed up 13 penalties in Marseille, which was about England’s average this year. But England conceded only seven penalties.
“We have to be very disciplined when it comes to penalties, because in this tournament penalties cost a lot, as always,” Cheika said.
“Also, we have to be disciplined in our organisation, in defence and attack. It may take 60, 70 minutes until the opportunity is there, but you have to take it when it comes.”
