‘We couldn’t climb Everest again’
Argentina coach Mario Ledesma has lamented that the Pumas ‘‘couldn’t scale Everest’’ for a second time after their thumping 38-0 defeat to the All Blacks.
‘‘It was the same Everest that we climbed in the first game,’’ Ledesma said in La Nacion, acknowledging that the All Blacks ‘‘used their feet very well and put us under pressure’’.
The All Blacks dominated the Pumas’ scrum in Newcastle on Saturday night, and Ledesma – who made 10 changes from the team that achieved a first-ever victory over the New Zealanders a fortnight ago – admitted it had been ‘‘a learning curve for several of our young players, mainly in the front row’’.
Nicolas Sanchez scored all the
Pumas’ points in their 25-15 victory over the All Blacks and 15-15 draw with the Wallabies, but could not get on the scoresheet as Sam Cane’s side completed a clean sheet in Newcastle.
The veteran first fiveeighth said there were ‘‘no excuses’’ with the Pumas beaten by ‘‘a far superior’’ rival.
‘‘We are hurt, but that happens when you play against teams like these,’’ Sanchez said. ‘‘Today was a very different game from the previous one we had against them. They put a lot of pressure on us [inside our own half].’’
Sanchez said the All Blacks played more ‘‘with their feet’’ and intelligently while the Pumas made too many fundamental errors, especially the second half.
‘‘The reality is that they surpassed us and now we have a week to put this hard fall behind us. We will return with more energy to face Australia again.’’ Argentina captain Pablo Matera also bemoaned the error rate and said the All Blacks ‘‘looked very solid, and they deservedly won’’.
‘‘We didn’t have much of the ball and when we had it we couldn’t keep them under pressure.’’ in