The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Fagerson’s revenge mission after win for Pumas ‘ate him up’
Scotland prop fired up for clash after Argentina’ s last-gasp summer victory
Argentina’s dramatic last gasp third rugby Test victory over Scotland in July “ate me up all summer”, said Zander Fagerson – and he wants redress at Murrayfield today.
Scotland led the final Test in Santiago del Estero until the final play of the game. Edinburgh’s Emiliano Boffelli scored a try and converted it to give the Pumas victory in the match and the series.
That was a particular gut wrench for the Dundeeborn British Lions prop, because it was his 50th international cap.
“It ate me up all summer,” he said. “We were in the game playing well but in that last 20 minutes or so we just fell away.
“They scored in the last play of the game. There were moments when we could have put that game to bed.
“We were held up over the line, discipline cost us. That one definitely hurt and I am looking forward to making amends tomorrow.”
That drift late in games has since been repeated against Australia and New Zealand this autumn, but the tight-head thinks it is a question of trust rather than any psychological defect.
“I don’t think it is an overriding issue,” he said. “It’s such a highperformance, highpressure game these days it is the smallest things.
“It’s all about being in the moment, sticking to our systems and processes. That’s where we sometimes get undone when boys try to solve things on their own.
“Sometimes when you’re over-fatigued and under pressure you think you can solve things on your own. You have to trust your team-mates to go another phase.
“If you’re in the line and there’s already two people in the breakdown, you go in for a jackal, you’re just wasting another man.
“The strength of us is trusting our systems. When you try to solve things on your own that’s when we give away stupid penalties.
“That’s a key work-on for us.”
The squad’s newest assistant coach, mental skills expert Aaron Walsh, can help with this, reckons Fagerson.
“He’s addressed the troops in a team meeting as well as on an individual basis,” said Zander. “He isn’t going to start hassling you the whole time but if you want a one-to-one or a coffee you can go and catch up with him.
“Aaron’s approachable and easy to chat to. He’s been around baseball and other high performance sport for a while, he’s done stuff with the Chiefs (in New Zealand).
“He’s got a whole bunch of knowledge that you can tap into. For me it is asking different questions, different scenarios, how different pros took them and methods he’s found that could be helpful for me.”
Still only 26, Fagerson is one of the elder statesman and has taken fellow former Strathallan School and tight-head Murphy Walker under his wing.
“I love working with Murph, he is keen as mustard,” he said.
“Compared to other front row props he is always keen to learn, picking everybody’s brains, asking for feedback on the scrum sessions. He has that appetite for learning which is the key thing for young players coming through. He’s a mobile prop and his scrummaging has come on leaps and bounds.
“I think the summer tour was massive for him, that training week-in, week-out, that intensity. He has things to work on but he has come on and is getting his chance. I am really proud of him.”
He cringes a little that Walker called him his idol when he was a few years ahead at Strath.
“I was a No 8 at Strath, come on,” he laughed. “I remember him coming through and his feet haven’t got any smaller. He had size 17 feet when he was 12.
“Hendo (Andrew Henderson, director of rugby at Strathallan) said to me, ‘he’s coming through, he’s doing the agegrade stuff ’.
“I came to watch the schools final here when he was captain of Strath and he had a great game, in the tight and the loose.
“He just needs to keep on going, keep working hard, keep learning and good things will happen.”
● Richard Cockerill has urged Twickenham to drown out the Haka when England collide with New Zealand in today’s main event of the autumn.
Cockerill famously confronted All Blacks hooker Norm Hewitt during the Maori war dance in 1997 but England’s forwards coach believes teams are now too deferential towards a ritual he believes has become “sterile”.
When the rivals last met in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, Eddie Jones’ men responded with a V-shape formation that had captain Owen Farrell at its apex – and former Edinburgh head coach Cockerill would relish similar theatrics in the penultimate assignment of the autumn.
“It is a home game and we want a partisan crowd who are on our side. If the fans can drown out the noise of New Zealand doing the Haka then let’s bring it on,” the former Leicester hooker said.
“Is it a challenge or not a challenge? We’ll respect it how we want to respect it. It is a psychological advantage for them and we will deal with it how we feel is right.
“I have no regrets over what I did and I think it is a sign of respect for the Maori culture. It is great theatre and it will be part of a big day.
“I think the Haka has become a little bit sterile and too much is made of it when people do different things towards it. That’s overplayed.
“New Zealand are allowed to do what they want to do and the opposition should be allowed to do what they want to do.”