Argentina have dismissed Springbok suggestions that Friday’s bronze final does not mean anything and are determined to celebrate their attacking style at the tournament by beating their Rugby Championship rivals.
After his side narrowly lost to New Zealand 20 / 18 in Saturday’s 1st semifinal, South African coach Heyneke Meyer said it would be tough mentally to prepare for the clash at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. “It does not mean anything to me. It is like kissing your sister,” he said.
But, despite the disappointment of failing to get past Australia in their semifinal, Argentina captain Agustin Creevy and his squad were excited about trying to secure the 3rd place.
Asked about Meyer’s comments, Creevy said: “I don’t know why he said that. I would rather be 3rd than 4th. We want to be in the Top 3. We need to get over the defeat and start again. The 3rd-place playoff means a lot.”
Flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez, who scored all of Argentina’s points in the 29 / 15 defeat by the Wallabies, said: “We came here to play the final, but I think we gave it our all. The biggest challenge now is to finish on a high note and get the 3rd place.
“We’ve got a mentally very tough game ahead. This week probably won’t be as pleasant as this past one, but we’ll make a great effort to get the bronze medal.”
EXCITING FUTURE:
Argentina won the 3rd-place playoff against France by 34 / 10 at Rugby World Cup 2007, the only other time they have reached the last 4.
They have taken huge strides since joining South Africa’s Springboks, the New Zealand All Blacks and Australia’s Wallabies in The Rugby Championship in 2012 and have delighted rugby fans by playing an open, expansive game at Rugby World Cup 2015.
Flanker Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, who is playing at his 3rd World Cup, said Argentina were determined to stick to their fast and flowing game in the future.
“I think people like open rugby, the way Japan played, the way Canada played, everybody cheered. That is the way we believe you can score tries,” Lobbe said.
“We’re happy to make people proud of the way we play, because that is how rugby should be played, with a lot of heart, passion, put everything on the pitch and just enjoy it and throw the ball around.
“I am very excited about it. I think the players, the people in charge, everyone has the right mind-set and they are staying humble. So if they stay humble and keep working hard and keep enjoying it we can look at the future with a lot of excitement.”
Trio Injured:
Agustin Creevy, Juan Imhoff and Juan Martin Hernandez have all been ruled out of the Argentina team to take on South Africa in the 3rd-place playoff through injury.
All 3 came off during Argentina’s 15 / 29 defeat by Australia in the Rugby World Cup semifinal on Sunday.
Puma skipper Creevy suffered a hamstring strain, Hernandez hurt his ribs and top try-scorer Imhoff came off with a head injury, the Argentina Rugby Union said.