RWC Review: No. 8 Argentina

[psychic duck]

The 2011 Rugby World Cup has ended and unfortunately for the rugby faithful, this means that we'll have to wait four years once again, but don't be disappointed, this was a special tournament. New Zealand hosted this time around, and with that, we realize that we may not see the rugby mad country host again for a very long time.

We hope that you all savoured every moment and every match, no matter what the outcomes were, the disappointments or heartache. What impressed us the most is how well second tier nations developed over the past four years, which is great news for the sport on a worldwide scale.

Development is the key to this game, as any, and this world cup has opened the door to a large number of new fans.

As we take a look back, Shaggy, psychic duck and M Two One review the twenty participants from worst to first over the next week. The rankings were put together through several opinions based on performances.

Feel free to debate and discuss. The 2011 Rugby World Cup may have ended, but rugby lives on 24/7.

It has been well documented that over the four years after the Pumas attained third place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, they have had very few matches. To be precise they have played 27 matches and 8 of those were the amateur side against Chile and Uruguay, so they really have had just 19 matches. With limited opportunities, they have struggled and looked extremely poor at times. A far cry from the side which beat all the 6 Nations sides between 2004 and 2007.

There were rumours prior to the world cup that Argentina would be kicked out of the proposed four nations if they failed to reach the quarter finals. Luckily, they managed to reach the quarters and after a very good losing effort against the almighty All Blacks, their campaign has been generally seen as a success (83% of Pumas fans on espn.com rate the campaign as good). However, looking at the Pumas with a glass half empty, they were lucky to beat Scotland as Felipe Contepomi ran a long way offside whilst charging down a Parks drop goal. With the glass half full they could have beaten England if they had brought their kicking boots.

Contepomi had a tournament kicking success rate of 42% which hampered the Pumas throughout and the team could have faced a much weaker side in the quarter finals in France, and then who knows? Credit must be given to Argentina, as despite poor displays over the past couple of years, the time they spent together this tournament made a big difference.

What will give Pumas fans most heart from this tournament is their performance against the All Blacks. The bookies were offering just under 30 point handicaps for that match but they managed to stifle them and stayed in touch until the last fifteen minutes, the final scoreline 33-10 didn't really reflect the match as they didn't get a bit of luck here and there to make the scoreline look better for them as France had earlier in the tournament.

Overall this felt like a tournament that was completing the final phase of their transition into the four nations—a final step which has proven difficult. Unlike 2007, when the Pumas lost the likes of Pichot, Longo, Corleto, Ignacio Fernández Lobbe and several other players, they looked like they were about to start to wane, this time in 2011, it feels as if the players are ready to get a lot better, not worse. Players like Figallo, who was a revelation at tighthead, Imhoff and Creevy are ready to begin the new era of Pumas rugby, add to that the Pumas best player Juan Martín Hernández, if he can regain his fitness and form from 2005 to 2007.

Finishing on a positive note for the Pumas, it should be noted that they scored two of the best tries of the tournament—one an individual effort by Lucas González Amorosino and another great move which involved great hands from several Pumas players. - p.d

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I don't remember hearing that there was a chance they'd be dropped from the 4N?