Contepomi happy to learn from Boks
Sat, 09 Aug 2008 18:06
Argentina skipper Felipe Contepomi was very graceful in defeat on Saturday after his team were taught a rugby lesson by the rampant Springboks, who won the Mandela Tribute Test 63-9 in Johannesburg.
The Springboks struggled to find their groove in the early stages of the match, with Argentina making a good impression in the first half through some great work at the breakdown.
The visiting Pumas took a deserved 9-0 lead in the 24th minute of the match, courtesy of a third penalty goal from Contepomi.
But that was to be the final scoring act from the South Americans, as the Bok machine moved through the gears to obliterate the Argentinean challenge by scoring 63 unanswered points.
Contepomi praised the Springbok team for their performance, and said that it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the Argentines, who have not played much Test rugby since losing the World Cup semifinal against the Boks in October last year.
"It's always difficult to play well in your first game of the season," Contepomi said after the Test match.
"We knew that we were up against the World Cup winners, and that it would be a tough game.
"We gave our best today, but it wasn't enough in the second half."
Contepomi also revealed the great respect that pervades throughout Argentina for the way the Springboks play the game, and said that he was happy if his players managed to take some knowledge away from the experience against the Springboks.
"We've been inspired by South African rugby in the past and we've always tried to learn from the Springboks," he said.
"We try to play in a similar style to the Springboks. It's good for us to copy best team in world.
"Today was an opportunity for us to play the best team in world, and to learn some lessons in how we can improve.
"Hopefully we're learning all the time, and we hope that we can continue to go upwards as a team and keep learning lessons."
