Behind the podium, the Argentinians and their staff remained entwined for a long time, around their captain Julian Montoya. He left in the 56th minute, injured in one knee, to make way for Agustin Creevy. At 38 years old, and 108 caps, the latter is the oldest player to have played in a World Cup. And he ended his international career this Friday with a defeat in the small final of the World Cup, against England (26-23).
His friends would have liked to offer another outing to their former captain, already a semi-finalist in 2015, beaten by South Africa during the match for third place. Above all, they would have liked to do as well as the Pumas of 2007, who entered the history of Argentine rugby thanks to their bronze medal.
They fought until the end, after a catastrophic first quarter of an hour, where they suffered two penalties from Owen Farrell (3rd and 13th) and a try from Ben Earl (8th), to be led 0-13. But the try, just before half-time (36th), from scrum half Tomas Cubelli, also one of the veterans of the group, at 34, had kept them in the match and, upon returning from the locker room, it was Santiago Carreras’ turn, after escaping the tackles of Dan, Genge and Smith, to slip behind the line to take the advantage (17-16).
Contepomi should take over
But all the will of the Argentines, all their desire to win this match which, all week, they had prepared as a real final, was not enough to overthrow the English. Kept three points away until the end (23-26), they missed the opportunity to equalize in the 75th. And it’s cruel that it was Nicolas Sanchez who missed this goal, he who, at 34, was playing his fourth World Cup, like Creevy.
It was not the evening of the Pumas and, even if they would surely have deserved to win against the English this Friday evening, after having lost against them in the opening match (27-10), fifteen against fourteen, this would not have reflected a somewhat bland World Cup, without this grain of madness which was the mark of their elders in 2007 and 2015.
They will now start a new cycle, without their Australian coach Michael Cheika, who has completed his two-year mandate (he replaced Mario Ledesma, who resigned in 2021). He should be replaced by Felipe Contepomi, who cut his coaching teeth at Leinster and who was one of Cheika’s assistants in recent months.