I agree. As far as I know, it is 60 secs.

The “Captain” (aka Referee) is always right, specially when he is wrong. As a Seafarer I remember seeing that sign firmly screwd onto the Master´s cabin door. And many a time, I swore at it! And yet, when I became a Master Mariner, there were times when I could not seek advice from my crew, I had no TMO, the Ship Owners were thousands of miles away (IRB), and I had to decide according to many rules and regulations, and base my decision on experience and fairness if possible…. This Ref is very experienced, he knows the rules, and I have never liked him reffing a Los Pumas match, but I respect him. In any case, what could be worse than a French Ref? Another French Ref! Argentinians have suffered many, many times this kind of abuse, but that was allright. Wasn´t it, you BIG BOYS? After all, who cares for the Argentinians! I am afraid, you Aussies will have to swallow this sour pill and take it on the jaw like men. ABs, you should not be so haughty. To me, you are better than anyone, just going through a patch of inconsistency (which is healthy). Those that bet against you, very rarely make a lump proffit. And yet, deep down inside, you know you should have lost! Touching on Argentina´s penalty kickers, Boffeli or whoever, should be awarded yellow cards. I find it ashaming that Boffeli seems it is the first kick at the posts in his life, Goddammit!

Yep. That is why both are off the dancing floor.

It appears some of the toughest, most talented, and manliest SA players and staff are afraid of the “hostile ” crowds, and the argentinian “physicality”. It sounds like teen agers thinking how they´ll manage their first intimate experience with someone from the opposite sex, or the same one, for what it matters. Really? The argentinians are lucky Jantjies will not be on the field to display his brand of physicality…. That would have melted the hostile crowds. But, alas, not to be, ehhh?! It is unbelievable that a saffie can voice such pussy cat rubbish. Yet, if anyone is foolish enough to believe the SA team is a lot of rookies, and that they are not as physical, or more, as the “gauchos”, well then I have to agree: they should not even show up!

Hmmm. I think Los Pumas just had an all Black day! 😔

Ouch!!! To begin with, sincerest congratulations to ABs! Pumas were thrashed, trounced, overwhelmed. No excuses. We played badly and were uncuestionably outplayed, everywhere and for 80 minutes. The score is ugly and true. In fact, the difference between teams is much closer to this score than to the previous one. I´d say things are back to normal. Any aspirations of Argentina or Australia of winning the RCH are unrealistic. It is to be expected Pumas to end bottom of the table. Unless they play like in round 2, and part of round 1, SA will also deliver a resounding blow. Poor tackling, too many penalties, lots of handling errors. ABs played up to my expectations, and Los Pumas very much below. . Well done SA, too!

Playing over their talent? The individual talent is everywhere, the Team talent is developing. Of course, setbacks are in the cards, in line with anything argentinian. If LP are on a good day, miracles will happen, and on a very good day they can force the opposition to play badly. The target is to break ABs spirit, frustrate them, have more heart and far more brains.

Very good sum up. But let us not fool ourselves. The road ahead is long and winding. Deep down inside, most expect ABs to win tomorrow. I´d be surprised if they don´t. The pressure on both teams ha levelled out a bit. NZ supporters want to get back into their confort zone, get their confidence back. Pumas supporters would prefer to remain clear undedogs. In any case, the Argies will not be roasted if they lose, unless they play badly. On the other hand, NZ bear the heaviest burden of the match.

I don´t quite understand AS or Jeff Wilson (Breakdown columnist) when they say Pumas don´t play Rugby…. Yes, Pumas took all and every chance to kick from the Tee and clock in threes, instead of finding touch or playing a penalty. The match was led by ABs, most of the time, so what to do? Play “pretty”, be right, or win? We all like fast running rugby, but the ABs wouldn´t let LP run, and perhaps they should have, to get more chances of handling errors under pressure. If a team can´t develop a fast flowing game, because the opponent is preventing it, then all there is left is to in turn neutralize the adversary. That is being intelligent, knowing your limitations, and exploiting the opponent´s weaknesses.

Perhaps you are right. That would explain why he blended in so well with the Argentinians, characteristically intuitive, random, latin, unpredictable, plenty of talent, undisciplined. You can see our players do very well when isolated in a foreign club team, where they become more proffesional and disciplined. Taking notes or not may not be so relevant for Cheika´s personality. He´d rather focus on the game and performances. He gets the “gut feeling” right. In any case, he´ll probably review the tape 10 times to work with his fellow assistants and the players. That is when he can take notes and build a general dossier of the team and each individual. Of course, there must be a great deal of strategy planning for the next match. I am certain his work days are at least twelve hours long. Battle planning must be very intense.

Look, while Argentians celebrate, New Zealanders are mourning, sort of…. None of these emotions is truly realistic. ABs are still, and will continue to be amongst the best 3. Argentina is not up to such a high consistent standard. A RWC doesn´t determine which team plays better. It is just a way of establishing some form or rating, which is close to the truth for a short time, only a few months. We have seen it many times, that one of the best seeded, or one of the best rated, flops soon after. Sport is a melodrama and a comdy, to entertain us. Argies: we have other fish to fry, which are far much more important. So, let us rejoice for this godsend, because we have very little to be happy about. Our focus shoul be elsewhere.

Yes, if they can remain consistent.

I am sorry if you are bitter, and frustrated. You have a few points worth, though. In any case, whether the rules are fair or not, if the Referee is sharp, impartial and knows them better than anyone, he applies them on both teams. Rugby as in the 70s and 80s doesn´t exist anymore. Accept it or follow another sport. However much Rugby Union has changed, I would still enjoy playing it as it is nowadays. I´d like to add to your complaints that I deplore crowds that disrespect the visiting team and their field kicker, in any country; I also dislike the throw-in in the scrums (the middle front row guy should be called center prop, not hooker!). The Referee: he did not influence the result, he did not need the TMO at all, not a single questionable decision that required consultation or intervention by his assistants or the TMO. To me that is a first!

I admire the comments of various experts in tactica and rugby strategies. Sincerely. I am not that qualified to suggest hoy the Coaches should plan their games and what players to select, or where to place them. I know nothing technically, but I have a sense of the game, of what I enjoy in any team. As an Argentinian, I want to express what it means to us when we overcome a better historical national team or club side: unlike these nations, deservedly used to victories over the best teams for decades, for us it is an extremely powerful feeling of joy, such as the traditional inderdog beating one of the “big boys”, such as David downing Goliath. It is really intense, and that leads to excessive triumphalism, very latin passion. Some of us become arrogant and ofensive. I dislike both attitudes, deeply, like most of my countrymen. Please forgive us. On the other hand, some followers of the “big boys” teams are just as bad, very uppity, or worse, patronizing…. It should not be that way, at all. We have all been brought up within the values of rugby. Let us observe them, and excersise them. That is what Rugby is all about!

You certainly do have the players, in abundance. Still, Leroy 14 has a strong point when he says that every week DR has to juggle players and use them in positions they don´t usually play in. The best Coach would have a hard time dealing with so many injuries and other misfortunes. Imagine if Los Pumas were suffering the same problems, not having much depth or quality back-up players…. Yet, it must be noted the Argentine team is 100% made up with nationals, unlike other teams. I would much prefer an Argentinian Head Coach, someone like Loffreda or Quesada, but they need to be available, they need to want the post, and the money needs to be enticing. I trully wonder what kind of financial arrangement Cheika gets, because clearly the argentine economy can´t afford international salaries.

Very unlikely Pumas win vs ABs, after seeing yesterday´s ABs win!

I can see many Aussie fans are hurting, and it is not a good feeling. Let´s laugh it off: the Argentinian players should have played for Australia today….!

I´ll tell what might happen with Los Pumas vs ABs or SA: they will be over-confident, and they will lose! Pumas are a very irregular team, and their greatness is sporadic. To be TRULY great, like ABs, NZ, AU, ENG, IRL, FR, WA, they need to be consistent over a couple of decades. Still, we really enjoy when our guys play really well, even when they lose, which is 2/3 of the time!

Sincere congrats to the Awessies! And best wishes de Hooper and Cooper. It was even painful for us Argentinians to see Cooper helped off the field (if you watch the video, the crowd and Boffeli applauded him). What happened to Los Pumas? Loss of concentration after that wonderful try? Lack of discipline? Australia never lost its cool? All of these are true. Rennie´s plan for substitutes was perfect. Cheika´s subs did not add anything to a quite efficient Pumas game. The Ref missed 2 forward passes, one for each side. The difference in points should have been smaller, and could have been the opposite. I don´t expect Pumas to overcome this blow in only 1 week´s time. They should be ashamed of that penalty try! Even it they had not commited a few handling errors, and the result was another, it is extremely worrying that they cannot stay focused…..

I get the impression that Aussie commentators are already voicing all kind of excuses for a possible loss. This is becoming an international habit. When an historically superior team faces a reportedly weaker team, but that has the potential for causing an upset, we are all reminded of the “injuries”, the uncapped players, the many flaws of a coach, more flaws and weaknesses of some players, misgivings about the Referee, intimidating supporters, poor field conditions, the wind, the rain, and so on. If it isn´r raining, why open the umbrella? Oops, I forgot it might be too sunny…. AUS is not a rookie team, and can beat anyone, in style. And so can Los Pumas.

The UAR have fallen short of reinstating these players! I guess it is too late now to save face. They fell into the political trap set up by the ruling party supporters. The behaviour of UAR is shamefull: a sport ruling body like this wavering one, consisting of very grown up men, some quite elderly, does not bode well for argentine rugby. I agree with Nobrain: you can still see your face in the mirror, but it is cracked and irreparable. Some in the UAR hierarchy should vacate their seats immediately. Not any player, nor any in the Staff. The way they managed this situation is comparable to a late teen saying stupid things. So now not only the players are damaged, but UAR more so. As far as players and staff go, their input is always welcome, but sport policies (not politics) are decided by UAR and should be obeyed, or else step aside.

NO. Have it edited by someone who is really fluent in English. What you say is true and so important to be ruined by a poor education, and can only be really understood by another Argentine fortunate to have received a better education. I praise your attitude, though. I hope you understand my text…

It takes a lot of courage to admit one´s faults in public worldwide. Would you have the same guts?

Outraged? They should all resign after the next match; go play abroad, fxxck the UAR, and let the UAR soak in its own SXXT!

Perhaps these players ought to suit UAR.