Since Felipe Contepomi has taken over as head coach of Argentina, the narrative surrounding Ireland’s upcoming opponents has been one of an upward trend. In the summer’s Rugby Championship, the South American side beat New Zealand, South Africa and Australia in the same calendar year for the first time.
Yet within that story is an inconsistency which has Contepomi calling for more. At the end of the Rugby Championship, they had a 50/50 win-loss record after one defeat each to the other three southern hemisphere sides.
Now in the middle of their November tour of Europe, the former Leinster outhalf has called on his charges to back up last week’s thumping win over Italy with another stellar performance at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night. “I’m pleased with the guys trying things against the best teams in the world,” said Contepomi.
“Arriving in New Zealand five days before the game and performing like we performed in the first game [of the Rugby Championship] was brilliant. One of the biggest challenges is how to create that consistency week-in, week-out against those teams. We don’t have the same depth in the squad as those teams have and we still find it difficult to play against them.
“It’s not just the result, it’s the performance. We struggle to keep that performance or intensity after beating them, say New Zealand in the second game. The same happened with South Africa. There’s a bit of a challenge there and we’re trying to see how we can get better at it.”
The Felipe Contepomi interview
Speaking to The Counter Ruck, a rugby podcast by The Irish Times, Contepomi delved further into why he thought Argentina struggles historically with this consistency. “Maybe it’s from what I’ve learned ... when you see in Europe and so on, it’s more about excellence. The Latin people, it’s more about passion.
“Maybe if you can get the best world of both, that’s where the good thing happens. If you see the Irish team at the moment, it’s a lot of excellence. Irish people are very passionate, they have a bit of both. It’s what we are trying to add into this Argentinian team, not only to be that emotional or passionate team, but also aspire to excellency, make sure we say we are going to do what we want to do, focus on details. It takes time but I think we are on the right way.”
As a player, Contepomi himself had a reputation for that passion. It’s an aspect of his character he has worked to contain now that he coaches, and communication to a wider group becomes all the more important. He points to his time coaching at Leinster, working with Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster, as a key learning phase in his journey to leading his national team.
“I like to think I’ve evolved,” he says. “I’ve always been a passionate person but one thing I learned in Leinster, from Leo [Cullen] and from Stuart [Lancaster] is that poise at tough times, how poised they are, how good they are in those difficult moments.
“You need to be calm and in your sense to make the right decision at the right moments. Mental toughness is that, having clarity under pressure. I’ve evolved and I like to think I was better now than I was 10 years ago.”
In a wide-ranging chat, Contepomi joined former team-mate Gordon D’Arcy on the podcast to look back at their time playing together at the RDS, Contepomi’s relationship with Michael Cheika – who he worked with at both Leinster and Argentina – and reflect on how the sport has evolved, both for the better and the worse, since their own playing days.
You can listen to the full chat on The Counter Ruck. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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