‘Landmark’ win over Wallabies just a stepping stone for Argentina
Argentina head coach Michael Cheika looks on before a Test match.
Argentina head coach Michael Cheika refused to get carried away after his side snatched a late try to beat the Wallabies 34-31 at CommBank Stadium on Saturday.
The former Wallabies coach and Randwick man was pleased with how his Los Pumas side bounced back from their 41-12 defeat to the All Blacks last week to claim the win over his home country.
However, with the Rugby World Cup looming the veteran coach suggested there is still much to do for his team. Regardless, it was a big moment for Argentina who locked in their first back-to-back wins against their southern hemisphere counterparts.
Reward for hard work
Cheika insists the win was a good reward for the group who have been working hard to make improvements in their game.
“Every game in itself is a new game. I mean, there’s a lot of teams that we haven’t been able to beat yet that we are still going to have to beat in that [World Cup] environment,” Cheika said.
“But it’s [the win] good for the improvements, great for the boys.
“All of the team and the staff have been putting in a lot of hours over this last bit and it’s nice for them to get this reward.”
Found a way to win
A key takeaway for Cheika was that his side was able to come away with a win even though they were not at their best on the day.
“It was like a landmark, it was one of the few times we have been able to get a win against a team of this level, when we haven’t been at our best either,” said Cheika.
“But we were able to manufacture a win. There was a lot of good improvements from last week, which is what I wanted,” he said.
“No matter what would have happened with the result in the end, I was pretty pleased with the changes. Hopefully, we can continue that into the weeks coming.
“We were a bit ill-disciplined in the first half which cost us, we made a few bad decisions. But they are things that as we move along and stay together we will improve.”
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