1 week Ago By Irishexaminer.com
If Brazilians are the Wild Geese of world soccer then Argentina are their kindred spirits in rugby as they pitch up in all manner of distant posts to ply their trades. Until, that is, the magnetic pull of those famous hooped jerseys brings them back together. Santiago Cordero has had stints at home with the now defunct Jaguares, in England and France but he is at least on more familiar ground in Dublin this week given his current residence is just down the road in Galway with Connacht.
Argentina’s November started with a training camp in Paris – one-third of their squad is based in France – before an impressive opening win against Italy in Udine. Next up is Ireland in the Aviva just six days later. It isn’t quite as hectic as the seasons spent with the Jaguares when, by the end of the calendar year, they would have racked up over 180,000 air miles across 50 flights between their commitments with club and country.
As with the Springboks, they find themselves existing in a half-life between the southern and northern hemisphere campaigns. They are part of one as much as the other but embraced fully by neither. Put simply, there is rarely time to rest when you are a Puma.
“Not much, but you're always happy to be here,” Cordero smiled after training at Wanderers RFC. “Everyone wants to be here. It's always good to be here: no cooking, everything is served, sleeping well, so I can't complain.
I'm very, very happy.” Like most kids back home, he grew up wanting to wear the blue and white stripes of the national football team, but he is part now of an Argentina rugby side that is making its own waves on the world’s sporting stage. They have accounted for France, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa already in 2024, posted their best ever Rugby Championship campaign, and they put 50 points on a sloppy Azzurri side at the weekend just gone.
The wins against the French and the Boks require an asterisk given the opposition both times was well short of full-strength but the progress in Felipe Contepomi’s first year in charge is undeniable as they look to round off their year here and in Paris next week. Contepomi brings so much to the table. His playing career took in spells in England, France and Ireland, he has spoken before about how his medical qualifications feed into rugby, and his status as a Puma legend only solidifies his value as head coach now.
The former Leinster out-half and assistant coach has prioritised fast, attacking rugby and a discipline in terms of tactics that was very much in evidence last week when they went 17-0 up and still stuck to their processes as the lead shrunk to four points. Cordero claimed one of their seven tries. “You can see on the results and the data, we’re playing better, we’re more confident and he is helping on every single point of it, whether mentally or physically.
Everyone is very happy with him, you can see how we play and develop as a team. Everyone can see the change.” As for Cordero himself, he is happy in “beautiful” Galway.
That first season on the sidelines with a knee injury was tough, and he put too much pressure on himself to play well on his return, but the process has been made easier by the support received from the club. “I think now I'm in a better moment or position than a couple of months before when I was playing with Connacht. I'm happy to be here but also can't wait for after these couple of games to go back and play for them.
” This season has already been a success but there is still time to make it better. Argentina have lost on all ten visits to Dublin. Ireland’s display and loss to the All Blacks suggests a rare vulnerability for them at home though.
Could this be the time? “Everyone knows Ireland are one of the best teams, very, very good. They play with a lot of intensity. It's a very intense team so we know what's coming and we need to focus on us, our structure and game plan, and hopefully everything will go our way.
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