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Argentine coach Mario Ledesma detailed the “sleepless nights” and the endless adversity that the Pumas had to overcome to complete an extraordinary Tri Nations campaign with another lively draw with the Wallabies.
Two quarantine periods, in Uruguay and then Sydney, an economic crisis in Argentina and the midweek abandonment of the inspiring patron Pablo Matera and two teammates failed to break the Pumas.
In the end, they were unlucky enough not to beat the Wallabies instead ending the tour with a 16-16 stalemate in Sydney, having drawn 15-15 with the Australians two weeks earlier at Newcastle and defeating the All Blacks for the first time. time in history. last month.
“As much as the other thought, if we had won it, it would have been unfair, I think we deserved it,” Ledesma said after his team gave up a 10-point lead in the first half on Saturday night.
“We are very happy with the whole tour and I am very proud of the guys.
“I couldn’t be more proud.
“Adversity was present since March … but from the beginning we said that we did not want to make excuses to start and we did not.
“I never heard anyone complain, no one complain. It was all a positive attitude and being together and feeling the energy of each other.
“They love each other. They demand the same commitment they make to each other.
“So it’s been an amazing ride all year.”
However, Ledesma admitted that the events of last week, when Matera, padlock Guido Petti and prostitute Santiago Socino were removed after racist tweets surfaced from 2011 to 2013, had taken a huge toll on the group.
The trio had their punishments rescinded by the Argentine Rugby Union on Thursday amid reports of a player revolt if they did not.
But they haven’t played at Bankwest Stadium yet, adding to the Pumas’ incredible feat of holding off the Wallabies to finish second in the Tri Nations behind the champions All Blacks.
“This week has been very, very tough. Everything else, the preparation, all the preparation, the happy days,” Ledesma said.
“Especially for some of the guys, it was a very difficult week to prepare.
“They slept like two or three hours a night and I kept getting messages from the players at two in the morning, at three in the morning, and they would text and call each other about everything that was going on.
“So, sleepless nights and rescheduling training.
“But these guys never cease to amaze us. They never lower their heads.”
Ledesma reserved special praise for Michael Cheika after the former Wallabies coach switched camps to work as an assistant for the Pumas.
“He’s a great guy, a lot of energy and I wanted to work with Cheik again so it was selfish for me,” she said.
“We started talking in February, March and I started suggesting that we could work together again and I did my best to get him involved.”
