Argentina head coach Michael Cheika on Friday said that he and his players were “hurting” after their 44-6 Rugby World Cup semi-final pummeling by New Zealand, but insisted that “they will be ready” for the third-place play-off on Friday.
The Pumas received a rugby lesson from the All Blacks at the Stade de France on Friday and although Cheika had qualms over the refereeing by his fellow Australian, Angus Gardner, the latter was not the difference.
Cheika will have to rouse his battered players for the consolation prize of securing third place in Friday’s match against the loser of yesterday’s semi-final between England and South Africa.
Photo: AFP
That game was to start after press time last night.
Should they win they would equal their best previous performance at a World Cup, in 2007, also in France.
“Right now we’re hurting, but we will be ready on Friday,” the 56-year-old said.
Cheika, speaking in Spanish, said he had not cried at the end, but he had felt sad when he saw his children were crying on the pitch.
“Emotions are important, but me, I don’t cry, but that’s because my job is not over yet,” he said. “On Friday we will have played seven games in the World Cup. Only four teams will have played seven.”
However, despite an absence of tears from the former No. 8, it did not mean he took the defeat in his stride.
“I used to play rugby, I don’t like losing, never, but it’s not a sad moment, but a moment where I’m actually proud of my team,” he said. “We’re in the semi-final of the World Cup. It’s not an easy path we’ve been on. We’ve invested ourselves a lot in this, but we lost on details.”
Cheika said that the Argentina players had done the country proud.
“Of course, I’m sad for them, they made such an effort, they so much wanted to win, for the country, the fans, to do their absolute best, but on Friday, we will be there, have no doubt,” he said.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946