The Tokyo Olympics take place in an atypical context, but it has provided great moments in its first week. One of these events was the bronze medal won by the Pumas Sevens, which meant the first medal for Argentina in the contest, in its second participation in the Olympic event, and which represents another great achievement in the history of national rugby. The team had a combination of youth such as Marcos Moneta, Lucio Cinti and Ignacio Mendy, who won gold in the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Games, and several experienced in the modality such as Gastón Revol, Santiago Álvarez, Germán Schulz and Rodrigo Etchart. This mixture of youth with experience gave the possibility to coach Santiago Gómez Cora to form a group with a lot of versatility that faced South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.Rugby again had its place in the Games five years ago and the possibility that Argentina can aspire to a podium was latent for the quality of players. The truth is that in Rio 2016, the chance narrowly escaped against Great Britain, in extra time of the quarterfinals, but the sport gives revenge, since, in the Japanese capital, the Pumas beat the same opponent that deprived them of advancing on Brazilian soil. In this way, Argentina writes one of the most relevant pages of its history and with the particularity that the seven modality does not have much popularity in the country, but that now it captures the eyes of all. After the consecration, Filo.News had the opportunity to talk with the coach of the Pumas Seven, Santiago Gómez Cora, who spoke about what this achievement represented in Tokyo: “It is to fulfill a goal and a dream. The first time it didn’t work, but the second time it did and that’s why it’s important to keep insisting. It’s the most important achievement of my career.”
Faced with their second Olympic experience, Los Pumas arrived in Japan with a clear goal after the fall in Rio. “The objective was the podium and break the barrier of quarter-finals, which was what cost us the most because of the temperance that we have to have for those moments,” said the head coach, who has been in charge of the team since 2013.As for the game, the team opted for a change in its operation this year and Gómez Cora clarified the reason : “We proposed to be more offensive, as we had a lot of possession, but few chances of a try. We seek to be more vertical to have more obtaining and to be more effective when it comes to concretizing”. He added: “The key was to cheer us up and change the system to be more offensive. You had to take risks to play at this level and it worked out well for us.”
The victory for the quarter-finals against South Africa by 19 to 14 was important because of the difficulties that the team went through, since they had to face almost the entire match with one player less for the expulsion of Gaston Revol. “The match with South Africa defines this team. In the face of adversity and in the face of unjusties they came together and became one. It was epic for what was done. The character of the squad was reflected in that match,” said the former player. The global Covid-19 pandemic prevented the games from developing during 2020, but the most influential factor was the impediment to training by athletes. In that sense, Gómez Cora analyzed the previous process that the players and the coaching staff went through: “The lack of competition was a key point and the truth is that the best way to develop players is by competing. It was difficult and complex for everyone. We were lucky enough to train and compete in friendly tournaments around the world. It cost us a lot and it was a huge effort on the part of the players to arrive a while before the games and have to lock themselves up so as not to get infected. On the other hand, there was an economic effort by the UAR and ENARD. It was tough, although we were finding competition at a progressive level that allowed us to settle in.
“This medal serves to make the game of sevens visible and for more kids to come and play it. It would be good to have competitions of the modality more frequently in the country to have more players with shooting”, clarifies the coach regarding the possibility that the bronze medal gives greater visibility to the discipline. The Olympic Games are the most important sporting event par excellence and rugby was able to find its place in the competition after decades of absence. “The Olympics are spectacular. To be at the great gala of the sport is wonderful. With rugby we feel that we are invited at the last minute or half strained and luckily we are getting better and better. We loved taking center stage in that contest,” Gómez Cora closed.
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