'Before we arrived at the stadium we said “Today is the day” - Nicolas Sanchez
- 2521
Los Pumas pivot Nicolas Sanchez says there was an unprecedented sense of belief in the squad that they could beat the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday.
Sanchez scored all of Argentina's point in their first-ever win over the All Blacks as they surged to a 25-15 point victory with the flyhalf slotting six penalties and converted his own try.
Analysis: How Los Pumas managed to topple the All Blacks for the first time
After the game, Sanchez said they always believed they could topple the All Blacks.
‘Before we arrived at the stadium we said “Today is the day”,’ he said.
‘We are so happy – a win against the All Blacks is great for us.’
Argentina had faced off against the All Blacks 28 time prior to their clash in Sydney with the All Blacks coming away with 27 victories with one game drawn. However, captain Pablo Matera said this result could be the turning point for Argentinian rugby.
"They must show some respect" - Pablo Matera#NZLvARG #TriNations pic.twitter.com/5WqjBTROY1
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) November 14, 2020
‘It’s a big day for Argentina rugby and also for our country and our people,’ Matera explained after the game.
‘It’s very tough down there at the moment and it was tough for us to come here and prepare ourselves for this tournament. We wanted to show our people that if you work hard, you can get things done. We are really proud.
‘This is going to be massive. Kids can’t go to their home clubs at the moment because of the virus, but I’m sure they are going to feel proud of being Argentinian and being rugby players. It can bring a lot of new kids to the game.’
