I cannot express how disappointed i am. We had everything, absolutely everything to win this.
- 3 outstanding players (Isgro, Moneta and Gonzalez).
- a squad with depth (the rest of the squad was very strong too. Nothing magical like those three but solid overall, both on offense and defense.)
- a very experienced coach who pretty much reinvented the way we played. In terms of kick offs and commitment to rucks i'd say most of the teams followed Arg's lead.
- We came from a big loss in Spain, against France, so we were eager to make a point.
- We tripped over against Australia (a game we'd win 9/10 times) but the cost of doing so was relatively low. I thought was actually a good thing. A slap in the face that would wake us up.
- Most of the big teams were past their peak or transitioning. RSA, Fiji and NZ were nowhere even close to what they used to be. They are good, no doubt but not even close to what they were say, 3 years ago. And i believed the teams on the rise (France and Ireland mainly) were good but not as good as we were. I sincerely believed we would beat any team if we were to play the best of 10. Maybe NZ could beat us, but i'd bet the house against the rest.
- Isgro was suspended but he could play as of the QF's, which is precisely where we needed him the most.
- The 3 outstanding players had all complementary qualities. Moneta is a speedster, probably the second fastest in the 7s circuit and, unlike, baker, he is a born and bread rugby player and has a good foot (kicking wise). Gonzalez is a wrecking ball, which gave a LOT of space to the rest, but specially to Moneta. This was exploited beautifully a gazillion times. And Isgro is a terrific all rounder who is strong, fast and smart. He always gains the ad line, is good with offloads, rarely misses a tackle against faster players (KEY!) and is incredibly good at the ruck.
And it's not only what these 3 could do. It's the space they created for the rest, how the relieved pressure. We had a mature team and arrived arguably at out peak.
- We were incredibly disciplined and everyone knew what they had to do. There was a plan, it was a solid one and execution was on point.
Coach said our team was tired and mentioned that Ireland, NZ and Arg (best 3 teams by a mile this year) lost their QFs. I find that hard to believe. I do not know what went wrong. I do know it's heartbreaking.
We'll get over it, course. But now it is time to mourn.
www.ruck.co.uk
Sevens squad has made it to the quarter finals. First they tied France, who they were projected to lose too. Then they lost to Fiji which was expected, and I thought that would damper their hopes. But they recovered and beat Uruguay the next day and will now move on.
