06/02/2024 08:32am.Updated on 06/02/2024 09:08am.
It seemed that the best team of the season, the semifinal was getting out of hand at the Wanda Metropolitano. That New Zealand starter would be a very tough nut to crack. However, With three tries from Matteo Graziano and the respective conversions from Joaquín Pellandini, Los Pumas in their Seven version ended up defeating the Oceanic team 21-14 to settle once again in the final in Madrid, where France has been waiting since 3:26 p.m., Argentine time.
It was the prologue of a full Saturday for Los Pumas 7’s, which le is closing a dream season for the team that has already won the 2023/24 Circuit and seeks to endorse it in this extra stage. As if nothing had changed, those led by Santiago Gómez Cora rediscovered their best level to beat France 26-12 and Australia 14-5 and advance to the semifinals as leaders of group A with three wins in three games (the Friday was 31-5 to Great Britain).
Against New Zealand, the game had started problematic. Within two minutes, the Islanders were leading 7-0 (try by Joe Webber, conversion by Andrew Knewstubb). But at 4′, between Graziano and Pellandini they equalized the actions. At 5′, a try by Moses Leo and a success by Knewstubb for the All Blacks to make it 14-7, although the Argentine duo, towards the end of the first half, managed to even things up. In the second half, at 12′, once again Graziano and Pellandini did their thing for the 21-14 final.
The Pumas 7’s finished first in the World Tour
On May 5, Argentina had secured in Singapore what it sought in the seventh stage of the World Tour: finish first in the ranking, something that had never happened since the tour was created in ’99.
The Pumas 7’s, always protagonists of the tour (except in 2020/21, when several like New Zealand preferred not to participate due to the pandemic) They reached 1 for the first time in their historywork that has been going on for a long time with Santiago Gómez Cora – first player, now coach – at the helm and now it has paid off.
The team now has two objectives left: win the final in Madrid, where the best eight of the year competed in a mini tournament for gold (which is why the achievement of Los Pumas 7’s is called winners of “the League”, to separate it from what they are disputing), and the Paris Olympic Gamesto revalidate or improve the Tokyo 2021 bronze.
A Selection in an ascending process
The Pumas 7’s, first today, They had finished last season in second place overall and with 13 medals accumulated (seven gold, five silver and one bronze) in the last three years. In addition, the Santiago Gómez Cora-Leonardo Gravano duo together achieved 19 World Tour medals and podiums at the Pan American Games and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Oh, and of course, they are great candidates for the podium in Paris 2024 (it still remains to be defined in June to a final team in Monaco).
The Pumas, in their Sevens modality, won four medals in the World Rugby 7 Circuit during 2023-24: three consecutive gold medals in Cape Town, Perth and Vancouver, and the silver in Dubai. They also achieved fifth place in Los Angeles, ninth place in Hong Kong and fifth – and celebrated – in Singapore.
