DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA: Argentina captain Julian Montoya says his side must learn from their mistakes if they want to advance as a team and lamented their poor discipline in Saturday’s 38-21 Rugby Championship loss to South Africa in Durban .
Victories in New Zealand and at home to Australia have arguably made this the best Southern Hemisphere championship ever for Montoya’s team, but it could also be a case of what would have been if they had maintained their discipline at key moments of the season.
They shook the Springboks in the second half and the goal line may have flattered the hosts, but 22 penalties conceded, four yellow cards and two penalty attempts tell the tale of Argentina weakened under pressure.
“We could see that if we were doing the things we wanted, we were in the game and anyone could win,” Montoya told ESPN Scrum. “We have to learn, I have to learn. We can no longer talk about the same thing (discipline).
“We can’t give away easy penalties and because of the accumulation of penalties we end up with yellow cards. We don’t just have to say we need to improve, we have to do it.”
“You look at yourself first, then you build and continue the process. There were many good things and many other things to correct.”
The Hooker considered it a missed opportunity in Durban with his side within three points of the Boks in the final quarter of the game.
“We respect who they are but need to trust each other more and know we can beat them. In fact, there was a time when we dominated a lot.
“We have to keep going like this – every minute counts, every action counts, every decision we make on the pitch counts. But I’m very proud of the team, how they reacted to different situations.”