Cape Town - Following Saturday’s narrow defeat at the hands of England, Argentina’s stand-in captain, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe says their will be no let up in intensity as they go in search of their first win of the tournament.
Lobbe, one of the 10 Pumas who have survived from the 2007 edition of the tournament has stated that they will not hold anything back when they take to the field against Romania in Invercargill on Saturday.
The Pumas will go into the clash with only two injury concerns, namely Felipe Contepomi, who Lobbe has replaced as captain and centre, Gonzalo Tiesi, who will play no part in the World Cup after sustaining ligament damage in his knee.
“Contepomi will be missed,” Lobbe told New Zealand sports website Sportal.
“He is our star, our leader. He is the type of player we believe you always need in a team.
“But we believe we have a strong squad and we’re going to do our best to try to make sure we miss him not so much."
“We all talk the same in this team. Everything we do is positive. The only way to do that is to put your body and heart on the line and give everything. That’s the way we play and that’s the way we feel strong,” added Lobbe.
While Lobbe is obviously disappointed at his team’s defeat to the English, he applauded the crowd support they received at Dunedin’s Otago Stadium.
“We lost it rather than England won it. We went into the game to win it and we’re very disappointed. But the amount of passion and intensity we put into the game was a good sign. England is over now and now we think about Romania,” he said.
“The crowds in New Zealand and Australia go against the English and there was a huge number of Argentineans. Usually we are very loud. We like to shout and to sing and most of the New Zealand fans cheered for our side. It was a nice crowd.”
Lobbe, one of the 10 Pumas who have survived from the 2007 edition of the tournament has stated that they will not hold anything back when they take to the field against Romania in Invercargill on Saturday.
The Pumas will go into the clash with only two injury concerns, namely Felipe Contepomi, who Lobbe has replaced as captain and centre, Gonzalo Tiesi, who will play no part in the World Cup after sustaining ligament damage in his knee.
“Contepomi will be missed,” Lobbe told New Zealand sports website Sportal.
“He is our star, our leader. He is the type of player we believe you always need in a team.
“But we believe we have a strong squad and we’re going to do our best to try to make sure we miss him not so much."
“We all talk the same in this team. Everything we do is positive. The only way to do that is to put your body and heart on the line and give everything. That’s the way we play and that’s the way we feel strong,” added Lobbe.
While Lobbe is obviously disappointed at his team’s defeat to the English, he applauded the crowd support they received at Dunedin’s Otago Stadium.
“We lost it rather than England won it. We went into the game to win it and we’re very disappointed. But the amount of passion and intensity we put into the game was a good sign. England is over now and now we think about Romania,” he said.
“The crowds in New Zealand and Australia go against the English and there was a huge number of Argentineans. Usually we are very loud. We like to shout and to sing and most of the New Zealand fans cheered for our side. It was a nice crowd.”