‘Better level… better decision-making… better intensity’: Moneta lifts lid on Argentina’s success

Argentina are chasing quite a prize in Los Angeles this weekend. Not only can the men in blue and white become the first nation to complete a men’s HSBC SVNS league and Grand Final double, they can also underline their status as the “best team in the world right now”. 

Both accolades are driving the team forward, as are a pair of painful yet instructive memories. 

“The Grand Final loss, of course it was hard,” Marcos Moneta said of Argentina’s 19-5 defeat to France in last season’s title match. “But it was really tough to lose to France at the Olympics (26-14 in the quarter-finals). 

“We spent two or three months afterwards where we tried to understand it and see where we failed. We learned a lot, a lot about us. 

“This season we have had a better level of rugby in attack, in defence, but also, we had better decision-making in certain moments of the game that are key; in quarter-finals and semi-finals, or what to do with the last ball of the first half. In those decisive moments, we now know how to recover or to win the game.” 

’Intensity in every point of the game’

As well as those visible improvements, there has also been an up-tick in something a little less tangible. 

“I think that one word is intensity, in every point of the game: in attack, in defence. That intensity that we have, I think that characterises us a lot, that is the word that defines us,” Moneta explained, adding with relish, “We talk with some of the players of other teams, and they tell us that we are really intense.” 

While successive wins in Perth, Vancouver and Hong Kong more than proved that it is all working, for Moneta one recent match proved the perfect indication of just how far they have come.

Having lost to a fired-up South Africa in their Pool A opener in Singapore earlier this month, Moneta and his teammates knew everything hinged on the game against Great Britain. 

Not just progression straight to the semi-finals, thanks to the shortened two-day format, but their whole season. Defeat and a subsequent ninth-place playoff would have left the door open for Fiji to sneak through and grab the SVNS league crown. Argentina’s stunning season would count for nothing. 

“That game was really stressful, but we knew how to play and win it,” said a grinning Moneta, whose second-minute try set Argentina on-course for a 19-12 win. 

The fact it was Moneta’s 150th score for his country – his remarkable record now stands at 152 in 176 matches – matters less to the 25-year-old than the fact that he and his teammates showed themselves they can win when it really matters. 

’Fear is a part of sports’

Despite the intensity, Moneta and his teammates have done plenty of smiling this season, too. And not just because they have only failed to finish on the podium once in six league stops (when fifth in Cape Town). 

“We always say to enjoy, to smile inside the pitch. When you do that, you play better, when you play with love, with good energy, with a smile on your face,” Moneta said.

The fact Argentina could once again fall at the ultimate hurdle is not a fear to be suppressed or ignored, but one to face, with the help of one of those smiles. 

“Fear is a part of sports. I think every athlete, including (Lionel) Messi or (Antoine) Dupont fear some situations, but it’s how you front up that fear and confront it in a good way,” Moneta explained. “If you have more fear, you have a bigger opportunity. And also, it symbolises that it means something to you.” 

’It’s a good place to celebrate’

The matches in Los Angeles clearly mean a huge amount to Moneta. 

Up against South Africa, a team that has arguably caused them more issues than any other season, Great Britain and last season’s nemesis France, it will take Argentina’s best just to get out of Pool A. But they are eying a far bigger prize. 

“We want to go to LA to show that we are the best team in the world, now. There’s nothing to fear. It’s a really good opportunity to prove that we still are the best,” Moneta said simply. 

“It would be really good to do it, to be the first ones to do it (to win both the league and the Grand Final). It would be a really, really good season, an almost perfect season.

“And it’s a good place to celebrate.”