Wyllie bows out with high expectations
Alex Wyllie believes that the Puma's success in the World Cup will do much to improve the standing of South American rugby on the world stage.
The former All Black who is due to take up his new post as coach of Irish Club Bective Rangers in the next few days claims that his Argentinean side have "learnt a lot from this whole experience."
Despite an excellent display in Dublin yesterday the Puma's lost out to a rekindled French side, only losing touch in the last 10 minutes of the game.
After only one win in their previous three World Cup campaigns the Puma's can return home justifiably proud of their performance in this tournament, and especially of their excellent victory over Ireland in the quarter-final play-off.
"Obviously I'm very proud of the way we played," said Wyllie. "You couldn't have asked for any more from them as individuals or as a team. I know there were times perhaps when we didn't play the greatest rugby but we were in a difficult group."
Wylie feels that their results should earn them a higher profile in terms of test opponents, and their proposed inclusion in next year's Epson Cup will be a significant step.
"We once went nine months without a test, and that's just too long. If we want to compete at the top then we really need to be playing at that level more often. This has been a great experience for all the players. They've really learnt a lot and helped the game in Argentina. I think even some of their greatest supporters would be surprised by how well they've done but let's just hope that this is just the start of it."
1. Max Verstappen ()
