Pablo Matera plays on the edge — and occasionally topples. Photo: Michael Regan/World Rugby
Whatever happened to rugby's «rapist» '? These attackers, mostly locks, are responsible for maintaining order (sometimes, I must say, illegally) and intimidating opponents with their physical strength and aggression.
The likes of Martin Johnson, Bakkis Botha and, even further, Alain Estev. Eben Etzebeth is perhaps as close to it as a modern game can be, but even his former second-row partner regretted losing these players to rugby's zeitgeist.
“In my time, it felt like there were more personalities on the pitch,” Botha told the Midi Olympique in July. “Today the players are all the same with each other. People called me «enforcer» — and I liked it. I found it spices up the spectacle because professional sports are spectacle too, right? The evolution of the laws has rid the sport of «enforcers» in my understanding; you won't get away with picking up trash like I did.»
Bota, of course, is absolutely right. Rugby has become increasingly uniform and outdated, partly due to the need to clean up their game. With the exception of Los Pumas, the team that England will face on Saturday in Marseilles, there is a cabal of players who are still blazing this trail with Etzebeth, who are physically forcing themselves on the opposing teams; often with stunning effect.
Players like Marcos Kremer, Tomas Lavanini and Pablo Matera play on the edge and, admittedly, sometimes topple. Kremer is currently suspended for a nasty shoulder hit in the Stade Français playoff game by Racing 92; Lavanini is the most card player of the national team of all time; and Matera's modus operandi is to be bold and violent. However, Kremer and Matera are certainly constantly knocking on the door for inclusion in World XV.
«This is the backbone of the Argentinean game»
Juan Martin Hernandez, the Argentinean rock star who won the 2007 World Cup, played with all three. It's just a way for him to channel and control the pride and passion that comes with Latino blood.
«They're really passionate players,» Hernandez, now based in Buenos Aires, told Telegraph Sport. . “They are great guys with big hearts. They like to play for Argentina. In wrestling, the strength and ferocity of their actions is their way of showing how much they love their country and playing as Argentina.
“This game is the basis of the Argentinean game. Every Argentinean player has that passion, but these guys have a power that gives them even more. They like to say that.
“I used to make a deal with them in training. If I had seen a gap next to them, I would not have broken the line, but they agreed not to beat me either. “I know that you are passionate and doing the right thing,” I said. «But not with me — I'm old.»
«I know how strong they are in contact. When you see Lavanini going to clear the dirt, you hesitate a little.
“Laws make the game … not “softer”, but cleaner. Every country has aggressive players. Look at Ezebeth and Du Toit with South Africa. They love to impose themselves and let you know they're here.»
Eben Etzebeth (right) — South Africa&# 39 ;s “enforcer” Photo: Said Khan/AFP
Hernandez calls the likes of Rodrigo Roncero, Mario Ledesma, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Manuel Legizamon players of their generation who played in a similar manner, setting the stage for a string of strong players to follow. So is it genetic? Hernandez, who wasn't a cowardly purple himself (ask Alesana Tuilagi, the Leicester striker who was on the finish line of a phenomenal Argentine shoulder save in the 2007 European Cup quarter-finals), doesn't believe it.
“We are not such a strong race, but … we do not give up,” he says. “I had to spend hours at the gym. But if you look at Tuilagi, Tongans, Fijians, Samoans and South Africans, they don't even need to lift weights. The second half of the season they never went to the gym. I didn't have that advantage.
“But we are proud people – and we are proud of our rugby team. If I thought twice about it, I probably wouldn't have hit Tuilagi the same way, but you are at the moment and he flew right down the touchline. I never asked him why he didn't come inside? We broke the photographer's computer — well, he did it.» (watch the video below)
This weekend, Hernandez's eye is set on Saturday's Marseille, where the trio of Cremer, Lavanini and Matera will line up next to other brilliant Argentines such as captain Julián Montoya and defender Emiliano Boffelli against England in Group D's biggest ever fixture. Ironically for the Pumas, the scrum is one area where Steve Borthwick's side can count on their chances.
“It's a 50/50 game,” Hernandez adds. “England are not at their best right now and Argentina are getting stronger and more confident. But there are still big players in England — and they are always focused on the World Cup, except for the 2015 World Cup.
“Roncero and Ayersa were the last two Argentine grappling specialists. Now we do not have such specialists. In freedom the props are great, but in the scrum we are a bit behind what we used to be.”
In terms of physical intimidation, however, Argentina will have to pause a bit.
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