Rugby-Argentina look to take positives into second match against All Blacks
The two countries meet again in Buenos Aires on Saturday in their second game of the Southern Hemisphere competition after the All Blacks won 41-24 last weekend.
"Obviously, it's the All Blacks. They knew how to take advantage of our mistakes,' Isgro told reporters at training.
"But we also cancelled a lot of what they had planned, but they changed their game and started to make it simpler, and we couldn't dominate them there.
"Even so, I think we were in the contest throughout the entire match. We came within a try in the second half of tying them. There were a lot of things that we worked on during the week before that we utilised well in the match, which for me is super important."
The 26-year-old, who plays his club rugby at Harlequins in London, was one of the three try scorers for Argentina in Cordoba.
"It was my first game against the All Blacks. There's something different about playing them," he said.
'The day before the test, I remembered when I used to do the haka at home. There were sentimental aspects to playing the All Blacks, which made me really emotional.
"But once I was out there, I knew the attention the game required, and you must try to manage any emotions.
"Personally, I felt good. I'm quite self-critical. I know I must keep improving and there are things I can do much better.'
Looking ahead to Saturday's game at Estadio Jose Amalfitani, Isgro said: "This weekend is going to be tougher and they're going to come with other things.
"We have to focus on ourselves. We made a lot of unforced errors in the match, and we have to work on that, on the details."
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Johannesburg; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
20 minutes ago
- The Star
Golf-Donald welcomes happy headache as Ryder Cup crunch time looms
May 16, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Luke Donald hits his second shot on the second hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Hollow. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is happy to have a good headache as decision-day looms to finalise his team ahead of the clash with the United States in New York next month. One of the six automatic places is still up for grabs ahead of this weekend's British Masters at The Belfry but Ireland's Shane Lowry, who occupies sixth place in the rankings, is not playing, opening the door for Rasmus Hojgaard. Finishing in a two-way tie for 29th, or better, will mean Denmark's Hojgaard will join already-qualified Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton in Donald's team. Beyond the automatic places, Donald will have six captain's picks, and he will be keeping a keen eye on several candidates at the Belfry, the PGA Tour Championship, which is also this week, and at next week's European Masters in Switzerland. "Every Ryder Cup, there is always a push by some people who have a good opportunity to claim a place," Donald, whose team beat the United States in Rome two years ago, said. "It is a little bit of a headache for me, but a good headache. The more options we have for those picks the better." Donald announces his six picks on September 1 and faces a tough dilemma with the likes of Spain's Jon Rahm, England's Matt Fitzpatrick, Sweden's Ludvig Aberg and Austria's Sepp Straka, all requiring the nod from the captain. English trio Aaron Rai, Marco Penge and Harry Hall are also on Donald's radar. Penge, who won the Danish Open last week, and Rai will both be in action at the Belfry while Hall will seek to impress from afar at the Tour Championship. While Donald says the team bond that was evident at the Marco Simone Club two years ago was vital, he is not discounting shaking it up with some rookies. "Having some continuity is good but also having fresh blood, having rookies, that could be good, too. It's not cut and dry," Donald said. "But certainly from a continuity standpoint, they understand how I work. I understand them quite well. "Those are all positives for sure." The Ryder Cup takes place at Bethpage Black Course, Farmingdale, starting on September 26 with the United States aiming to reclaim the trophy after a 16 1/2 - 11 1/2 loss in Italy. (Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Toby Davis)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Rugby-Springboks locked in to improved set-piece against Australia
Rugby Union - Rugby Championship - South Africa v Australia - Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa - August 16, 2025 South Africa's Damian Willemse in action with Australia's Tate McDermott and Andrew Kellaway REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -South Africa's video analysis of their stunning 38-22 Rugby Championship defeat to Australia would have been a hard watch, not least the set-piece where they lost five lineouts, normally such a reliable area of their game from which to launch attacks. Australia managed to disrupt the Springboks' set-piece as they won at Ellis Park on Saturday for the first time in 62 years having rallied from 22-0 down in a second-half display for the ages. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has rotated both locks from that game for the second test against Australia in Cape Town on Saturday, with Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth dropping to the bench. In come RG Snyman and Ruan Nortje, with Franco Mostert selected at flanker, but also a formidable lineout jumper. "All credit to Australia for how they handled the lineouts last week," Nortje told reporters on Wednesday. "It's not just the players who were on the field, all the locks sat together and made plans from the Sunday before the match. "So we need to ensure that we are more effective in that department this weekend. "We know we are much better than what we showed in Johannesburg, so it will be vital for us to stick to our plans this week and to go out there and be as physical as possible." Nortje, 27, is very much the junior in the Springbok lock collection, but has been impressive in his seven caps to date. "It's special for me to be part of this group of locks," he said. "Many of them have been my heroes since I started playing junior rugby, so I try to learn with each opportunity I get to play and train with them." Defending champions South Africa need a victory on Saturday to rekindle their title hopes with a tough two-match tour in New Zealand coming up next month. (Reporting by Nick SaidEditing by Toby Davis)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Disney's new ESPN app reaches for sports fans outside cable TV
FILE PHOTO: A 3D printed Disney logo is seen in front of the ESPN logo in this illustration created on July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo LOS ANGELES -Walt Disney's ESPN will deliver its full range of sports programming outside of pay TV for the first time starting on Thursday, when the network debuts an app designed to be a hub for live games and personalized news, stats and highlights. The ESPN app is Disney's effort to capture some of the tens of millions of customers that the pioneering sports channel has lost since 2010 during the streaming TV revolution. ESPN executives said they have tailored the new offering, which is far broader than the limited ESPN+ app launched in 2018, to cater to the tastes of today's sports fans. "We know that fans don't just want to watch," ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told reporters. "They want an experience. They want to interact." The app will offer more than 47,000 live events each year from the NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, college football, tennis, golf and other sports. It will cost $30 per month. An introductory offer will include ad-supported versions of the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services for free. Fans can enter their favorite teams and sports for customization such as a personalized version of the "SportsCenter" news and recap show. Artificial intelligence will generate narration based on the voices of ESPN anchors. A new feature called "Verts," or scroll-ready, vertical video highlights, also can be tailored. Stats for a user's fantasy players will be displayed next to live games. And an ESPN Bet tab will show live, settled and upcoming bets for users who have linked their betting accounts. Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger has called the app "a sports fan's dream." Industry analysts see it as a chance for the company to pick up fans who do not subscribe to cable, and they do not expect it will pull masses from pay TV. ESPN was available in 100 million homes through pay TV in 2010. In July of this year, that number stood at about 61 million. "It's another step in Disney's pivot to (streaming) and the importance to streaming to the overall company," said MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman. ESPN will promote the app extensively. Actor John Cena will star in commercials that stress "All of ESPN. All in One Place." Pay television will "remain a big part" of ESPN's business, Pitaro said. For the quarter that ended in June, ESPN accounted for $1 billion of Disney's $4.6 billion in operating income, or nearly 22%. Most of ESPN's revenue came from fees paid by cable and satellite distributors and from advertising. Subscribers to pay TV will have access to the new ESPN app. Pitaro said the company hoped to drive all of its customers to the app "because that's by far the best, the most holistic experience." (Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
