It was a beautiful day in Nelson, as both the All Blacks and Pumas put the finishing touches on their preparations for Saturday night’s test match.
Pumas skipper Agustin Creevy was in a light-hearted mood, saying that the team was enjoying the weather far more than Auckland, where they had been based up until yesterday.
“We have had two weeks to prepare for this game, for us the All Blacks is the biggest. We will work a lot tomorrow to have a very good match,” he said.
Creevy was full of praise for new coach Mario Ledesma, who guided the team to a victory over South Africa in Mendoza in their last test.
“He changed our mentality. He came and put pressure on, that was good for us.”
Meanwhile All Black captain Kieran Read was typically full of praise for Los Pumas and was excited about the new look All Black side.
“We’ve got some fresh faces in there, there’s definitely a spark but we need to sure we turn up with physicality and the right attitude. The Argies will come out and play hard,” he told the assembled media at Trafalgar Park.
He singled out Richie Mo’unga, who will be making his first test start, as someone that has impressed him during the week.
“I’ve just told him all week: just go out and play your game. He’ll do a great job.”
Like Creevy, Read was enjoying the week in sunny Nelson.
“We’ve had a great time, and the best way to repay [the people] is to put on a great performance.”
Odds are that they’ll get to see one, with the ground sold out and the All Blacks heavy favourites.