LEINSTER BACKS COACH Felipe Contepomi says he has had no contact with the Argentine Rugby Union over the vacant Argentina head coach role.
The former Argentina out-half has been linked with the Pumas job since Mario Ledesma stepped down from the position in early February.
However Contepomi says he’s not engaged in any discussions with Argentina, and remains happy in his current role with Leinster.
“There’s not much I can say. From the union, no one contacted me. I think it comes more from a rumour or something,” Contepomi says.
“From what I read in the news, I haven’t heard anything official from the union publicly, I have as much information as you. I think it’s more of an estimation because they put the names of Argentinian professional coaches, which is not that many, so that’s how they chucked them into it (story). But there is nothing obvious that I know.”
Contepomi says that while the position would appeal to him, he appreciates the position he has at Leinster, where he has one year left on his current contract.
“Look, obviously international rugby is the pinnacle for coaching. But having said that, I always say in this profession, it’s very, very difficult to draw a pathway. If even Messi, the best player ever maybe, couldn’t even decide his future, imagine what it’s like for us!
I am really happy here. I have got one more year (on my) contract. I am happy, I think I am lucky I am in an environment that many people would like to be.
“I am just focusing on the present. It’s something that we always ask the players to do, so if we ask them to do it, we have to do it ourselves. It’s part of my job and I am really happy here.”
In light of the speculation linking Contepomi with a return to his native Argentina, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has said he ‘wouldn’t stand in anyone’s way’ if any of his coaching team wanted to move on from the province.
Contepomi spent time working with the Argentina XV and Super Rugby side the Jaguares before joining Leinster’s coaching staff in 2018, and admits that while he’s still enjoying life with Leinster, he’d like to take on the challenge of a head coach role at some stage.
“Yeah, (I’d like to be a head coach) but again, I always says you prepare yourself. I always approach my life like this – you need to be improving as a person, in your profession and so on. I feel I am doing that here in Leinster.
If an opportunity comes up to become a head coach or something else, I will definitely take it into account and I’ll discuss it. It’s always very open here and that’s the good thing with Leo and Guy (Easterby), whoever I have to talk to.
“But for the moment, I feel I am in a very good environment where I can keep improving, keep learning. And that’s the most important thing.
“The moment you stagnate yourself and your curve is not going upwards, that’s the time you definitely have to move on. But I don’t feel that has arrived to me. I am pretty happy with the dynamic we have here, the people I work with and the dynamic we have here in Leinster.”
Whoever does take on the Argentina job will find themselves facing a tricky task. The 2023 World Cup is fast approaching, and Argentina’s Test team were particularly badly affected by the Covid pandemic.
The Pumas haven’t played a home Test since August 2019 and won just three of their 12 Test games last year. There is clearly plenty of work to do for the next man in.
“To be honest, I know Argentinian rugby but I haven’t been involved with it in the last four years, or the last three and a half years, so there’s a lot that has happened in that time and maybe I’ve missed details that I don’t know,” Contepomi continues.
“With this pandemic there’s definitely been a dynamic that has changed rugby worldwide in terms of Super Rugby not being there anymore, Argentina lost their franchise (Jaguares).
“All the players are playing in Europe and now South Africa, with all the rumours – and I don’t know how true or not they are – about them (South Africa) moving into the Six Nations in the medium term future after 2025, so you don’t know where it’s (the global calendar) going.
“And Argentina? I don’t know, I haven’t spoken to any administrative figure in that sense.
“I think it’s a challenge. Now, when you face that, the first thing you have to do is see the reality and when you do that you find challenges and you try to make the best with that, and I’m sure that whoever takes over, Argentina will analyse that and see how they can best get there for the World Cup.
“But yeah, there are challenges there. It’s definitely not as smooth as other countries in terms of organisation, but it’s the way it is.”
Comedian Michael Fry is our special guest on this week’s episode of The Front Row, in partnership with Guinness. Joining host Seán Burke, Eimear Considine and Murray Kinsella, he chats about his family’s rugby background and his short-lived playing days, before using his musical ear to rank the anthems of each Guinness Six Nations team. Click here to subscribe or listen below:
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