Flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez says there was an unprecedented sense of belief in the Argentina squad that they could beat the All Blacks in Sydney on Saturday.

Sanchez was front and centre in Los Pumas’ 25-15 demolition of the All Blacks, scoring all of his team’s points via a self-converted try and six penalty kicks.

Speaking about the performance directly post-game, Sanchez said they always believed they could roll over New Zealand.

‘Before we arrived at the stadium we said “Today is the day”,’ he said. ‘We are so happy – a win against the All Blacks is great for us.’

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Prior to this match, Los Pumas had won just three of their past 36 Tests against tier-one nations prior. But captain Pablo Matera, who was equally impressive and emerged as best forward on the field on the day, said this result could be the turning point for Argentinian rugby.

‘It’s a big day for Argentina rugby and also for our country and our people,’ Matera explained after the game.

‘It’s very tough down there at the moment and it was tough for us to come here and prepare ourselves for this tournament. We wanted to show our people that if you work hard, you can get things done. We are really proud.

‘This is going to be massive. Kids can’t go to their home clubs at the moment because of the virus, but I’m sure they are going to feel proud of being Argentinian and being rugby players. It can bring a lot of new kids to the game.’

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