Santiago Gomez Cora: Delighted with first two rounds

Santiago Gomez Cora coached his side to a runners-up silver medal at the inaugural HSBC Cape Town Sevens, where his side fell short to a South African side playing on home soil and looking for a third successive sevens series title in front of their fans.

It was one step too far for the Pumas, who had played in two enthralling matches in their quarter-final, where they beat New Zealand for the first time since 2006, and Kenya which they won narrowly 26-24 with Biko Adema missing a conversion at the end which would have taken the match to sudden death extra time.

I am delighted with the way in which the first tour of the season finished, playing the final in Cape Town. As a player I had been in teams that reached finals – winning twice, the first in Los Angeles in 2004 I could not play as I had had an earlier knock in the head and the second, on the field as captain, in San Diego five years later. This is the first time a team I coach reached a Cup final and it is a fulfilling sensation.

As a player you are focused on your own job but as a coach you have responsibilities over a lot of things: from how you are going to play, that staff and players are in the right frame of mind. It is much harder but when it is all over, the pride is huge.

Having reached the final was the reward for a team that always wants more and is willing to put the extra work in. We lost our captain Gastón Revol in Dubai, but with a large squad working since the beginning of the season we could call another experienced player in former captain Nicolás Bruzzone; the team did not suffer because of the change in names.

In sevens it is crucial to be very certain of what you want to achieve on the field of play. You must master tactics and technique as well as adjusting your game plan according to the opponent. When you are playing the second tournament of the tour, time is insufficient and you must work on details.

After Dubai, with little time to make wholesale changes, we focused on the finer details which, at the end of the day, are the difference between winning or losing.

In that second week on tour it is very important to organise the schedule in a way that you work on recovery and releasing tension after so much travel. Tiredness accumulates and we must be intelligent and have the work and rest periods well mapped out. Every team operates in similar manner, trying to administer the physical workload of its players.

In a city full of options, we chose to go to the beautiful beaches of Camp’s Bay, where we relaxed and drank mate, our herbal tea. The water was so cold that it felt like a huge ice bath!

This season is very tight and it is noticeable after the opening two tournaments; those teams that in Dubai played in the finals ended up playing the Bowl or not making it past the quarter-finals in Cape Town. It is so close that it comes down to the finer details that can put you in a Cup final.

After so much work, to see the benefits is a placer and vindicates all that we have been doing until now; no one doubts that these are all stepping stones towards the Olympic Games.

The other day, World Rugby told the story of our friend Joshua. He is our South African talisman and is always with us when we come to this country. He anxiously waits all year for his week with Argentina and we are delighted to have him around and help him as much as he helps us. We also assist him during the year from a distance.

These type of human relations are crucial with so much travel and effort the team puts in. Joshua means a lot to us and having been able to play the final in his country is now a great memory. It wasn’t enough to win, but we are on the right path so we are delighted to take the silver medal. This is clearly a huge boost as we now start focusing in Wellington and Sydney.