He does not agree and he has made it known. Absolutely! A few hours after the nomination of Frenchman Antoine Dupont among the finalists for the title of best player of the year 2024 in rugby sevens, announced Monday by World Rugby, Santiago Gomez Cora spoke. The Argentina coach spoke on ESPN and did not hide his anger at an appointment that he considers illegitimate.
“I don’t agree at all,” thundered the Argentine coach. I now understand many things that I already assumed. He played two stages of the world circuit (out of seven in the regular season), including one as a substitute. He played a total of 12 minutes in Vancouver and they put him on the roster. From there we got worried. In Los Angeles he played a little longer and was named the tournament’s best player and so on. And now the player of the year. I think it’s too much and it’s a lack of respect. »
#RUGBY 🏈
Santiago Gómez Cora, head coach of Los Pumas 7’s, expressed in the Scrum Team his disagreement with Antoine Dupont’s nomination for Best Sevens Player.https://t.co/5lanVZOBzs
— ESPN Argentina (@ESPNArgentina) November 19, 2024
He also points out the rules of the international federation which “for two years” no longer allow coaches to participate in votes. “They stopped asking us because we were voting for a player, without marketing criteria,” he complains.
If the Argentinian selection dominated the regular season, it failed during the two main meetings, notably during the Paris Games where Antoine Dupont’s Blues won gold, after notably being eliminated in the quarter-finals… Argentina (26-14). A detail that Santiago Gomez Cora certainly forgets… just like France’s victory at the tournament in Madrid.
A new controversy between Argentinians and French which should not destabilize the French scrum half. Three years after being named the best player in the world at XV, he could achieve an unprecedented double. The other finalists are his partner Aaron Grandidier and the Irishman Terry Kennedy, already crowned in 2022.
The names of the winners will be announced on Sunday in Monaco during the World Rugby Awards.
