Contepomi looking for the 'perfect match'

Argentinian captain Felipe Contepomi would love to lead his side to a repeat against France on Saturday of what he believes was the perfect match - June's 41-13 humiliation of the Six Nations Grand Slam champions.

The 33-year-old kicker - who will win his 69th cap since making his debut 12 years ago - has replaced the retired Agustin Pichot as both the on the pitch captain and according to French kicking coach and his predecessor Gonzalo Quesada also off it.

Contepomi - a key member of the side that reached the 2007 World Cup semifinals and then beat France for a second time in the tournament in the third place match - still revels in the memory of the June match in Buenos Aires where they dismantled the French, who had arrived euphoric on the back of their first Grand Slam since 2004.

"I think that it is the best match Argentina have played in the past two years," he told AFP.

"We succeeded with everything we tried, but that is indeed a rare match. Normally we would have committed a lot more mistakes.

"It is the perfect match that one produces in every 10 matches," added Contepomi, whose contribution was enormous as he scored 31 points including two tries.

Contepomi, a qualified surgeon who completed his studies at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin whilst enjoying a successful spell with Leinster, said that the match had been a landmark moment for him and his team-mates as they also recorded their seventh win in their last nine matches.

"That match was very important because it showed us that we were on the right path," he said.

"We needed a really good match because we had begun a new cycle a year-and-a-half ago, but without achieving a notable result."

Contepomi, whose father Carlos is also a surgeon and a former international as well as being the national coach from 1976-79, has joined the numerous Argentinians playing in France, which might explain how more than most teams they have got the better of the French, since he ended his six year spell in Leinster.

Contepomi joined big spending Top 14 side Toulon, where he rubs shoulders with another kicking legend England's Jonny Wilkinson, and said that France was a natural spiritual home for him and his compatriots.

"For us Argentinians, French rugby has been an example," he said.

"When I was young, in the 80's and 90's, I was going to watch the French side when they came to Argentina to play.

"We love the French rugby culture. It is the reason for which the majority of Argentinians play in France today," he added.

AFP