“The way in which I have to leave is with the same integrity that I had to face the project, with all the passion, I had been reflecting on it, I talked about it with my family and I think that last year we did not see an improvement, as it had been happening before “the coach confessed excitedly at a press conference.
“A cycle was closed, a chapter of the game, we left Los Pumas in the same place as when we took office in June 2008”he added and revealed that “I felt the final decision in my belly, in my heart and in my head.”
Ledesma reflected: “Who wants to get away from Los Pumas? No one. But the important thing is to put the team first and you have to be humble and be consistent with it”.
And pointed out that “In the must is not to have not reached the World Cup in France 2023, my resignation is due to the end of a cycle”, clarifying that “I do not have any offer from abroad and I would never be able to resign for that reason. Nothing is worth more than be the coach of Los Pumas”.
The 48-year-old coach expressed that “Today I spoke with the technical staff and with the most important players in the group and I informed them of the decision I had been thinking about and that it was the best for Argentine rugby”while indicating that he was “very grateful, since I always felt supported by the leaders, the players and all those who in some way accompanied my cycle”.
“I leave Los Pumas in an excellent position, with a group of professional players who endured playing for so long as visitors locked in bubbles. I don’t know if my message and game idea was understood by the players, but the truth is that the group was always united both the players and the technical staff”he added.
The Argentine Rugby Union (UAR) appointed to Ledesma in June 2008, replacing Tucuman Daniel Hourcadeand assumed the position in August along with the technical staff made up of Nicholas Fernandez Miranda at first and then Marcelo Loffreda, Juan Fernandez Lobbe and Australian Michael Cheika.
The president of the UAR, Marcelo Rodrigueznoted for his part that “I was surprised by Ledesma’s decision, since I didn’t expect it, although I am aware that the last two years have been very hard and have moved the times forward”.
“The UAR thanks Ledesma for his work at the helm of Los Pumas and the current Board of Directors, whose term ends at the end of March. The next one to be elected will make the decision to hire a new coach”he stated, adding “how am I going to think who is going to replace Ledesma if I take this decision by surprise”.
Ledesma achieved in his cycle at the head of The Cougars eight wins, three draws and suffered 22 losses, reaching a discreet 29 percent effectiveness.
The positive fact of his leadership was the historic victory against the All Blacks of New Zealand, by 25 to 15, a match played in Australia on November 17, 2020 at the start of the Tri Nations tournament.
In return, The Cougars They were eliminated in the initial phase of the 2019 World Cup in Japan by losing to France and England, the most discreet performance in the professional era.
In 2021, the Argentine team closed the season with a negative balance of eight losses, three wins and one draw, ending the international competition in the worst way by falling categorically against Ireland (53-7).
In the strong Rugby Championship, which they share with powerhouses New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, Los Pumas lost every game in 2021 and scored no points, the worst performance in tournament history.
Ledesma, started as a player in Curupaytí, joined the Argentine national team between 1996 and 2011, and participated in four World Cups. He contested 82 test matches and scored four tries. He is the fourth player with the most appearances in the albiceleste team.
He also played in France and in 2001 he moved to Narbonne, two years later he did it to Castres and finally in 2005 he concluded his sports career at Clermont.
He began his professional coaching career as an assistant to Michael Cheika between 2011/2012 at the Stade Francais in Paris and a year later he accompanied Fabién Galthie on the technical staff at Montpellier.
He was Cheika’s assistant in the Australian team at the 2015 World Cup in England, in which the Wallabies lost the final against New Zealand 34-17.
Source: Ambito
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