Rugby: They dropped the ball - Pumas great Hugo Porta's surprise at All Blacks failure

Former great Argentina first-five Hugo Porta, a man whose test career spanned an incredible 20 years and a player who never saw a ball he didn't want to kick over a crossbar, has expressed his incredulity at the All Blacks' tactics in their defeat to South Africa.

Porta, now 67, was a player virtually synonymous with the dropped goal during his 66 tests between 1971 and 1990.

He kicked three, plus four penalties, for the Pumas in their famous 21-all draw against the All Blacks in Buenos Aires in 1985, the closest they have ever got to beating New Zealand.

Porta kicked 28 dropped goals in total during his career and said if any occasion called for the tactic it was when the All Blacks were down 34-36 to the Springboks in the final minute of the test at Westpac Stadium a fortnight ago. He has a supporter in Steve Hansen, here, too, for instead of going for the kick the All Blacks continued to press for the try but to no avail.

"I was surprised, I was really surprised," Porta told Radio Sport's Matt Brown in an interview that will be broadcast tomorrow morning. "I couldn't believe they didn't kick it. It was for the winning of the game and in the last minute."

To a suggestion that the All Blacks had so often got the job done in the past when backing their attacking talents, Porta replied: "The job is done when you win the game. You must be intelligent enough to use your opportunities. If you lose the game by two points – and it was an easy dropped goal to score … I would have kicked the dropped goal for sure."

Hugo Porta captained the Pumas on 34 occasions, including the first World Cup in 1987. Photo / Photosport

And yet, that is merely Porta's opinion, as he will freely admit. The Argentine, who was a former ambassador to South Africa during the turbulent years before Nelson Mandela came to power, and was appointed national sports minister on his return to Buenos Aires, is a big believer in allowing players to make their own decisions on the field.

In an interview with the Herald in Buenos Aires in 2012, Porta, an advocate of club rugby and the capacity for it to enhance a player's overall character, brought up the issue of coaches having too much control on the pitch.

On the messages relayed to players during tests and the intense analysis so prevalent in the game now, Porta asked: "What is the challenge here? And what are we learning here? Are we learning to think for ourselves under pressure? Because they are the things we are going to use for our lives."

An engaging character and a wonderful ambassador for the game, Porta, a World Rugby Hall of Famer and popular figure in his homeland and around the rest of the world, has not surprisingly been buoyed by the progress of the Pumas under coach Mario Ledesma.

They go into Sunday's test at the Estadio José Amalfitani following their first victory over the Wallabies in Australia for the first time in 30 years, but Porta is a pragmatic supporter as well as a loyal one.

"If they win it's going to be unbelievable but we have to be realistic," he said. "What we have to ask the players is to give their best and then we will see about the result.

"There is a big expectation here by the press because of how they performed in the last two games, but we'll have to see.

"The team has performed very well in the last three or four games, especially with the new coaches and new shape to the team. We are waiting to see what happens. We know we are playing against the best team nowadays. Hopefully we will play a good game. What we want from the Pumas is … for the players to give it all."

For the full Hugo Porta interview with Matt Brown, tune in to the Radio Sport Breakfast on Saturday morning