With the Tucumán "Leo" Gravano, Los Pumas 7s remain on the path to success

The moment that Los Pumas 7s are experiencing is splendid. Argentina sweeps the reduced game mode. After the last date that was played in Vancouver, the National Team won the Canadian tournament for the third time after triumphing in 2022 and 2023. The Pumas 7s adopted the healthy habit of being on the podium and, usually, in first place. Getting to this present was a work of almost a decade. Leonardo Gravano I was already in the sevens team processes before Santiago Gomez Cora He took over in September 2013 as national head coach. The Tucuman, former player of Los Tarcos, has since been the assistant to the head coach of Los Pumas 7s, leaders of the world ranking of the specialty, who continue to be the favorites to secure qualification for the Paris Olympic Games before anyone else. They will celebrate in June. Already installed in Los Angeles where the fifth stage of the World Sevens Circuit will be played starting on Friday, “Leo” recounted his feelings not only about the present, but also about everything he has experienced since 2009 in his 15 years as “albiceleste” coach. “.

– Luciano González Rizzoni, Tobías Wade and Matías Osadczuk are on the Vancouver Sevens ideal team. What does that do to the coaching staff? Does it mark great prestige?

– For us it is a huge satisfaction and a great pride that the boys win a place in the ideal team of a tournament. It is a nice recognition of the effort they make, first, to be on the team and have the possibility of playing many minutes. In some ways they also compete with the best players from all the other teams. It’s a nice prize. I don’t know if it marks a prestige, it marks a regularity and a consistency that is very difficult in this type of competition. Everything is very dynamic and the teams have very good players, being able to maintain good performances and good results is spectacular for us.

– They are having many first places. Do the repercussions between the media, family and colleagues change?

– What I feel is that people are getting very attached to this group of guys who are playing at a very high level and who somehow convey to people the commitment and passion with which they enter each game. Yes, there are many greetings, it is a great joy to know that you are accompanying us and encouraging us. No matter what time it is due to the time change, we always play away from our families and it is great that they can follow us and encourage us in that way. This Sunday was my mother’s birthday, Chechi Olarte de Gravano, and they all got together to celebrate with her and watched the game together there. They sent me videos and photos, it was spectacular to know that they were all there, suffering a little at the beginning and celebrating at the end…!!!

– What level of difficulty do you place on the title in Vancouver?

– All matches have different types of difficulty. Especially when you are in the final stages where a mistake makes you lose the game. We had already had several difficult games in the area. Canada stood up in the first game and made it very difficult for us, Spain seems to be easy because throughout the game we managed to score points difference, but in the development it causes a lot of physical wear and tear, they have good ball acquisition and control, they lack a little to define situations but it forces you to defend yourself a lot. And Fiji was a stick-by-stick match in which we scored twice in a row at the right moment, but they are also a very complicated opponent that can easily beat you, not to mention Samoa in the quarterfinals, which also started losing and ended there with just enough.

-They had to come back in the final. Was there talk about that situation of being at a disadvantage that perhaps they had not been experiencing much? It worries them?

– What New Zealand has is that it has everything: acquisition, attack, defense, they are physical, they are fast. They had a path to the final that was quite difficult, especially the semifinal with France that left their players very tired and beaten. We knew that because we had been following it throughout the tournament, we knew that if we lasted the first half we would have good chances in the second. In reality, we don’t worry about whether we start losing or winning, it’s more about trying to trust what we have been working on and if we can manage to have good actions that lead you to score points sooner, the better. If not, you have to focus quickly and start again.

– Did you think after being a player that you would be part of the process that is making Argentina a role model in the Sevens modality?

– I always really liked training players, sharing with the boys from that place is special because it is the best way to continue playing rugby. I never imagined reaching what is being achieved. What’s more, I still can’t believe it. There were so many years of working with these guys and staying halfway many times that being able to enjoy this present, and in many cases with the same players, is spectacular.

– How much did your life change after being part of the UAR staff?

– And it changed little by little as everything became more professional and demanded more and more time and work. We were putting together an increasingly larger structure and it took more time. We made the decision with Lizzi, my wife and our three children, Lisandro, Tiziana and María to continue working on this and overcome the most difficult of all, which is the travel and the number of days away. You miss most family events, club events, friends. But it is a nice place to work. It costs a lot but it’s worth it.

– They have already been the best in the ranking for several stages and the Olympic qualification is very close. Do you feel that you are the feared rival for the rest of the teams?

– The year in which there is an Olympic Games is different from previous ones because the teams improve their resources. The year is planned to get to the Games as best as possible and that is noticeable in all the previous tournaments. I don’t think anyone is afraid of another, we all know each other too well. We know what tools each one has when playing against each other. What is evident is a lot of respect. Above all, they are adjusting strategies to counteract a little of what has been going well for us. We do the same with everyone: we do not take any game for granted, we raise all the situations we may encounter, whether it is the first or the last team in the table. That’s what so many tournaments taught us about fighting from below, we’re not going to change it because we’re eventually first.