Ahead of Argentina’s Tri Nations clash with New Zealand, there are hopes grief will turn to passion following the unexpected death of soccer legend Diego Maradona.

Assistant coach of Argentina’s national rugby union team Michael Cheika told James Bracey the loss of a national icon has hit the players hard.

“They gave him a bit of an homage this morning.

“A lot of the boys probably weren’t even born when he was playing, but his reputation is so strong that they were all pretty emotional about it.

“Emotion’s a good thing, it’s part of who we are as people, you’ve just got to point it in the right direction.”

Mr Cheika joined the Argentine coaching team this year, but said it would be “an awesome privilege” to one day be offered a head coaching role in the NRL.

“It’s one of the great competitions in the world … it’s got everything.”

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