Pumas star Pablo Materea has revealed the reason behind his handshake snub of All Blacks hooker Dane Coles, after their heavy Rugby Championship defeat at Hamilton.
As part of the standard post-match ritual, New Zealand and Argentina players embraced each other, until Matera crossed paths with Coles.
Instead, the former Pumas loose forward ignored the All Black's gesture for a handshake and shoved his opposite with a look of contempt.
But the Crusaders No.8 has shed light on the incident, after a comment about his time in Christchurch and New Zealand irked him.
"I think he came in with 10 minutes left, and just continued picking on me in every ruck and every scrum, saying some things that really hurt, some strong things," Matera told James Marshall on the What a Lad podcast.
"I don't want to repeat it, but I couldn't understand why. They were winning by 40 points, he just came on… I didn't understand his attitude.
"I know he's a great player and I know he's a great guy as well, because his teammates spoke to me after the game and said 'he's a good guy', and I said 'I'm sure he's a good guy'.
"But I just didn't understand why he continued picking at me and he said things I'm sensitive about, like me being in New Zealand… 'You don't belong here'.
"I was, like, 'If you knew how much me and my family went through to be able to come here, you wouldn't be saying these things'."
Matera was a fan favourite during his time at the Crusaders, where he won a Super Rugby Pacific title in his sole season at Christchurch, but the 87-test capped player admits he regrets not shaking Coles' hand.
"That is not something I'm proud about, to be honest, because I know there are a lot of young kids, young players that watch the game and it's not a good example," he said.
"I'm one of the guys that say things that happen on the field, stay on the field, that's how it has to be always, but that day was a bit different to be honest, that day was a bit different."
