A spirited Argentina team beat France 33-25 in a frantic Test match in Buenos Aires as new head coach Felipe Contepomi notched up his maiden victory since taking charge of Los Pumas.
The victory was not only Contepomi’s first since taking over from Michael Cheika but also Los Pumas’ first win in Argentina since their 48-17 triumph over Australia in 2022.
It was a profitable day for the props, with Eduardo Bello and Thomas Gallo (2) both scoring for the Pumas, who were also awarded a penalty try, with Santiago Carreras racking up 11 points, including a try and three conversions.
As for Les Bleus, captain Baptiste Serin scored the opener with Emilien Gailleton and Theo Attisogbe also crossing for tries ― Antoine Hastoy adding 10 points from the tee.
Much of the build-up to the match was marred by off-field controversy from the French squad following Melvyn Jaminet’s racist comments on social media and a pair of players being arrested on accusations of sexual assault.
However, the game marked a significant milestone for Pumas flanker Pablo Matera, who earned his 100th Test cap for his country.
But it wasn’t a bright start for the hosts as Les Bleus captain Serin rounded off a lovely flowing attack from a turnover.
Argentina resounded swiftly as prop Bello forced his way over the line from close range as the Pumas pack flexed their muscles.
Hastoy kicked France back into the lead in the 24th minute but it did not last long again as just five minutes later, the Argentine pack lay down a marker. After their struggles in the scrum in Test I, Contepomi rang the changes up front and it had the desired effect as they obliterated Les Bleus’ front-row earning a penalty try on the 30 minute mark.
A bit of brilliance from Carreras saw him slice through the French defence, throwing a lovely dummy and speeding over the line with the resulting conversion, giving the Pumas a 21-10 lead at the break.
Fabien Galthie’s side came out firing in the second half, with Hastoy reducing the lead with a penalty before Gailleton and Attissogbe both crossed for tries in the opening 10 minutes of the second half to take a 21-25 lead.
Replacement prop Gallo quickly got his side back in the lead with a try from close range and doubled up in the 66th minute to take a 35-25 advantage, which they would hold onto until the final whistle, holding out all France’s attacks.
Argentina wrap up their July internationals next week against Uruguay while France return home to rest up before the start of next season.
The teams
Argentina: 15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Matias Orlando
France: 15 Leo Barre, 14 Theo Attissogbe, 13 Emile Gailleton, 12 Antoine Frisch, 11 Lester Etien, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Jordan Joseph, 7 Judicael Cancoriet, 6 Lenni Nouchi, 5 Baptiste Pesenti, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 George-Henri Colombe, 2 Gaetan Barlot, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements: 16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Posolo Tuilagi, 20 Romain Briatte, 21 Killian Tixeront, 22 Baptiste Jauneau, 23 Leo Berdeu
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