Ruthless France punish mistake-ridden Argentina as Les Bleus complete unbeaten Autumn Nations Series campaign

France completed an unbeaten Autumn Nations Series campaign after they produced a dominant display to earn a 37-23 victory over Argentina in Paris.

Les Bleus started well, going 7-0 ahead via Thibaud Flament’s try, before the respective fly-halves took over.  Los Pumas’ Tomas Albornoz kicked three penalties while Thomas Ramos added two off the tee as the French moved into a 13-9 lead.

That was when the hosts took control as Gabin Villiere’s score and a penalty try, allied by another Ramos three-pointer, opened up a 21-point buffer at the interval.

Argentina improved after the break, as evidenced by tries for Thomas Gallo and Ignacio Ruiz, but they never truly threatened a comeback and Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s effort rounded off a good few weeks for France.

Los Pumas’ big issue has been their consistency ― a good performance against a top-tier nation being followed by an absolute capitulation ― and that theme effectively continued in Paris on Friday.

Felipe Contepomi’s men were confident going into this encounter after running Ireland close last weekend, but they were blown away in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

The opening stages had indicated what Les Bleus were capable of as a series of powerful carries put the visiting defence under pressure, allowing Antoine Dupont to send Flament across the whitewash.

At that point, the South Americans were already down to 14 men after Julian Montoya had been sin-binned for twisting the leg of Jean-Baptiste Gros, which ended the prop’s game, and those discipline issues were a significant factor in their downfall.

To Argentina’s credit, they did battle back, almost scoring through number eight Joaquin Oviedo, but it was the boot of Albornoz that ultimately chipped away at the lead.

The away side’s fly-half kicked three penalties to Ramos’ two as they went into the final eight minutes of the half just four points in arrears, but they then imploded.

Although the Argentines could not do too much about Villiere’s try, set up by Leo Barre’s excellent off-load, they made a catastrophic error for France’s third try.

More specifically, it was Juan Martin Gonzalez who was at fault.  Once again, Les Bleus did superbly to get into position as Dupont’s deft kick sent Ramos clear before the pivot dabbed it over the top for Bielle-Biarrey to chase.

It was a foot race between the French wing and the speedy Argentinian flanker.  Gonzalez appeared to have won that duel but then panicked and knocked the ball deliberately forward, leading to a yellow card and penalty try.

Ramos then made matters worse for the visitors by adding a three-pointer on the stroke of half-time, giving Los Pumas so much to do in the second period.

They set about their task impressively, battering away at Les Bleus’ line, and the pressure eventually resulted in Gallo crossing the whitewash.

With 25 minutes remaining, the visitors potentially had a route back into the game but, once again, they shot themselves in the foot.  Argentina conceded possession on their own 22 after an attempted box-kick was charged down and France ― for the umpteenth time ― ruthlessly took advantage of that mistake.

Fabien Galthie’s men found the space on the left-hand side and gave it to Bielle-Biarrey, who saw a chance in behind and kicked ahead.  Just like he did against the All Blacks the week prior, the youngster won the race decisively to seal the victory.

Argentina did have the final word on the scoreboard through Ruiz, but France deservedly emerged with a comfortable win.

The teams

France:  15 Leo Barre, 14 Gabin Villiere, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Charles Ollivon , 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchand, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Alexandre Roumat, 20 Mickael Guillard, 21 Marko Gazzotti, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Emilen Gailleton

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16, Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Marcos Kremer, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Santi Carreras, 23 Mateo Carreras

Referee:  Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Andrea Piardi (FIR), Morné Ferreira (SARU)
TMO:  Ian Tempest (RFU)

Ireland unconvincingly edge Argentina to bounce back from All Blacks defeat claiming a hard-fought three-point victory

Ireland bounced back from their second home loss under Andy Farrell to defeat Argentina 22-19 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday evening.

Jack Crowley led the charge for the hosts in the Autumn Nations Series encounter scoring 12 points including a try, a drop goal and two conversions while Mack Hansen and man of the match Joe McCarthy also crossed the whitewash.

For Argentina, Tomas Albornoz continued his stunning form in 2024 nailing all five of his shots at goal ― four penalties and a conversion ― while Juan Cruz Mallia scored Los Pumas’ only try of the match.

After losing their opening November international to the All Blacks, Farrell’s charges bounced back with a hard-fought and unconvincing victory over the Pumas who produced an inspired performance.

Ireland looked to apply pressure early on after a charge down following the restart but Argentina forced a turnover and cantered upfield with Argentina winger Bautista Delguy beating several defenders before Matias Moroni crossed the whitewash.  However, the try was chalked off after Moroni was judged to have tackled fly-half Crowley high and was sent to the sin bin with his tackle also being reviewed.

Andy Farrell’s charges quickly pounced and made the most of the man advantage as they struck from the resulting lineout with Rónan Kelleher powering off the back of a slick lineout move and moments later it was Crowley who forced his way over for his first-ever Test try which he duly converted.

Ireland scored their second try in just six minutes when Garry Ringrose tore through the defence after a spilt ball and raced into the Argentina 22.  Jamison Gibson-Park whipped a wide pass to Tadhg Beirne who unselfishly passed in side to Hansen to score his first try of the year after making his return from injury against New Zealand a week ago.

Moroni breathed a sigh of relief as his yellow card was not upgraded to a red one by the Foul Play Review Officer as they judged that it was a low level of danger allowing the centre to return to the action with Argentina down 12-3 after Albornoz converted a penalty moments before he returned.

Ireland looked to have gone even further ahead as Robbie Henshaw manufactured a stunning try-scoring opportunity only for the ever-impressive Beirne to spill the ball over the line with Moroni again involved with the Irish forward losing his control of the ball on the centre’s upper body.

In a helter-skelter 16 minutes, it was Ireland’s turn to go down a man as tighthead prop Finlay Bealham was sent to the sidelines for a croc roll on his opposite number Joel Sclavi ― and Albornoz added another penalty ― with his card also remaining yellow after an off-field review.  Ireland’s response came through Crowley again as the pivot nailed a drop goal to cancel out Los Pumas’ penalty on 21 minutes.  Kelleher ran an obstruction line four minutes later, allowing Albornoz another shot at reducing the lead and he duly took it.

McCarthy barged over for Ireland’s third when they were back to 15 men as James Lowe snuck through the smallest of holes after a lineout and the second rower crashed over as Ireland went 22-9 up after 32 minutes.

Argentina applied the pressure in the final moments of the half twice coming close to scoring a late try but were denied once by the bounce of the ball and another time by Beirne holding up the ball carrier, a turnover with the clocking going red denied the visitors as Ireland held a 13 point advantage at the break.

Argentina come out firing

After the break, it was the Pumas who drew first blood as Mallia scathed through the initial defence before racing into the Ireland 22 and skinned Hansen with a superb step to score the South American side’s first try of the game and cut the lead to six points.  Ireland were put under the pump in the early knockings of the second half and McCarthy paid the price after he was caught offside and was sent to the bin.  From the resulting penalty, Albornoz made it a three-point game.

There was no change to the score line for the next 20 minutes, with both sides enjoying long passages of play with the ball in hand, particularly Ireland with Farrell’s men notably turning down a shot at goal in order to run a set move from a tap and go ― they set a rolling maul from the tap but Argentina stalled them and turned the ball over a few phases later.

Momentum looked to have swung in Los Pumas’ favour after that turnover and a later pilfer at a breakdown but that was undone by a horrid Francisco Gomez Kodela clearout that resulted in the replacement prop being yellow-carded.  While the prop was off for the remainder of the match, his actions were deemed not to warrant a red card.

Ireland again went on the offensive but were denied by another breakdown pilfer giving the Pumas another shot at a famous victory, but Contepomi’s charges came up short despite working their way deep into the host’s 22 but they were shut out as the clock went into the red.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Jamie Osborne

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo

Referee:  Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Craig Evans (WRU), Angus Mabey (NZR)
TMO:  Richard Kelly (NZR)

Tomas Albornoz delivers another masterclass as Los Pumas put 50 on the Azzurri

Fly-half Tomas Albornoz scored 20 points for Argentina in their commanding 50-18 win over Italy in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday.

Argentina scored seven tries on the day with Albornoz bagging a score while Juan Cruz Mallia, Gonzalo Bertranou, Joel Sclavi, Santiago Cordero, Matias Alemanno and Bautista Delguy also crossed.

From the tee Albornoz kicked six conversions and a penalty.

The hosts had less luck with only two tries, one from Giacomo Nicotera and another penalty try, with Tomasso Allan kicking two penalties.

It was Los Pumas out of the gates first as Albornoz kicked his first penalty before he slotted a conversion for Mallia’s breakout try on 11 minutes.

Momentum stayed with the blue and white as Bertranou scored close to the half-hour mark which was quickly followed by a maul penalty try just minutes later.  That would be it for the first period before it turned to chaos in the second.

Allan kicked a penalty to start before Sclavi crashed over just eight minutes into the second half.  Albornoz kicked the conversion then found himself over the whitewash in the 56th minute.

Next over in the line was Cordero before Italy scored their final try through Nicotera with 13 minutes left.

That did not stop Los Pumas from scoring two quick tries through Alemanno and Delguy.  Albornoz kicked the conversion to notch up 50 points for Argentina.

The teams

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Marco Zanon

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Orlando, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Matias Alemmano, 20 Bautista Pedemonte, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Santiago Cordero

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Adam Leal (England)
TMO:  Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Springboks exact revenge over Argentina in thumping victory to seal Rugby Championship title in style

The Springboks claimed their first Rugby Championship title since 2019 after they comfortably overcame Argentina 48-7 at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday evening.

Victory helps exact revenge over Los Pumas following the shock 29-28 reversal at Santiago del Estero last weekend and it was a determined and well-deserved result.

Tries from Aphelele Fassi (2), Pieter-Steph du Toit (2), Cheslin Kolbe, Malcolm Marx and Jesse Kriel helped the Springboks to a maximum haul in a dominant effort in Nelspruit.

The five-point success sees Rassie Erasmus’ outfit pick up the Rugby Championship silverware with an eight-point buffer from the All Blacks, who finished in second spot.

The silverware was a fitting present for Eben Etzebeth on the day he became South Africa’s most-capped player after he surpassed the great Victor Matfield’s 127 mark.

It was the perfect start from a fired-up Bok outfit as they looked to make a statement following that Round Five defeat and they more than made an impressive opening.

Sustained pressure on Los Pumas’ line that included several scrum penalties was eventually rewarded when Fassi crashed over off a smart Manie Libbok pass.  The conversion was successful from scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse, who was handed the kicking duties over his fly-half following that costly late missed penalty last week.

The advantage was doubled on 15 minutes when a quarterback-esque sneak from Du Toit saw him ground, despite the best efforts of form Pumas fly-half Tomos Albornoz.

Argentina desperately needed a response in front of the vocal home supporters and they got it on 20 minutes when Albornoz raced under the posts after a lovely set play.

However, the visitors’ joy was shortlived when an offside from a kick ahead resulted in Hendrikse knocking over a simple penalty goal that made it a 17-7 cushion for the Boks.

Felipe Contepomi’s team were also further setbacks soon after when star inside centre Santiago Chocobares was withdrawn from the action on 26 minutes following a knee injury before wing Mateo Carreras was yellow carded for taking out Fassi in the air.

South Africa would make their numerical advantage pay as tries before the break from lethal duo Fassi and Kolbe made it a 27-7 gap which was a fair reflection of the first 40.

The second period took a while to find its flow and the scoreline reflected it, with no change on the board until the 69th minute as both teams struggled to find their mojo.

Argentina’s woes were compounded 15 minutes prior to that, however, when Pablo Matera was yellow-carded for head contact at a ruck.  It was later upgraded to red.

There was worse to come too for Los Pumas as Santiago Carreras was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on when attempting an intercept and the Boks duly feasted.

A maul try from replacement Marx was followed up by Du Toit crashing over and the icing on the cake saw Kriel claim a late score as the celebrations could finally begin.

The teams

South Africa:  15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am

Argentina:  15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Matais Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Juan Martín Gonzalez, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Lucio Cinti, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  James Doleman (New Zealand), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Los Pumas down shell-shocked Springboks in Santiago thriller to set up Rugby Championship title decider

Argentina have now beaten all three Rugby Championship opponents after they triumphed over the Springboks 29-28 in Santiago.

The hosts scored four tries on the day with Mateo Carreras, Pablo Matera, Joel Sclavi and Tomas Albornoz scoring with the fly-half also kicking three conversions and a penalty in an epic shift.

Meanwhile, South Africa managed three tries in Santiago through Aphelele Fassi, Jesse Kriel and Cobus Reinach with Handre Pollard kicking two penalties and two conversions.  Manie Libbok also kicked a penalty.

The Springboks were very fast out of the gates with Fassi scoring in just the third minute thanks to a lovely Pollard pass with the fly-half adding the extras as he would four minutes after that when Kriel cantered through giving the visitors a dream start.

Looking to compound the pressure, the Springboks kicked a penalty through Pollard in the 12th minute to take a commanding lead early with the world champions expecting to pull away but that was not the case.

Los Pumas burst into life and played Carreras in down the left hand side for the first try from the hosts in the 14th minute as Albornoz got his kick.  Argentina would exploit the same side with Kurt-Lee Arendse in the sin bin seven minutes later this time Matera crossing the white whitewash for a converted try.

The onslaught did not stop there as Sclavi (26”) and Albornoz (34”) both scored tries, one of which was converted, to suddenly shoot Los Pumas into a strong position.  The Springboks needed to stop the bleeding and Reinach showed his awareness and experience to score in the corner from a quick tap taking the sides into half-time after Pollard missed the conversions.

The second-half would not follow the same rate of scoring although Pollard did kick a penalty in the 43rd minute and Libbok in the 50th minute as the Springboks looked to slow the game down and take control.

The visitor’s control of the game did improve but not enough to make further difference on the scoreboard opening the door for Albornoz to kick the decisive penalty in the 68th minute.

The last minutes were filled with nerves as Libbok had a chance to win in from the tee in the dying minutes but he pulled his kick handing Los Pumas a famous victory in Santiago.

This sets up a massive battle in Nelspruit next weekend where the same side will slug it out for the Rugby Championship title.

Teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Gudio Petti, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Matias Moroni

South Africa:  15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Jaden Hendrikse, 23 Manie Libbok

Australia butcher 17-point lead as Julian Montoya’s milestone inspires Argentina to record win

Argentina captain Julian Montoya had a dream match in his 100th appearance for his country as Los Pumas took apart Australia 67-27 in Santa Fe which is the most points a team has scored against the Wallabies and the country’s biggest defeat.

Los Pumas managed nine tries on the day through hot-stepping wing Mateo Carreras, the milestone man Montoya, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Pablo Matera Joaquin Oviedo (2), Juan Cruz Mallia (2) and Lucio Cinti all crossing the whitewash.

Fly-half Tomas Albornoz was on point with the boot, kicking six conversions and two penalties.  Substitute Santiago Carreras also added two from his boot.

The Wallabies only managed three tries in the Santa Fe heat through Carlo Tizzano, Andrew Kellaway and Tate McDermott with Ben Donaldson kicking two penalties and two conversions.  Replacement Tom Lynagh also kicked a conversion.

It did not take long for the scoreboard to tick over as Albornoz nudged over a penalty after just four minutes.  This would be the hosts’ last points for nearly 30 minutes as Donaldson cancelled out the Argentine penalty with one for Australia after six minutes.

The Wallabies looked to double down on their momentum and did just that with the tireless Tizzano being rewarded with a converted score after 15 minutes.  Donaldson would add another penalty eight minutes later before Max Jorgensen expertly played in Kellaway for his try.

Almost as if it was a flick of a switch, Argentina burst into life scoring two tries through Carreras and skipper Montoya in the last 10 minutes of the first period.  The hosts would follow suit in the second half scoring three tries through Gonzalez, Matera and Joaquin Oviedo in the first 24 minutes of the half.  Albornoz nailed all of the conversions to give Argentina a strong lead.

Australia managed to scratch together their final try of the game with some quick thinking from McDermott powering him over with 11 minutes to go.  However, it would go severely downhill for the visitors as the floodgates well and truly opened with Mallia bagging a brace, Oviedo scoring his second and Cinti strolling overall in the final 10 minutes.

What started as a positive performance for Australia fell apart into a string of forgettable records for Joe Schmidt.

Teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Gudio Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Joaquin Oviedo, 21 Santiago Grondona, 22 Gonzalo Garcia, 23 Santiago Carreras

Australia:  15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Josh Nasser, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Josh Canham, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tom Lynagh, 23 Josh Flook

Referee:  Pierre Brousset (FFR)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), James Doleman (NZR)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (SARU)

Australia spoil Agustin Creevy’s farewell clinching a late win in La Plata arm-wrestle

Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies claimed their first win of the 2024 Rugby Championship with a narrow 19-20 triumph in La Plata.

The visitors scored two tries on the day through Jake Gordon and Rob Valetini while Noah Lolesio kicked two conversions and a penalty with Ben Donaldson kicking the winner late on.

Argentina, however, only managed one try through Juan Martin Gonzalez.  Most of their points came from Santiago Carreras’ boot with one conversion and three penalties.  The fly-half’s replacement Tomas Abornoz added a penalty of his own in the second half.

The start of the game saw the two sides looking to apply pressure and adapt to the wet conditions which saw Argentina draw first blood with Carreras’ first penalty in the 10th minute.

Los Pumas would extend their lead in a matter of a few moments with dynamic number eight Gonzalez crashing over for the team’s sole try in the 13th minute.  Carreras was on hand again to add the extras.

The Wallabies did well to keep themselves in the game and it paid off through a Gordon try in the 26th minute that was converted by Lolesio.  That would be all the points for Australia in the first half as Carreras kicked his second penalty six minutes before the break.

The second half started as the first ended with Carreras kicking a penalty, his third and final of the clash.  As they showed in the first 40 the Wallabies were not prepared to go anywhere and evergreen back-row Valetini crossed for a crucial score with Lolesio making no mistake from the tee.

The Test descended into an arm-wrestle as conditions worsened.  Lolesio would add three more points just before the hour mark which was responded to by a penalty from Albornoz.

It looked as if the hosts were going to close out the game but the Wallabies did well to get themselves upfield and secured the winning penalty from right in front through Donaldson to get off the mark in this year’s competition.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Tomas Lavanini, 21 Joaquin Oviedo, 22 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 23 Tomas Albornoz

Wallabies:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Josh Nasser, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen

Referee:  James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (SARU)

All Blacks silence critics with dominant victory over Argentina to stretch unbeaten run at Eden Park to 50 games

The All Blacks got their Rugby Championship campaign back on track when they clinched an emphatic 42-10 victory against Argentina at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, this match was quite different from last week’s corresponding one in Wellington as the hosts answered their critics with a superb all-round performance in which they dominated most facets of play.

The result is a significant one for the All Blacks as it stretches their unbeaten run at Eden Park to 50 matches and they last tasted defeat at the spiritual home of New Zealand rugby in 1994.

In the end, the All Blacks ran in six tries with Will Jordan leading the way with a brace while Damian McKenzie, Ardie Savea, Caleb Clarke and Beauden Barrett also crossed the whitewash.

McKenzie finished with a 17-point haul as he also succeeded with six conversions, while Juan Cruz Mallía scored Los Pumas’ only try, which was converted by Tomas Albornoz, and Santiago Carreras added a penalty.

The match started at a frenetic pace with the All Blacks taking the ball though several phases with captain Savea leading the way with a barnstorming run during the opening exchanges.

And the hosts’ early dominance was rewarded in the sixth minute when Jordie Barrett stabbed a perfectly weighted grubber kick through deep inside Argentina’s half and McKenzie dotted down behind the try-line.

Five minutes later, Los Pumas reduced the deficit courtesy of a three-pointer off the kicking tee from Santiago Carreras but the home side continued to dominate as the half progressed and were soon camped inside their opponents’ 22 again.

Soon after, Savea got his name onto the scoresheet when he barged over from close quarters before the All Blacks went further ahead in the 24th minute after Clarke crossed for his five-pointer.

That meant the home side were holding a 21-3 lead and they continued to dominate as the half progressed.  On the half hour-mark, Jordan crossed for his first five-pointer after gathering a pass from TJ Perenara, who did brilliantly to draw in three defenders in the build up.

In the 37th minute McKenzie and Beauden Barrett combined brilliantly before the latter sliced through the visitors’ defence on his way over the try-line and with the score 35-3 in their favour, the All Blacks had their tails up at half-time.

50 undefeated at Eden Park 🔥#AllBlacks #NZLvARG pic.twitter.com/mR9r418eTb

― All Blacks (@AllBlacks) August 17, 2024

It was more of the same in the second half when Jordan crossed for his second try, after running on to a deft offload from Jordie Barrett before wriggling over the whitewash despite the attentions of two defenders.

McKenzie added the extras to give his side a deserved 42-3 lead but despite trailing by a big margin on the scoreboard, Los Pumas did not surrender and were more competitive during the rest of the match.

They did well to prevent their hosts from adding to their tally and in the 72nd minute Mallia crossed for their only try to add some respectability to the score.

Although the All Blacks would not score further points, they finished the game with 14 players after replacement hooker Asafo Aumua was yellow carded for an illegal hit on Mateo Carreras in the game’s closing stages.

The incident was reviewed by the TMO Bunker but the yellow card was not upgraded to red and despite finishing with a numerical disadvantage, the All Blacks were deserved winners in the end.

The teams

All Blacks:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Mark Tele’a

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Marcos Kremer, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Tomás Lavanini, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Bautista Delguy

Referee:  Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Nic Berry (Australia)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Argentina claim shock victory over All Blacks as Scott Robertson left with plenty to ponder

Argentina got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a superb start when they clinched a shock 38-30 victory over New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.

In a fast paced and entertaining encounter, momentum between the two sides ebbed and flowed throughout but Los Pumas eventually got the rub of the green and outscored their hosts by four tries to three.

Lucio Cinti, Mateo Carreras, Franco Molina and Agustin Creevy scored Argentina’s tries while Santiago Carreras finished with an 18-point contribution after kicking four penalties and three conversions.

For New Zealand Sam Darry, Anton Lienert-Brown and Mark Tele’a dotted down while Damian McKenzie added three conversions and three penalties.

The result means the All Blacks’ winless run in Wellington continues and they have now won there only once in the past seven Tests and are winless in that city in their last five encounters.

Argentina had the better of the early exchanges and spent most of the opening 10 minutes camped inside New Zealand’s half but they had no reward for their efforts.

The All Blacks eventually opened the scoring courtesy of a McKenzie penalty in the 11th minute before Darry crossed for the first try shortly afterwards.

This, after McKenzie chipped ahead and regathered before offloading to Barrett who raced up field and soon found himself inside Los Pumas’ half.  He was confronted by the cover defence but kicked ahead before Darry gathered to score his first Test try.

Despite trailing 10-0, Argentina did not panic and midway through the half they opened their account when Cinti crossed the whitewash after Pablo Matera and Santiago Chocobares combined brilliantly in the build-up.

The next 10 minutes was an arm-wrestle as the sides battled to gain the ascendancy but the home side increased their lead in the 28th minute when McKenzie succeeded with his second penalty.

In the 35th minute, the All Blacks increased their lead when Lienert-Brown ran onto a pass from McKenzie close to Argentina’s try-line and swivelled through a tackle before dotting down.

McKenzie’s successful conversion meant New Zealand were leading 20-8 but this game’s topsy-turvy nature continued when Pumas flyer Mateo Carreras pounced on a loose ball and displayed deft footwork to beat the All Blacks fly-half on his way over the whitewash.

That meant the match was evenly poised at half-time with the hosts holding a 20-15 lead but Argentina were fastest out of the blocks after the break.

🇦🇷 ARGENTINA STUN THE ALL BLACKS IN WELLINGTON! WOW!#NZLvARG #RugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/eTSGSlGe0Y

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 10, 2024

In the 43rd minute, the visitors caught the men in black by surprise with a clever lineout variation in which a dummy jumper went up but the ball was thrown to Molina at the front of the set-piece, and the second-row powered over the try-line after a strong shove from his team-mates.

His effort was converted by Santiago Carreras which meant the visitors moved in front for the first time and the lead changed hands twice in five minutes when McKenzie and the Pumas fly-half traded penalties.

However, New Zealand struck back when Tele’a crossed for his try in the 52nd minute after gathering a well-timed pass from TJ Perenara close to the visitors’ try-line.

McKenzie’s conversion meant the All Blacks were leading 30-25 but that would be the last time they would score points as Los Pumas came to the fore with an outstanding performance in the final quarter.

Santiago Carreras narrowed gap when he added a penalty in the 56th minute before replacement hooker Creevy barged over from close quarters which restored his side’s lead.  The pivot then added the final nail in the All Blacks coffin when he slotted his fourth three-pointer off the kicking tee in the game’s closing stages.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan De Groot
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Rieko Ioane, 23 Will Jordan

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Ignacio Ruiz, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Efrain Elias, 20 Tomas Lavanini, 21 Joaquin Oviedo, 22 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 23 Tomas Albornoz

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Los Pumas props power past France to seal long-awaited home victory

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

Baptiste Serin steers youthful side to shock win

A youthful France team put Los Pumas to the sword, claiming a stunning 28-13 victory in Mendoza, Argentina, on Saturday.

Fabien Galthie flexed Les Bleus’ depth as his charges ran in three tries to Argentina’s one, as Felipe Contepomi’s tenure as head coach of the Pumas started with a disappointing defeat.

Tries from captain Baptiste Serin and debutants Antoine Frisch and Theo Attisogbe saw France to a convincing victory, with Antoine Hastoy adding 10 points from the tee ― and Melvyn Jaminet kicking a penalty.

For Los Pumas, skipper Julian Montoya and centre Matias Orlando scored their tries in what was an ill-disciplined performance.

French boss Galthie named six uncapped players in his starting XV, but a late change saw that number bloat to seven, with another on the bench. The total starting caps racked up to just 97, most of which coming from Serin.

Meanwhile, Contepomi named a far more experienced squad, with just one player not representing Argentina at the World Cup last year despite many stars being rested.

This led to a frenetic start to the match strewn with handling errors and turnovers, hefty hits, and abrasive collisions. However, with little cohesion for both sets of players, the sides struggled to make the most of their opportunities.

In fact, it took until the 22nd minute for France to open the scoring and it came after a sustained period of attack and pressure on the hosts with Hastoy eventually taking the tee and knocking over the first three points of the match.

But France almost immediately let the hosts level the scores when Oscar Jegou made a poor no-arms tackle to gift Carreras a shot at goal, which he drilled through the uprights with little fuss.

Argentina looked to have taken the lead for the first time soon after when Martin Bogado chipped over the top and seemed to have scored in the corner but upon a TMO review, Toulon-bound midfielder Frisch had made an excellent tackle to deny the full-back.

The French scrum was steaming along in the first half but it was the lineout that provided the first try of the match but more accurately the brilliance of stand-in captain Serin.

With Antoine Dupont off with the sevens squad chasing his Olympic dream, France still got some magic from the number nine jumper as Serin threw a dummy from the lineout, sliced through a gap, put in short grabber, nudged it on and ― despite an early tackle from Paolo Matera ― managed to dot the ball down over the line while appealing to the referee mid-air for the early challenge. A glorious solo try.

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This is such a Baptiste Serin try, I love it! #ARGvFRA pic.twitter.com/BLYZL0fSKk

― Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) July 6, 2024

Hastoy would add the extras from out wide before the fly-half booted the ball into touch a few minutes later as Les Bleus led 10-3 at the break.

A bright start from France in the second half looked to bear some fruit as prop Georges-Henri Colombe thundered the ball down, but the front-rower had a poor poker face and rightly so as he had slammed the ball on the ground well short and denied the try.

But Les Bleus were rewarded soon afterwards as debutant Frisch rounded off a stunning score after another powerful scrum. He cantered through a gap in Pumas’ defence after some lovely hands in close quarters and won the race to the line. Hastoy added another penalty as the young French side extended their lead to 20-3.

However, a penalty kick to the corner gave Argentina a sniff and captain Montoya made the most of it has he ran over the top of winger Lester Etien after a slick dummy driving maul from the lineout. Tomas Albornoz scuffed the extras badly as he attempted to convert.

Again the French scrum dominated, and a brilliant 50:22 from Serin put France back into the Los Pumas 22 after a lovely bit of attack, one poor pass led to Hastoy popping a pass up to Attisogbe running an angle and the rookie powered through three defenders to score a great try.

Replacement full-back Jaminet added a penalty soon after before Orlando pounced to score an opportunistic try and a consolation one as the game was well beyond their reach.

France will play again on Wednesday in a midweek fixture against Uruguay before clashing with Los Pumas again next Saturday.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Martin Bogado, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Lucio Sordoni, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Juan Bautista Pedemonte, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Matias Orlando

France:  15 Leo Barre, 14 Theo Attissogbe, 13 Emilien Gailleton, 12 Antoine Frisch, 11 Lester Etien, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Jordan Joseph, 7 Oscar Jegou, 6 Lenni Nouchi, 5 Baptiste Pesenti, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 Georges-Henri Colombe, 2 Gaetan Barlot, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements:  16 Teddy Baubigny, 17 Romain Taofifenua, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Posolo Tuilagi, 20 Mickael Guillard, 21 Ibrahim Diallo, 22 Baptiste Couilloud, 23 Melvyn Jaminet

Referee:  Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (IRFU), Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)

England hang on against Argentina to claim bronze at Rugby World Cup

England ended their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign on a positive note as they edged out Argentina 26-23 to win the Bronze Final in Paris on Friday.

Tries from Ben Earl and Theo Dan were added to by 16 points from captain Owen Farrell off the tee as the Red Rose signed off in France with a victory.

Argentina will no doubt be reeling after coming so close, however, as they dominated the majority of the game but could not get the job done late on.

England have now finished in the World Cup’s top three on five occasions, with only Saturday’s finalists, New Zealand and South Africa managing more podium appearances.

Argentina were roared on by the neutrals in a 77,674 crowd, and with only pockets of Red Rose supporters present, it was the most partisan atmosphere Steve Borthwick’s side have faced at the World Cup.

Farrell was booed repeatedly, and Ben Youngs drew the same reaction when he jogged off with half an hour left, even though the nation’s most capped player was making his 127th and final appearance.

The evening was not much fun for Henry Arundell, who ran in five tries against Chile yet was passed the ball only once here, reducing one of England’s most dangerous runners to the role of bystander until he was withdrawn with 15 minutes left.

Having produced among the worst semi-final appearances in World Cup history against New Zealand, Argentina were far hungrier as they looked to emulate their previous best tournament performance of third place in 2007.

It was the Pumas side who edged Wales in the last eight that ultimately turned up at the Stade de France, although it took them time to get going.

England initially picked up where they had left off in Marseille by scoring freely, a short pass from Marcus Smith slipping Earl through a gap, and there was no stopping the number eight from 15 metres out.

It was part of a bright start by England, who kicked intelligently and were accurate in everything they did, enabling them to build a 13-0 lead when Farrell added two penalties.

Argentina were already on the ropes, but they took heart from making headway through the white defence until they were sent hurtling backwards at a scrum in front of the posts.

Emiliano Boffelli got the Pumas off the mark with a penalty, but it was all they had to show for period of ascendency, their prospects not helped by two knock-ons at key times.

England’s own play had become more ragged, and when Farrell kicked away possession and a penalty was conceded, Argentina went on the rampage with a sweeping attack that ended when Tomas Cubelli went over.

The officials declined to check for an obvious forward pass during the move, but there was nothing controversial about the Pumas’ second try when Dan missed a tackle that allowed Santiago Carreras to glide into space and finish with class.

Dan’s redemption was instant as from the restart, he changed down Carreras’ clearance, gathered the ball and scored.

Finishing his #RWC2023 in style

Sam Underhill is the @Mastercard #POTM #ARGvENG | #Priceless pic.twitter.com/ivT39ISYcQ

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 27, 2023

As chants of “Argentina, Argentina” sounded around the Stade de France and the Pumas vigorously celebrated winning a penalty, there was a sense of occasion of the match even if the play was stop-start and often ugly.

Farrell and Nicolas Sanchez traded penalties, and with neither side able to seize control of the game, an edgy climax approached.

Sanchez missed a tricky penalty, and England were not troubled again, closing out the match in the right half of the pitch.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Freddie Steward, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Dan Cole, 19 David Ribbans, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

All Blacks floor Argentina as Jordan hat-trick fires them to World Cup Final

A rampant New Zealand breezed into the Rugby World Cup Final after a Will Jordan hat-trick helped them cruise past Argentina 44-6 in Paris on Friday.

The All Blacks were a class apart as they dominated Los Pumas at the Stade de France, running in seven tries in total to seal their place in next week’s final.

Jordan’s superb treble was backed up by two tries from Shannon Frizell and one apiece from Jordie Barrett and Aaron Smith in a one-sided semi-final clash.

New Zealand now await the winner of Saturday’s second semi-final that sees England face South Africa as they go into the global finale full of confidence.

Jordan’s hat-trick lifts him above France’s Damian Penaud as the World Cup’s leading try scorer on eight, placing him level with Jonah Lomu’s record of tries scored in a single tournament.

It was an impressive feat that underlined New Zealand’s attacking genius, but they were assisted by willing victims who were mesmerised by the shapes unfolding in front of them.

Jordan struck from the All Blacks’ very first drive downfield when defenders sucked in by carries after a line-out maul presented an overlap that provided a simple run in.

It began to look grim for Argentina when Barrett went over, finishing a try that began deep inside New Zealand’s half with precise handling and clever running lines resulting in attackers pouring into space.

Emiliano Boffelli’s early penalty was already a distant memory as Argentina were repeatedly overrun at the breakdown with Sam Cane their chief destroyer, while any attack was met with an impregnable wall of black shirts.

A spell of battering away on the line produced only another Boffelli penalty when there was a sense far more would be needed to halt New Zealand’s march towards the final.

Patient All Blacks play paid off when they renewed their assault, methodically working their way into a threatening position and when the moment came they pulled the trigger, Mark Telea almost crossing before Frizell strolled over.

It was becoming a procession and while the favourites were being looked on favourably by referee Angus Gardner at times, there was no denying their ascendency in every facet of the game.

Smith was the next over via a brilliant step, exploiting a Pumas maul defence that was short on manpower, and then even Frizell muscled his way over despite the attention of three would-be tacklers.

Jordan moved past Penaud with New Zealand’s sixth try and his hat-trick score in the 74th minute was a thing of beauty as he slipped through a non-existent Argentina defence, gathered his own kick and scored.

Will Jordan has just equalled the men's record for most tries in a single Rugby World Cup 8⃣#RWC2023 | #ARGvNZL | @AllBlacks pic.twitter.com/j3lCpWFXZh

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 20, 2023

When the final whistle blew the Pumas sank to their knees, aware they had not shown up on only their third semi-final appearance.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Argentina fight back to break Wales hearts in World Cup quarter-final

Argentina booked their place in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals after they came from 10-0 down to beat Wales 29-17 at Stade de Marseille on Saturday.

In a gripping last-eight clash, it was Los Pumas who came out on top thanks to an impressive second half that saw them grab two tries among their 23 points.

Joel Sclavi and Nicolas Sanchez got their crossings while Emiliano Boffelli (16) and Sanchez (2) added points off the tee as they progress to the semi-finals.

Wales’ tries came via Dan Biggar and Tomos Williams but their strong start to the game was undone late in the first half and the second 40 as they bow out.

Wales’ defeat meant the end of Biggar’s international career, having announced in August that he would retire from the Test arena post-World Cup.

Prince George and the Prince of Wales, who is Welsh Rugby Union patron, cheered on Wales.  It was the first time the youngster had watched an international sporting fixture in person overseas.

Argentina had struggled to qualify from their group, but they made a bright start in perfect conditions by stretching Wales’ defence.

Boffelli, though, missed a 30-metre penalty chance and Wales responded through some fluency of their own and a determination to free prolific try-scorer Louis Rees-Zammit in space.

Wales then broke the deadlock after 14 minutes when centre George North ― playing in a Welsh record fourth World Cup quarter-final ― made initial headway before Biggar crossed between the posts and converted his own try.

Jaco Peyper then left the action, appearing to suffer a calf muscle injury, with Englishman Karl Dickson taking the whistle.

There were also problems with Wales’ shirts, as several players saw numbers peel off the back, before Biggar restored a degree of calm with a long-range penalty that made it 10-0.

Anxiety had rippled through Welsh ranks when Biggar went down clutching his chest after tackling Santiago Chocobares, but he quickly resumed following treatment.

Wales’ problem area was the lineout, losing two on their own throw inside the opening 25 minutes, but Argentina could not take advantage with the Pumas making little headway following an impressive start.

Biggar then missed a penalty, but Boffelli was more accurate with successive kicks as the first half ended with Argentina on the attack and growing in confidence until an overtime brawl broke out with the Pumas just 10-6 behind.

Prior to Boffelli’s second successful strike, Wales wing Josh Adams was fortunate to avoid a yellow card for pushing over an Argentina player off the ball, and a half-time substitution saw hooker Dewi Lake replace Ryan Elias.

Argentina retained the initiative, and Boffelli completed a quickfire penalty hat-trick that send further warning signals to a Wales team that had temporarily lost its way.

But there was no stopping Boffelli as he then kicked a penalty from two metres inside his own half as Wales fell behind for the first time.

Williams made an instant impact after going on for Gareth Davies, splitting open Argentina’s defence on a weaving 25-metre run to the line, and Biggar’s conversion put Wales back in front, holding a five-point lead approaching the hour mark.

After Guido Petti’s let-off for making contact with Nick Tompkins’ head, Sclavi pounced following sustained pressure before Boffelli’s conversion put Argentina back in front and Wales were once again in trouble.

🇦🇷💪 Joel Sclavi with the Pumas power play. #WALvARG #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/QjdtOYbUFg

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 14, 2023

But Warren Gatland’s team threw everything at Argentina during the closing stages, with Rees-Zammit going desperately close to a try in the corner.

It was a breathless and frenzied finale ― a suitable end to a memorable contest ― before Sanchez intercepted Sam Costelow’s pass, Boffelli converted, Sanchez landed a penalty and Wales were out.

The teams

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Jac Morgan (c), 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements:  16 Dewi Lake, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Christ Tshiunza, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Rio Dyer

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Argentina advance to quarter-finals with hard-fought win over Japan

Argentina got the job done but were made to work hard for their 39-27 bonus-point victory over Japan in their Rugby World Cup encounter in Nantes on Sunday.

The result was a momentous one as it means Los Pumas advance to the global showpiece's quarter-finals as the runners-up in Pool D ― behind table-toppers England ― while the Brave Blossoms' campaign has come to an end after finishing third in the group.

In a fast-paced and highly entertaining game, Argentina were full value for their win as they outscored Japan by five tries to three with Mateo Carreras leading the way for Los Pumas with a well-taken hat-trick.

Santiago Chocobares and Emiliano Boffelli scored the South Americans' other tries and Boffelli finished with a 14-point haul after slotting three conversions and a penalty, while Nicolas Sanchez also succeeded with a conversion and a penalty.

For Japan, Amato Fakatava, Naoto Saito and Jone Naikabula crossed the whitewash while Rikiya Matsuda added three conversions and a penalty, and Lomano Lomeki slotted a drop goal.

With both sides knowing victory would see them advance to a quarter-final against Wales at the other's expense, Los Pumas sealed the spot with Carreras the star man.

A fast start by Michael Cheika's side saw Chocobares burst through a crowd of players to cross in the second minute, with Boffelli successfully converting.

Jamie Joseph's Japan hit back in the 16th minute when Fakatava chipped over a defender, reclaimed the ball and touched down, and Matsuda kicked the extras, before the Brave Blossoms were reduced to 14 men by a yellow card for Lappies Labuschagne.

Carerras then registered his first try to put Argentina back in front in the 28th minute and a subsequent penalty from Boffelli ― who had missed one earlier, along with his second conversion attempt ― made it 15-7.

Japan again rallied, with Saito crossing and Matsuda converting to leave a point in it heading into the interval.

🇦🇷 LOS PUMAS QUALIFY FOR THE QUARTER-FINALS WITH A BREATHLESS WIN OVER JAPAN. #JPNvARG #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/e3kn7teSzK

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 8, 2023

Carreras registered his second try, converted by Boffelli, early in the second half, before a Matsuda penalty and Lemeki's drop goal closed the gap to two points at 22-20.

Argentina then wrapped things up as Boffelli scored a try and converted, and Carreras subsequently completed his treble, with Sanchez kicking that conversion and a further penalty with five minutes left.

They will now take on Wales in Marseille on Saturday.

The teams

Japan:  15 Lomano Lemeki, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Siosaia Fifita, 10 Rikiya Matsuda, 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Kazuki Himeno (c), 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Amato Fakatava, 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Jiwon Gu, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Warner Dearns, 20 Amanaki Saumaki, 21 Kenta Fukuda, 22 Ryohei Yamanaka, 23 Jone Naikabula

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni

Referee:  Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO:  Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Los Pumas power past neighbours Chile in all-South American Test

Argentina claimed an impressive 59-5 bonus-point win over Chile in the first-ever all-South American Test at a Rugby World Cup on Saturday.

It was a day to remember for fly-half Nicolas Sanchez who became the second centurion for Argentina, following in the footsteps of Agustin Creevy.  Fittingly it was the veteran playmaker who opened the scoring with a ninth-minute try.

Los Pumas looked to compound the scoreboard through a 12th-minute penalty before the floodgates opened with Juan Martin Gonzalez crossing after a quarter of an hour with Sanchez making no mistake from the tee.  The pivot would be accurate again when converting a Creevy try scored seven minutes later.

Chile did their best to come back into the game but trailed 24-0 at half-time in this one.  Their fortunes remained the same when Martin Bogado scored for Argentina five minutes into the second period with the extras added.

The Chileans thought they had scored against their neighbours minutes later but it was ruled out for a forward pass.  Still, the side pushed for a try but their hopes were dashed when Rodrigo Isgro crossed for a converted try in the 64th minute.

Gonzalez was at the double minutes late with yet another try as Sanchez became the country's all-time leading Rugby World Cup points-scorer with another conversion.

Chile's try would finally come after the backline players joined a maul to eventually rumble over for a five-pointer through Tomas Dussaillant which went unconverted.  That would not be the final say as Argentine star Ignacio Ruiz scored a late try with Santiago Carreras kicking the conversion.

Carreras was involved again only minutes later as he scored right at the death.  The fly-half then stood up to nail the conversion from the touchline to cap off a historic match.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Martín Bogado, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (c), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Joel Sclavi
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Joaquín Oviedo, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia

Chile:  15 Inaki Ayarza, 14 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Matias Garafulic, 11 José Ignacio Larenas, 10 Rodrigo Fernandez, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 8 Raimundo Martínez, 7 Clemente Saavedra, 6 Martín Sigren (c), 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Augusto Bohme, 1 Javier Carrasco
Replacements:  16 Tomas Dussaillant, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Augusto Sarmiento, 20 Alfonso Escobar, 21 Ignacio Silva, 22 Nicolas Herreros, 23 Francisco Urroz

Referee:  Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (RA), James Doleman (NZR)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Argentina see off Samoa to keep Rugby World Cup knockout hopes alive

Argentina bounced back from their opening Rugby World Cup loss to England by beating Samoa 19-10 in a disappointing Pool D game at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The rain didn't help but there was little entertainment and attacking quality on show, with Los Pumas grinding out a vital win in the race for the knockouts.

Emiliano Boffelli scored his team's only try and also contributed 11 points off the tee while Nicolas Sanchez landed a late, long-range penalty to seal victory.

For Samoa they were eager to build on their recent triumph over Chile but they struggled to fire a shot and now have an upward task if they are to qualify.

Their only try in Saint-Etienne came late through replacement hooker Sama Malolo to set up a nail-biting finish for Los Pumas but they saw out the win.

Any pre-match pressures for Argentina were eased when Samoa full-back Duncan Paia'aua was sent to the sin-bin in the opening minute of the contest.

His absence was felt as Los Pumas hit the front with Boffelli going over in the right-hand corner before converting his own try.

Three successful penalties from the Edinburgh wing followed, with a Christian Leali'ifano penalty getting Samoa on the board in the first half.

Samoa's defence held firm in the latter stages as they pushed to get back into the game and Malolo's try ― converted by D'Angelo Leuila ― put the cat among the pigeons.

However, Argentina, who finished fourth at the 2015 World Cup but failed to get out of the pool stage in Japan four years ago, held on and wrapped up the win through Sanchez's penalty.

The loss to England presented the possibility of another early exit but securing the points here gives them hope of continuing on and they now face South American rivals Chile in Nantes next Saturday.

An out-of-sorts Samoa, meanwhile, will now need results against potentially both Japan and England if they are to sneak into the quarter-finals.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Lucio Cinti

Samoa:  15 Duncan Paia'aua, 14 Nigel Ah-Wong, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Tumua Manu, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Christian Leali'ifano, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Fritz Lee, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Chris Vui (c), 4 Brian Alainu'u'ese, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 James Lay
Replacements:  16 Sama Malolo, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Sa Jordan Taufua, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 D'Angelo Leuila, 23 Danny Toala

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

George Ford drop-goal clinic helps 14-man England dismantle Argentina

George Ford put on a drop-goal clinic as he scored all of England’s points in their 27-10 victory against Argentina in their Rugby World Cup pool opener.

Despite being without Tom Curry after he received an upgraded yellow card to red after barely three minutes, England produced an inspired performance.

Ford was the architect of their impressive underdog success as he nailed three drop-goals and six penalties as Los Pumas were left shell-shocked in Marseille.

Only a late Rodrigo Bruni try gave Argentina something to cling to from what was an awful performance, with Ford and England savouring a special win.

While the outstanding Ford was busy steering England around the pitch and keeping the scoreboard ticking over, his team-mates fought themselves to a standstill with Ben Earl and Courtney Lawes magnificent.

It was an ugly spectacle with neither side functioning in attack, but Steve Borthwick‘s men showed the character needed to place one foot in the quarter-finals by taking control of Pool D at the expense of their greatest rivals.

A giant stride forward was taken in plugging their leaky defence, but discipline remains a major concern, with Curry set to join Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola in being banned for periods of the World Cup.

England will argue that Curry was unfortunate to become the country’s first red card at a World Cup – and the fastest in the tournament’s history – despite the clash of heads that came as a result of his tackle.

And when Santiago Carreras was punished with only a sin-binning for clattering late into Ford early on, they had additional cause for grievance.

Once the initial drama of Curry’s dismissal had subsided, England rolled up their sleeves to withstand a battering on their line by Argentina’s pack, winning a penalty that enabled them to clear their lines.

They have often delivered a spirited response when down on numbers and so it was proving in Marseille as a methodical drive downfield ended with Ford landing a drop-goal.

Ford repeated the trick but this time from the halfway line as a monster kick sailed between the uprights with distance to spare.

The glaring deficiencies in England’s attack were apparent as they butchered a four-on-two overlap, but with Ford landing drop-goals at will – he coolly added a third from short range – it did not seem to matter.

Even with Curry sat watching in the stand they built a 12-3 lead, helped by rattled opponents who were also struggling with the ball in hand.

The intensity was cranked up for the second half, forcing a breakdown penalty that Ford inevitably steered between the uprights, while in reply the Pumas squirted the ball forward to end a rare attack.

3⃣ of the best! #RWC2023

📽️ In the spirit of Jonny Wilkinson, George Ford slotted three drop goals in the first of half #ENGvARG!https://t.co/x6IokcQhLo

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 9, 2023

Manu Tuilagi cut Santiago Chocobares in half with a wince-inducing tackle and with Ford on target from the kicking tee twice in quick succession, it was starting to look bleak for Argentina.

Over went the fifth and then sixth penalties and although the shambolic Pumas finally crossed through Bruni in the closing moments, their fate was already sealed.

The teams

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Jonny May, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes (c), 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 George Martin, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Danny Care, 22 Marcus Smith, 23 Ollie Lawrence

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Pedro Rubiolo, 21 Rodrigo Bruni, 22 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 23 Matias Moroni

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Springboks overcome poor first-half performance to defeat Argentina

South Africa produced a much improved display after the interval to overcome Argentina for the second time in a week following a 24-13 triumph in Buenos Aires.

The Springboks opened the game’s account via a Manie Libbok penalty, but Los Pumas would go into the break 10-3 in front through Gonzalo Bertranou’s try and Emiliano Boffelli’s three-pointer.

Jacques Nienaber’s charges responded at the start of the second period, however, as Makazole Mapimpi and Canan Moddie touched down to regain their advantage.

It was a lead they would not relinquish with Libbok, despite a disappointing day with the boot, sealing the win with a trio of penalties.

Argentina were ultimately left frustrated having gone into this contest with high hopes of toppling the world champions after their brave 22-21 defeat in Johannesburg.

With the Springboks also showing several changes from the clash the previous weekend, that provided a further boost for the Argentines.

It was goal-kicking which let Michael Cheika’s men down in the Rugby Championship loss, but on Saturday it was South Africa who struggled off the tee.

Libbok did open the scoring with a penalty but he missed two further three-point opportunities.  They were also held up twice over the line as the hosts’ last-ditch defence frustrated the Boks.

It proved costly for the visitors in the first half as they allowed Los Pumas to build a platform.

Under pressure, the visitors began to infringe and, from one such moment of ill-discipline, Bertranou caught the South African rearguard unawares, taking a quick-tap penalty and stepping Deon Fourie to touch down.

Santiago Carreras missed one conversion and two penalty attempts last week but Cheika brought Boffelli back for this encounter and the sharp-shooter was on target to make it a seven-point score.

The star back three player then added another off the tee after Franco Mostert had been yellow carded as Argentina took a 10-3 advantage into the interval.

South Africa began the second period a man down but that only served to inspire the Boks, and more specifically fly-half Libbok.

Los Springboks aprovecharon el sector corto y Makazole Mapimpi llegó al in-goal de #LosPumas. 🇿🇦⚡#ESPNenStarPlus pic.twitter.com/bTnEny73DC

― ScrumRugby (@ScrumESPN) August 5, 2023

Firstly, the playmaker brilliantly converted Mapimpi’s try from out wide before his outstanding crossfield kick was collected and finished off by Moodie.

Those quick-fire scores while Mostert was off the field moved the visitors 15-10 ahead before Boffelli reduced the arrears going into the final half-hour.

Libbok’s issues off the tee then returned as the pivot missed another effort, but he would be on target with just over 20 minutes remaining.

The playmaker then added two more three-pointers in the last quarter to make sure of the triumph as the Springboks finished the match in the ascendency.

Springboks edge Argentina to seal second place in Rugby Championship

South Africa finished their Rugby Championship campaign with a hard-fought 22-21 victory over Argentina at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Los Pumas will rue their missed attempts at goal as Santiago Carreras had a disappointing outing off the tee, missing two penalties and one conversion.

Mateo Carreras and Gonzalo Bertranou scored Argentina’s tries but it was too little too late for the visitors as South Africa had a cushion to cling on to.

That was because of tries from Eben Etzebeth, Damian de Allende and Manie Libbok, with the latter kicking two conversions and a penalty goal as well.

It was a concerning opening minute for the Springboks when scrum-half Grant Williams was escorted off the field on a stretcher after being knocked out while looking to clear his lines from the kick off.  Pumas full-back Juan Cruz Mallia’s flying attempt led to him colliding with the number nine who came off second best.

Faf de Klerk was his replacement but it wasn’t long before his half-back partner, Libbok, was caught offside and Santiago Carreras moved his side 3-0 up.

Their lead was doubled in the 10th minute after Kurt-Lee Arendse was penalised for not rolling away and Carreras made no mistake from range.

South Africa would regroup and Libbok halved the deficit two minutes later with a straightforward penalty from in front, much to the home fans’ delight.

That effort was added to by the first try of the game on 19 minutes when Willie le Roux found Etzebeth on the right wing, who trampled over the would-be tackler before diving over for a memorable crossing.  Libbok was unsuccessful with his conversion attempt but South Africa had their noses in front by two points.

The hosts’ tails were now well and truly up and they set about turning the screw, inside centre De Allende doubling their try account with a score at the back of a rolling maul as the half-hour approached.  Libbok slotted the extra two points and suddenly the Springboks had a 15-6 cushion at a raucous Ellis Park.

Carreras did cut that gap to six with his third penalty of the game a minute before the break before Arendse went close to crossing just prior to half-time.

The second half continued to be physical and Argentina were largely dominant but could not turn pressure into points as Santiago Carreras was wasteful.

He missed an attempt on 48 minutes and again just after the hour mark, with those wayward kicks coming back to haunt the visitors with 11 minutes to go.

🇿🇦 Springboks edge Los Pumas. #RugbyChampionship #RSAvARG pic.twitter.com/uuz4cVGqA6

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) July 29, 2023

Los Pumas were chancing their arm at this point with ball in hand and under heavy contact and pressure from the Boks, the ball came loose and was gathered by De Klerk.  The scrum-half set off from just outside his 22 but swiftly realised that Libbok had the pace to cruise over and handed his fly-half a run to the line.

Libbok’s conversion moved the Springboks 22-9 to the good and despite Los Pumas hitting back through Mateo Carreras on 75 minutes, this after De Allende was yellow carded for deliberately knocking down the ball, Santiago Carreras’ missed extras from wide out crucially kept the margin above one score at 22-14.

That meant Argentina were only playing for a losing bonus-point in the final minute which, to their credit, they claimed thanks to Bertranou darting over from close range.  This time the conversion was successful but Los Pumas had come up short, with South Africa hanging on to finish in second place in the table.