Los Pumas too classy for spirited Wales
MATCH REPORT: Wales put up a spirited performance at the Principality Stadium but were outclassed by Argentina, who sealed a historic 52-28 win.
The score margin is the biggest for Los Pumas against Wales in their history.
Wales were brave and showed plenty of heart, but simply couldn’t keep up with the pace and execution of Argentina for the majority of the match.
For Wales head coach Steve Tandy, there would be plenty of positives to take despite taking a loss in his first outing in his new job.
*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!
Los Pumas struck first in the seventh minute through prop Pedro Delgaro, who forced the ball down over the line following a rolling maul.
It took just two minutes for Argentina to strike again with a second try through Geronimo Prisciantelli, who regathered a kick by Santiago Carreras.
Carreras converted both tries.
Wales hit back through Tomos Williams after receiving an offload by Jac Morgan in the 14th minute to open the hosts’ account. Dan Edwards added the extras.
The hosts scored their second try of the afternoon in the 22nd minute through former captain Dewi Lake after taking a tap penalty five metres from Argentina’s line, which Edwards converted to level matters.
Drama followed when referee Ben O’Keefe checked with Quinton Immelman for potential foul play against Ben Thomas.
The ruling was negative against the centre for an attempted kick on Pablo Matera.
He was yellow-carded for an off-field review in the 27th minute, which remained a yellow card.
Wales conceded a breakdown penalty, which Carreras slotted to reclaim the lead in the 31st minute.
Los Pumas extended their lead two minutes before half-time through scrumhalf Simon Benitez Cruz, who sniped around the breakdown to dot the ball down, which Carreras converted.
Seconds later, after the restart, Argentina showed how dangerous they can be when Pablo Matera broke the line and kicked the ball ahead for Mateo Carreras, who scored in the corner, which his namesake Santiago converted.
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Argentina had the first say in the second half with a try in the 43rd minute by Bautista Delguy. Carreras added the extras.
Things went from bad to worse for Wales when Williams got sent to the sin-bin for a cynical tackle off the ball after a line break leading up to the Delguy try.
Wales managed the yellow card brilliantly not to concede any points, but getting a try of their own through captain Morgan from close range, which Edwards converted in the 54th minute.
Unfortunately for Morgan, he injured his wrist in the process and got replaced by Ollie Cracknell.
Argentina were gifted a freebie after Prisciantelli grabbed a brace when intercepting a short ball from Williams to run it in under the posts in the 62nd minute as Carreras slotted the conversion.
Wales grabbed a score back through Blair Murray, who ran a solid line to receive the pass from Williams from the base of the ruck and go over in the 73rd minute, which Jarrod Evans converted.
Argentina had the final say and racked up 50 points in the 79th minute through replacement Santiago Grondona as Carreras slotted the conversion to seal their biggest win against Wales in their history.
Player of the Match: Our award goes to the veteran and Los Pumas captain Julian Montoya, who led through his actions and made the most tackles in this match with 20 to his name.
Scorers
For Wales
Tries: Williams, Lake, Morgan, Murray
Cons: Edwards 3, Evans
For Argentina
Tries: Delgado, Prisciantelli 2 Benitez Cruz, M.Carreras, Delguy, Grondona
Cons: S.Carreras 7
Pens: S.Carreras
Yellow cards: Ben Thomas (Wales, 27′ – Dangerous play: attempted kick on a player), Tomos Williams (Wales, 43′ – cynical foul: tackle off the ball after an Argentina line break)
Teams
Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit
Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Justo Piccardo, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9 Simon Benitez Cruz , 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera (vice-captain), 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tomas Rapetti, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Agustin Moyano, 22 Juan Cruz Mallia, 23 Rodrigo Isgro
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (England), Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
