MARSEILLE, France — As the full-time whistle went, the Stade Velodrome was bouncing to the sound of Argentinian celebrations.
The tears from the Argentina players on the bench had already started to flow four minutes previous as veteran Nicolas Sanchez intercepted a loose pass and ran away from the desperately chasing Welsh defence to secure a spot in the semifinals for the Pumas.
He was roared home by the sounds of “Argentina es un sentimiento no puedo parar” from the stands. Sanchez’s match-winning score came in the 76th minute to finally wrestle a match in Argentina’s favour which they should have lost by about the 30-minute mark.
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But instead of “Hymns and Arias” greeting a Wales win, it was the Argentinian fans whose singing created a claustrophobic, cacophonous noise inside the beautiful stadium in the south of France as they celebrated a monumental 29-17 win.
The Pumas’ players on the bench had joined in the songs from the stand, conducting the throngs of blue and white to continue bouncing, scarves swinging and vocal chords ripped as Argentina reached the final four.
In turn, Wales were left devastated. The team was hampered by injuries during the match, had a divisive call go against them, and were left desolate in what will be the final time in the famous red jersey for some legends.
It’s been some turn around by Michael Cheika’s side. Five weeks ago they were completely shown up by England, as they played against 14 men for 78 minutes but failed to find a way to trouble the English defence until the last plays of the match. They lost 27-10 and thoughts of a semifinal would have been a world away.
“In these tournaments you learn, depending on the draw, how you build into it,” Cheika said. “I don’t think there’s been a radical turnaround, it’s not linear either, it goes up and down, but the work you put in as a foundation is what you bank on in this tournament.”
There’s something remarkable about Argentina and Rugby World Cups. Back in 2007 they were the neutral’s favourites as they dispatched France and Ireland in the pools only to eventually lose to eventual winners South Africa in the semifinals. But they left their stamp on the tournament by dismantling hosts France in the bronze medal match, playing rugby from another planet.
16 years on there’s still that dab of flair — but given their two second-half tries were scored from a close range dart by the substitute loose-head, and the match-clinching score was an intercept, this is an Argentina team built on careful pragmatism, matched with firm foundations and then that eagerness to attack at every opportunity.
Few would have predicted an Argentina victory at around the 30-minute mark. Wales were in complete control, with Dan Biggar scoring a brilliantly worked try in the 15th minute, as they strung together a series of offloads to put the fly-half over. But they let two chances slip, first through Gareth Davies failing to capitalise on a Jac Morgan break, and then Josh Adams knocking on with open field ahead of him after failing to run on to a George North pass. Had one of those stuck, Wales would have had a 17-0 lead, and it would have taken the most optimistic Argentina fan to predict they would find a way back in.
Those dropped chances gave the Pumas a foothold in a match where the referee Jaco Peyper was forced off after 16 minutes with a calf injury sustained as he chased the Biggar try, leading to Karl Dickson taking up the whistle. “It does throw you off,” Warren Gatland said. “We were comfortable with Jaco Peyper and the relationship we had with him. It’s nothing against Karl but you do a lot of analysis on referees. We hadn’t really prepared for the change.”
You could start to see the wear and tear starting to show among the Wales ranks, while their lineout was under-par, winning just two from five in the first 40. Ill-discipline gifted Argentina two penalties, they were also riled by Josh Adams’ off-the-ball hit on scrum-half Tomas Cubelli, and so what should have been a 17-point lead, or thereabouts, was only four at half time.
The boot of Emiliano Boffelli kept the scoreboard ticking over to give Argentina a 12-10 lead in the 48th minute. Tomos Williams scored for Wales to give them a five-point lead, but then came those two knockout punches from the Pumas as Wales’ bruises started to count. Gareth Davies was forced off injured after 50 minutes, Biggar was on one leg for most of the second-half but played through the pain until the 74th minute, while Liam Williams was off injured in the 60th minute. That’s the spine of the team gone — along with the absent Taulupe Faletau who broke his arm against Georgia. As their experienced players departed, Argentina grew into the game.
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The first try was contentious. In the 63rd minute, the TMO looked at an incident where Guido Petti’s shoulder connected with Nick Tompkins’ head. We’ve seen those penalised before, given there was clear and obvious contact, but Dickson considered the passage of play: he’d called tackle, the player was released, Tompkins fell, and Petti came in with a legal clearout. Decision: play on. Tompkins — correctly — was taken for a Head Injury Assessment, and four minutes later, the Pumas scored through Joel Sclavi despite Wales feeling Dillon Lewis had forced a turnover. With the conversion, the Pumas had a two-point lead.
Wales had one further good chance as Rio Dyer broke away from the Pumas’ defence, but Louis Rees-Zammit’s acrobatic dive for the line fell short. From there the Pumas kept the pressure on, and two minutes later Sanchez snaffled up a loose Sam Costelow pass and ran away to break Welsh hearts.
“We’ve been preparing for this a lot,” Argentina captain Julian Montoya said. “Nothing has been too easy for us for the last couple of years. We trust each other. We are a very tight group. I know you just see the 15 on the pitch or the 23 but there is a group of people behind us who are unbelievable. They work day and night. We are the fortunate guys who wear the jersey but this is a team effort.”
For Wales they’ll celebrate players like Biggar who wore the red jersey for the final time, but this will sting. They had the chances to put this game beyond Argentina’s reach.
“It’s always a missed opportunity,” Gatland said afterwards. “Let’s not take anything away from Argentina. They’ve had wins over the All Blacks in the last few years. They’re a dogged team. They hang in there and play for each other. If you don’t take your chances and keep the scoreboard ticking over, they’ll get you.
“We’re disappointed because we went in with a lot of confidence. We felt if we were accurate and executed the gameplan, we’d be in the semifinal.”
For Cheika’s Pumas, their World Cup goes on another week. It’s a remarkable turnaround. From their miserable performance in Marseille to open the tournament, to this miracle five weeks on, Argentina march into the final four. The odds will be against them when they face Ireland or New Zealand in Paris next weekend, but as they repeatedly prove, bet against this group at your peril.
“We are just thrilled to be going to Paris, we haven’t had a taste of it yet at this World Cup,” Cheika said. “We will look at tonight’s game and I know we won’t be favourites [in their semi-final] but we’ll be giving it our best.”