Having had a bad start in the tournament, Argentina pulled itself together to reach the third semi-final in its history in the World Cup thanks to its narrow victory on Saturday in Marseille over the Welsh (29-17) who did not couldn’t kill the match. It will undoubtedly be necessary a lot more next week at the Stade de France against an opponent of a completely different caliber, Ireland or New Zealand, two titans opposing each other in the evening (9:00 p.m.) in the Dyonisian enclosure.
Nicolas Sanchez delivers the Argentinians at the end of the match
But the Pumas have come so far that their World Cup is already successful whatever happens with this third qualification in the last four after 2007 and 2015. Versed in the most affordable part of the table, they could legitimately nourish this ambition before the start of the tournament, but their failed start against England (27-10) made them lose their splendor.
It was already at the Stade Vélodrome, more than a month ago, and it already seems so distant, even if it is almost always just as hot on the shores of the Mediterranean. The men of Michael Cheika, called last year to play the firefighters on duty after the departure of Mario Ledesma, have quietly gained strength since. Their last wild group match against Japan (39-27) had already revealed the extent of their offensive potential.
More eye-catching than the flocking of the Welsh jerseys, they especially showed a lot of heart on Saturday until the liberating interception of their replacement opener Nicolas Sanchez at the very end of the match (77th). Just before, Welsh winger Louis Rees-Zammit had only missed a few centimeters, on a spectacular dive, to restore the advantage to his team.
The Last of Biggar
An action like the Welsh match, who failed to definitively defeat their opponent after having controlled most of the first half. A domination rewarded by a try from Dan Biggar, at the conclusion of an action which he himself had initiated by launching in the meantime another dashing thirty-year-old, George North (14th).
South African referee Jaco Peyper, who had already refereed the Welsh in the quarter-final four years ago (and gave a red card to Frenchman Sébastien Vahaamahina), was injured just afterwards. His replacement, the Englishman Karl Dickson, continued to penalize the Pumas, who quickly lost their center at the Toulouse Santiago Chocobares Stadium and seemed to be off to a bad start, trailing 10-0.
Too clumsy in touch, Wales wasted ammunition and the dynamic changed sides when Emiliano Boffelli began to pile up penalties. The replacement scrum half Tomos Williams may have restored the advantage to the XV du Poireau (57th), the South Americans did not give up and were rewarded for their combativeness with a strong try from La Rochelle pillar Joel Sclavi (67th), just came into play.
Sanchez’s interception ended the Welsh dream and the international career of Biggar, who will still continue to play not far from Marseille, at RC Toulon. The Leek XV was in such a state of disrepair when he took over last winter that coach Warren Gatland, even if he undoubtedly hoped for better, will be able to be satisfied with this course and the improvement shown during the group stage.