Wales 20 Argentina 13
by David Nicholson
at the Millennium Stadium

THE relief of a Welsh victory over the Pumas on Saturday in Cardiff was palpable as head coach Wayne Pivac faced the media after the game.

The under-fire coach and his side were heavily criticised for their capitulation to New Zealand last week and lack of aggression up front.

“This was a very good response to last week and I thought we contained Argentina well.

“The way we played was not perfect but we were pleased to get the points on the board and defend the way we did,” Pivac said.

The stadium roof was closed despite the clear skies over Cardiff and caused both sets of players to slip on the soggy grass and spill the ball.

The closed roof certainly adds to the noise volume within the stadium, but rugby is an outdoor game and the humid conditions hindered running rugby.

Wales were down by six points within 10 minutes after they conceded two penalties. The home side’s ill-discipline was such that referee Ben O’Keefe warned skipper Justin Tipuric that the next off-side offender would be sent to the sin bin.

The men in red duly tightened up their discipline and were rewarded with a Taulupe Faletau try off of a rolling maul. 

Faletau was a deserved man of the match on his birthday and his side went in at half time with a four-point lead.

A Tomos Williams charge down of a sloppy clearance kick by Pumas’ full back Juan Cruz Mallia gave the scrum-half an easy try as he flopped onto the ball on the visitors’ try line.

A further penalty stretched the Welsh lead to 14 points, but were pegged back as the Pumas managed to get their rolling maul working to bring themselves back within a converted try to level the scoreboard. 

One of Pivac’s forced experiments was playing flying winger Louis Rees-Zammit at full back with the absence of Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams.

The position suited Rees-Zammit with the speedster getting far more ball than he did on the wing and thrilled the crowd with several mazy runs back at the Pumas from deep.

The coach was pleased with how Rees-Zammit performed and praised his kicking game.

But Pumas coach Michael Cheika was unhappy with how his side played. 

“Our kick and chase was not so good and we are not happy with how we played. We had five to six chances to score points but failed to take them.”

Wales is a land of feast and famine with its international rugby and this win and performance has bought Pivac and his side some respite from the criticism they have faced during 2022.