A delighted Andy Powell dives over to score Wales' first try
Warren Gatland’s squad will be disappointed to hear that Stephen Jones has still not recovered from his calf-injury. He once again missed out after failing a late fitness test. James Hook and Rhys Priestland will be capable replacements in New Zealand if they are given the call ahead of Jones.
It was a fairly innocuous 1st half that looked likely to end with a dull blow of the referee’s whistle rather than any excitement or running rugby. The Pumas were leading courtesy of a Felipo Contepomi penalty goal, breaking the deadlock after 30 minutes.
Wales 0 Argentina 3
However, the dynamics of the game was about to change. Wales won a scrum in the Argentine 22 and Andy Powell drove off the back. He offloaded to Tavis Knoyle who passed to Alun Wyn Jones who popped the ball onto Powell who galloped in for an easy try. After 36 minutes of boring rugby, Powell’s try broke the tension in Cardiff and created a surge of excitement in the Millennium Stadium.
From the kick-off Wales noticed an overlap. They won quick ball and Knoyle made a good inroad into the Argentine defence. He managed to offload to Jamie Roberts who drew in the defenders and released George North on a scintillating break. He looked to go to the corner himself but unselfishly he gave the ball inside to Alun Wyn Jones who scored just to the left of the posts. Hook confidently struck the kick and made the conversion count.
Wales 14 Argentina 3
Wales forced a penalty at a scrum in Argentina’s half. Hook slotted the kick from straight in front of the posts from about 35 metres. Hook showed his composure with the boot and succeeded in keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
Wales 17 Argentina 3
Wales didn’t secure the ball of the kick-off and turned the ball over. In a show of strength and excellent technique, Hook ripped the ball from Juan Figallo. The ball was thrown out to Lee Byrne who unfortunately did not show any ambition and kicked possession away out on the full. A team like South Africa will punish mistakes like that.
Wales secured line-out ball in Argentina’s half. They looked for quick possession but could not get any forward momentum. However, Rodrigo Roncero blatantly jumped out of the defensive line and gave Hook a chance to kick to the corner. Unfortunately, Wales did not secure clean line-out ball. Argentina won the line-out and cleared the ball with a box-kick. Wales threw the ball out wide only to ruin a three-man overlap. A messy ruck followed and Argentina gave away a penalty. Hook chose to take the points this time and was successful once again with the boot.
Wales 20 Argentina 3
From the kick-off, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe clumsily took Alun Wyn Jones out in the air and won himself a careless yellow card. Luckily Wyn Jones was not injured in the collision. However, Wales could not make anything from the resulting line-out after the kick downfield.
At the 60-minute mark Argentina pressed hard and drove close to the Welsh try-line. A few phases of possession followed until Wales gave away a penalty instead of conceding a possible try. Contempomi slotted the easy penalty from straight in front of the posts.
Wales 20 Argentina 6
The match so far was not proving to be very adventurous in attack or defence. Nothing seemed to really gel for either side. There was a series of errors, knock-ons and little mistakes that crept in for both side.
A couple of scrums went down in the midfield and Wales kicked towards the corner from the resulting penalty. A well taken line-out lead to a quick-ball which was released wide. Roberts was sent down the middle on a crash-ball. Sensing an opportunity, Hook passed the ball out to Jonathan Davies and then George North finished of the move. North seems to pop-up in exactly the right place and at the right time at the moment, he could be a dangerous man in New Zealand. He will definitely be in Wales’ 30-man squad and he looks like a capable replacement for Shane Williams in the future. Hook dragged the conversion attempt to the left of the posts.
Wales 25 Argentina 6
Argentina won a penalty and kicked to the corner in an attempt to press for a try. They won a sloppy line-out and drove forward of the back of the set piece. They won another penalty and went for the corner. Again they drove forward and looked powerful as they forced their way to the line. The decision went to the TMO. After a lengthy look at the mess of bodies sprawled over the Welsh try-line, the try was awarded. I personally could not see the ball touched down, but perhaps the BBC did not show the full range of camera angles that the TMO had access to. The try was credited to Martin Scelzo and Contempomi struck his conversion beautifully to make the score Wales 25 Argentina 13
A clever kick-off from Hook was expertly taken by the Dragons winger Aled Brew who nearly released Jonathan Davies for another Welsh try. Today there were some touches of brilliance from the Welsh side, but they will still need to polish their performance in time for their first match in New Zealand.
With Argentina pushing for a consolation score from well inside their own half they gave away another penalty. With the game over Hook went for the three points and successfully landed another goal. Wales 28 Argentina 13
Argentina did not play like the side they were when they finished 3rd in 2007 in France. The Argentinians seemed rusty and lacklustre; however, their forwards were destructive at times. They just need to regain their confidence in attack and to find their patterns and they could challenge some teams. They will not progress beyond the quarter-finals unless they seriously improve.
Final Score Wales 28 Argentina 13
Who impressed for Wales?
Tavis Knoyle produced a Man of the match performance. He delivered quick ball from some difficult breakdown situations. He took one high ball superbly. Knoyle looked sharp around the fringes and he offers a more dynamic option than Mike Phillips.
James Hook showed that he is more of a fly-half than a full-back although Lee Byrne did not have the best of games in the No. 15 shirt so Hook could still feature there for Wales. Hook kicked his goals, missing only one attempt.
Andy Powell proved that he can play rugby. As long as he keeps himself out of the tabloids (for the wrong reasons) he will be a good bet for a ticket to New Zealand. He took his try well and looked strong off the back of the scrum.
George North once again made his way over the try-line and he looks dangerous in open space. He is very capable of taking up the try-scoring mantle that will be left to him when Shane Williams retires.
Alun Wyn Jones had a terrific match in the set-piece and in the loose. He supported Wales’ first try and was on hand on the inside shoulder of George North to score the second try for Wales.
Adam Jones had a quiet match in the loose, but his influence was definitely noticed in the scrum. He made the Welsh look strong in the front-five and won his side vital penalties that Hook slotted to keep Argentina out of the match.
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