Daniel Hourcade is in floods of tears. He’s far from the only one on the Argentinian dream, as their magnificent World Cup comes, as far as anything meaningful goes, to an end.
Australia are worthy winners and worthy finalists (despite what Craig Joubert Death Enthusiasts may think). They survived a battering in the scrum and saw off Argentina with a magnificent display at the breakdown, where Fardy, Hooper and Pocock worked in tandem to secure a dozen or so turnovers and suffocate their opponents.
Thanks for reading, for all your emails and for all your tweets. Sorry I couldn’t use everything. Join me again next weekend for the big one: remarkably, for the first time ever, New Zealand v Australia in the World Cup final!
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Full-time: Argentina 15-29 Australia
Cordero makes another one of those brilliant breaks, scuttling down the right, but there’s no follow-up. Still they go, plugging away and getting the offloads out, but the clock is red now and everyone is shattered. At around the ninth phase, it’s lost forward and that’s it! Australia are in the World Cup final!
79 min But, on the 22, the move breaks down into disorder and Argentina are going backwards. A kind bounce off the boot at the ruck gets it out to Cordero via De La Fuente, but Australia are relentless in defence again. Alemanno makes another break but throws a wild pass to ground; Ashley-Cooper pumps his kick miles downfield.
78 min A nice move off the back of the scrum, it goes wide and Tuculet goes away up to halfway. Sanchez steps and puts Cordero into space, but the wing ignores the overlap. Left it goes and Lavinini pops it inside to Tuculet again.
77 min Knocked on at the lineout by Australia.
76 min The penalty goes to touch down the right. It turns out Mitchell’s pass out to Ashley-Cooper for that third try was a fair way forward. It’s probably not making much difference, but Barnes’s failure to check it is another poor call.
75 min Australia have scrum parity now since Herrera went off. Phipps kicks, Tuculet kicks, then the latter fails to roll away from a tackle on Ashley-Cooper on halfway.
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74 min Australia knock it on at the restart, but you would say that they’re into the final now. Argentina plug away, but there doesn’t seem to be much inspiration now – they’ve been blitzed by the Australian loose forwards and injuries today. Montoya knocks on.
What a try! (Ashley-Cooper 72 + Foley con) Argentina 15-29 Australia
It’s a hat-trick for Adam Ashley-Cooper but it’s all about Drew Mitchell this one. He takes a flat pass on the left on halfway and cuts inside, zeroing in on the posts. Three men look to bring him down, three men are beaten. Two more close in as he enters the 22 down the middle, so out goes the pass on the bounce to the unmarked wing, who goes over to the right of the posts. Foley converts.
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70 min Still Argentina ball, but still slow and it’s knocked on in midfield by Figallo. Australia clear through Ashley-Cooper and Tuculet returns with that monstrous boot of his, finding touch on the right inside Australia’s half.
69 min Beale loses it and Argentina look to counter. Noguera carries it on, before Lavinini drives in midfield. Cordero scorches through, but then Cubelli is driven back by Pocock!
68 min Scrappy ball from Australia, but they have it on halfway. Argentina’s defence is good, but that’s no good without them having the ball.
67 min Simmons and Genia are replaced by Mumm and Phipps. Foley decides the penalty is just out of his range, so goes to touch, but Polota-Nau overthrows. Pocock clears it up, recovering the ball, and Smith carries hard into the 22, but then Hooper looses it forward in a massive tackle from Bosch. Sanchez clears to his own 10 metre line.
66 min Knocked on again – the 10th time Argentina have been turned over – and Genia kicks ahead. Cordero is safely behind it though and we get an exchange of kicks. That ends with a penalty for offside against Argentinian chasers.
65 min Toomua comes on for the hobbling Folau, who came into this match with an ankle injury. New Zealand will be loving this. Matera takes the lineout just inside the Australian half and the Pumas look to put width on it, but Australia are up too quickly for them. They’ve still got it, but they’re back into their own half.
64 min On they go, to within 10, but it goes loose off an Argentinian boot and Genia hammers it clear with an excellent kick to touch. Australia’s defence has been desperate at times, but so good.
63 min That’s much better from Australia, but Argentina come away with it under pressure and Amorosino has a look down the left. It comes right and it’s back with Amorosino, who steps into space and offloads. It’s shifted on to Tuculet and Argentina are on the front foot now.
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62 min Australia lineout on the 10 metre line, but Fardy’s pass goes loose and it’s back with Argentina. Amorosino clears to Folau and the full-back runs into his own man on halfway, conceding a scrum for accidental offside.
61 min Argentina have to be so careful not to give away a penalty here. Foley goes back for the 40-metre drop goal, but his effort is all height and nowhere near enough distance. Noguera and Figallo are on for Ayerza and Herrera, while Fardy returns in place of McCalman.
60 min The throw is poor, going too far and Genia is on to it. Left they go, with Beale carrying up over halfway. Polota-Nau makes a great carry a few phases later, driving five metres over the gain line.
59 min Isa, bloody nosed, comes away off the back of the scrum. They carry it forward and knock on, but we go back for another scrum penalty to the Pumas. Herrera has been fantastic today. The penalty is a good one, into touch on the left just inside the Australian half. Polota-Nau on.
58 min Sanchez is hurt too, which is especially bad news given that Argentina have used all of their replacement backs. Alemanno is on by the looks of things, for Petti.
57 min Foley pops it inside to Beale, but the move is well read. Australia carry on probing away, getting up to the 10 metre line, before Beale chips over the top and Foley gathers brilliantly. It goes right to Ashley-Cooper on the bounce, but some outstanding scrambled defence sees the ball knocked on.
56 min Again the restart is taken by Cordero and he’s hit brilliantly by Mitchell. It’s back to Tuculet and he fires a massive clearance into touch on the left, four metres or so inside the Australian half. What a kick that was. Cubelli on for Landajo, McCalman on as a blood replacement for Fardy. Australia maul it from the lineout, then go left to Beale. He’s smothered on halfway, but Australia carry it on.
Penalty (Sanchez 55) Argentina 15-22 Australia
The reason Simmons played the man in the air there was because the throw was nothing like straight. As it is, Sanchez swishes it through from the 22.
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54 min Oh no he won’t, Amorosino stabs it into touch inside the 22 on the right. Slipper and Kepu go off, with Toby Smith and Holmes coming on. Montoya throws, they go straight to ground, but Simmons is penalised for contact in the air. This time Sanchez will have a crack at the posts.
53 min Isa goes down the right and is on his own, but it comes back on the Argengina side somehow. Kuridrani flops over the top and puts his hands on it, so Argentina get the penalty. Sanchez will have a shot at goal again.
52 min More very patient phase play, then Amorosino makes a bit of ground, but then it comes back inside and De La Fuente knocks on. Genia clears and Tuculet comes back with a mazy run to beat three men, but the ball goes loose.
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51 min Argentina are up to the 22 now and the crowd get behind them, their voices as loud as any we’ve heard at this World Cup.
50 min On they go, but Pocock wins yet another turnover and Foley can clear from his own 22. Sanchez makes the break thanks to a lovely step, before Lobbe gets it out to De la Fuente who, along with Montoya, carries down the right.
49 min Another key player for Argentina is forced off: Senatore replaced by Isa. Beale clears the restart to Isa, who takes it up to the 10 metre line. They go left and Bosch slips his man, but Argentina are getting very slow ball.
Penalty (Foley 48) Argentina 12-19 Australia
This one is a bit more central and a touch closer from the last. With it, Foley restores Australia’s nine-point advantage.
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47 min But Australia come back and Lobbe goes off his feet on his own 10 metre line. Rash again, from Argentina. Beale is on for Giteau, who was hurt in that last tackle.
46 min Foley kicks long to Cordero in the 22 and he looks make something happen, but he turns it over inside his 22. Moore and Kepu drive it up, before Pocock carries it to within 15. Australia spin it left, but Giteau is dragged out into touch. Argentina take it quickly and Senatore boots clear.
Penalty (Sanchez 45) Argentina 12-19 Australia
Remarkably, we’re back to there just being a score in it. They can’t, can they?
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45 min Australia scrum dead centre, a metre out of their 22. Slipper folds in and Argentina get another scrum penalty – their third of the match.
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44 min It’s thrown long and goes forward off Lobbe’s fingertips. Hernadez, who took a blow earlier, is holding his side and becomes Argentina’s third injury casualty of the match. De La Fuente his replacement.
43 min Hernandez with the drop-out and Ashley-Cooper takes it just inside the Argentina half. Petti makes the tackle, gets to his feet and wins the turnover though, forcing Ashley-Cooper to hold on. Hernandez puts it into touch on the right, a metre or so outside the 22.
42 min From 45 metres, about 10 in from the left, Foley drills it wide to the left. The crowd like that.
41 min Here we go again, Foley restarting with a kick to Corderon in the 22. A strong drive takes him up to within five of the 10 metre line, but it’s stolen by Fardy and Australia get the penalty when Argentina go off their feet.
You get the feeling that Argentina, with their mad, high-octane and, you have to say, headless start gave the game up in the first 10 minutes when they handed two tries to a side as ruthless as Australia. Yes, the referee has been harsh on them, but they’ve been on the back foot from the off and it’s difficult to see them making up the 10-points.
Half-time: Argentina 9-19 Australia
Huge scrum this, seven metres out from the Australia line in the right-hand corner. It’s a huge shove and Kepu slips. The ball emerges from a mass of bodies not even resembling a scrum and Foley boots it off. More boos for Barnes, who has been pretty poor once again, for not at least resetting that scrum or awarding Argentina a penalty.
40 min Montoya’s throw is taken at the back on the 10 metre line and they go wide right quickly, with Bosch making ground and crossing halfway. On they go and then Cordero dazzles once again, stepping and sniping into the 22 around the breakdown. He offloads quite brilliantly out the back of the hand to Hernandez, but then under pressure from Foley in the tackle his offload isn’t clean and Tuculet knocks it on. The line was begging there!
39 min Still Argentina look for gaps, but they’re looking tentative out there and eventually hoof it away. Folau returns.
Imhoff is off permanently, by the way.
38 min Hernandez clears to touch, not making much ground on the left and giving Australia a lineout midway inside the half. Petti steals it though and Sanchez makes a half break in midfield.
37 min Lavinini returns from the sin-bin with his side 10 points in arrears, so it could have been worse I suppose. I would say that without Creevy and the scrum dominance he was helping to give his side, Argentina aren’t going to get back into this one.
Penalty (Sanchez 37) Argentina 9-19 Australia
From 36 metres, Sanchez knocks over a straightforward kick.
35 min Australia’s tails are up and they think about putting width on it from under their own posts. There’s nothing on, so Foley sends a gorgeous arcing clearance up over the 10 metre line. Montoya finds his man with a throw that’s nowhere near straight, but it’s let go. Second later Kepu is done for going offside.
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34 min From wide on the left this time, Foley hooks it badly.
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Try! (Ashley-Cooper 32) Argentina 6-19 Australia
They go right, stretching the defence and sucking defenders in, before moving it left. Giteau spots the overlap and sends a perfect wide pass out to Ashley-Cooper, who had gone around to give the Wallabies a second extra man. Over he goes for his second try.
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31 min That’s a huge loss for the Pumas, who are on the brink here you feel. From the scrum, Genia pops it back inside for Folau on the charge and a couple of phases later it’s back in the full-back’s hands. He goes through to within five and Australia recycle again.
30 min Hernandez clears to touch down the left, about 30 metres up the field. The lineout is own, but Argentina need to get it clear as they’re not making any ground. Pocock wins another turnover and with that the scrum, on the 22. Creevy has picked up an injury and is replaced by Montoya.
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29 min And the seven-man Argentina pack get the penalty! It was an early shove by Slipper.
28 min Foley goes to the corner this time, aiming for the killer blow. Argentina defend the first maul well, but it’s recycled and Fardy forms a second. On they drive, but Creevy holds it up, the ball gets stuck and it’ll be a scrum Pumas, five out from their line.
27 min Australia’s driving maul is accelerating towards the line, but Barnes blows for a penalty for side entry against Argentina before it anything can happen. Why on earth is this man in charge of a World Cup semi-final?
26 min Nice running and offloading from the Wallabies gets them up to the 10 metre line, but Matera is there to smash Mitchell again. Giteau puts the box kick out on the full, but we’re going back for a no-arm tackle by Lavinini, low on Folau. Yellow card says Barnes. Not for me, but then I feel that way about most things Barnes decides. Giteau sticks the penalty into touch on the 22 as boos ring out.
25 min Hooper, who has been everywhere, is so close to taking the restart on the 22, but it’s with Argentina and the clear. Folau runs back and passes out to Mitchell on halfway, but he’s chopped down by Matera.
Penalty (Sanchez 24) Argentina 6-14 Australia
From wide on the left, just outside the 22, Sanchez takes his tournament tally to 77 – that’s more than anyone else.
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23 min Ledesma 0-1 His homeland. Slipper goes to ground under ridiculous pressure from Herrera and Argentina get the penalty against the head.
22 min This is taking a while.
21 min It’s not clean ball and Australia’s counter drive is excellent at the maul. Pocock is in there and wins yet another turnover. Scrum to Australia, five from their own line.
20 min Hernandez kicks down the left and Foley is so close to brilliantly keeping it in play. He was in the air when he played it, but the touch judge wrongly raises his flag. Argentina have the five metre lineout.
19 min Foley’s garryowen is deflected and Tuculet takes it on the bounce. He’s wrapped up, but Simmons goes off his feet and enters from the side.
18 min Bad news for Argentina, as Imhoff staggers off looking woozy. He’ll have an HIA while Amorosino comes on in his place. Argentina have a lineout on the right from the penalty, near the 22, but Pocock wins the turnover at first phase. An exchange of kicks ends with an Australia lineout five metres inside their own half.
17 min With Lobbe in pursuit, Hooper just about gets back to win it on halfway and Genia box kicks ahead. Tuculet clears and the chase is good, with Bosch wrapping up Folau and the Australian holds on in contact.
16 min Argentina go right but Cordero is tackled and turned over by Moore. Simmons goes through one tackle to takes his side up to the 22, before Kepu too breaks past on man. It goes right to Mitchell, but he loses it and Lobbe hacks clear.
15 min Pocock takes a moment to have a fair bit of blood wiped from his face. I believe it’s his. While that’s happening, Miles Harrison describes Maradona as “the man who introduced the knock-on to football”, which is nice. Back to the match and Lavinini does his best to nab it, but Douglas wins the lineout and Australia – just – retain the ball. Giteau puts it high and Tuculet takes.
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14 min Sanchez clears long to touch, but Folau takes it quickly and Mitchells shrugs off a tackle on halfway. Giteau kicks ahead towards the corner, but Cordero picks it up off the floor and with some dazzling footwork turns Ashley-Cooper inside out, before clearing to touch.
13 min Australia come again after Pocock wins another turnover just inside the Argentina half. Left they go and Kuridrani scythes through on the angle, but the ball is lost forward in contact.
12 min After an exchange of kicks, Argentina look to run it back but Imhoff is stopped dead in his tracks on halfway. Australia’s defence is up so fast and as such they’re not allowing Argentina to put width on it as Ireland did.
Conversion (Foley 11) Argentina 3-14 Australia
From miles out on the right, Foley drills it just inside the far post. This has been a magnificent start.
Try! (Ashley-Cooper 10) Argentina 3-12 Australia
Australia scrum then, a few metres inside the 22 and they score from the first phase! Foley spots Imhoff charging up out the line, changes his angle slightly and sends a long looping pass out for the wing to cross in the right-hand corner. That was devastatingly simple.
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8 min Foley kicks down the middle to Hernandez, who had a bit of treatment after being hit hard a couple of minutes ago. He takes it into contact, Landajo passes back to Sanchez and he clears just 25 metres upfield. From the lineout, Foley chips over the top and Cordero takes a brilliant catch, calling the mark. He taps, looking to streak clear, but knocks it on in doing so. Oh dear.
Penalty (Sanchez 7) Argentina 3-7 Australia
It was Pocock who was miles out of position and allowed Bosch through there. His mistake is punished, but not as heavily as it might have been.
6 min From the lineout Bosch dashes through massive gap and is dragged down 15 metres out. That was shocking defence from Australia and they’re on the ropes now. Offside they go, right in front of the posts and this should be three points for Argentina.
5 min Tuculet takes but some excellent counterrucking sees the ball back on the Australian side, but it goes left and Folau knocks on. Tuculet kicks ahead, Mitchell goes back and the wing clears to touch 37 metres out from the Australian line.
4 min I imagine that conceding the quickest try of this World Cup wasn’t part of Argentina’s plan. The restart is coughed up off an Australian hand and the first scrum of the match goes to Argentina, on the 22 wide right. From it they get a free-kick, but Sanchez drops the ball and Fardy thumps it clear.
Conversion (Foley 3) Argentina 0-7 Australia
From just to the right, Foley does what you’d expect.
Try! (Simmons 2) Argentina 0-5 Australia
But then seconds later we do get the interception! Sanchez steps and switches play with an inside pass, which is picked off by the lock and over he goes, unchallenged from 30 metres!
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PEEEP! Wayne Barnes is the man with the whistle; he gives it a blow and Hernandez gets the game going with a high, hanging kick that Kuridrani takes. It’s shifted right along the line to Foley, who clears to Tuculet and his high ball is run back by Ashley-Cooper. The wing is stripped of the ball on halfway, but then when Argentina go left Mitchell so nearly gets in with an interception...
Anthems watch: I’ve genuinely not heard singers as bad as the Australian team since the Stone Roses did the world a favour and packed it in.
Good commentary lineup from ITV today: Kay, Flatman and Harrison are about as good as we can get at this World Cup. The players are out on the pitch now, lining up for the anthems.
In other news, Diego Maradona is at Twickenham.
Five minutes or so to go. Matt Dony writes: “I can’t really see any romantic upsets. Australia are going to win, and the final will be contested by the best team from the groups and the best team from the knockout stage, which is fair enough. And at least we can look forward to a truly brutal front-row battle between South Africa and Argentina.”
Matt’s email came with the subject line “Realism bites”, which gives me a tenuous enough excuse to revisit my favourite genre of music: 90s one-hit wonders.
Record watch
Two is the magic number. Michael Hooper will become the second youngest man ever to reach 50 caps today, behind George North. Meanwhile two tries for Drew Mitchell and he will overtake Bryan Habana and Jonah Lomu to become the all-time leading try-scorer in World Cup history.
Another record is eight. That’s the number of times my Gmail accounts have decided to sign me out in the last 10 minutes. If anyone knows either how to stop this or how to punch Gmail in its stupid useless face then get in touch.
Podcast!
It’s not just those clever Football Weekly folk you can listen to. You probably don’t have time now, but here are Andy Zaltzman, Owen Evans from SportsBusiness Insider and me previewing the semi-finals. Yes, you can hear my voice: the MBM in audio form.
And now a word from our sponsors. Matt Dawson thinks Argentina are going to do this. I’m not certain either way. My head says Australia, but not by very much at all.
.@Matt9Dawson and @WillCarling weigh up #ARG’s chances against #AUS and #NZL. #ItsYourCall #RWC2015 https://t.co/HE1d0h2fnv
— Heineken (@Heineken) October 25, 2015
Scenes.
Standard Sunday stroll to Twickenham. #ARGvAUS #StrongerAsOne pic.twitter.com/wr4w8Bv0Pj
— Wallabies (@Wallabies) October 25, 2015
“Couldn’t agree more, Dan,” writes wisdom’s Simon McMahon. “Losing to a last minute penalty in a World Cup QF is a sore one, sure, but as you say, Australia were poor. The penalty decision and all the emotion of a last minute defeat masks the fact that despite not playing particularly well, in the end, the Wallabies still had too much for Scotland. That we even got close is testament to the belief and confidence of this Scotland side who should continue to progress under Cotter. That said, I hope the Pumas stuff them today.”
Some more excellent, essential pre-match reading here. Uki Goñi reports on how Argentina’s rugby players have become heroes to the folk back home.
This is an interesting one. My Australia office colleague Rajiv Maharaj reckons that picking Pocock is a big risk for the Wallabies today. I was assuming that he’s fully fit because, as Rajiv says, you don’t want to go up against Argentina undercooked.
I’m not going to lie, I’ve loved watching Argentina in this World Cup and – because I’m not some heartless neutral automaton incapable of feelings – I would dearly love for them to go all the way and win it. I don’t think they can, but it would be one of the great sporting stories, wouldn’t it? Like Greece at Euro 2004 only watchable. It’s not just the way they play, but the sheer glee at success that we’ve seen from them.
Preamble
Afternoon, folks. It’s fair to say that, of the two semi-finals this weekend, this one’s history is by far the less storied. Argentina and Australia have met twice at World Cups but neither match was especially memorable. Both 1991 and 2003 were early pool stage encounters and both resulted in comfortable Wallaby victories (on their way to the final, omen fans), while the Pumas’ impact on those tournaments was minimal.
That certainly isn’t the case this time around. In a way this is unchartered ground for Argentina. Yes, they finished third in France eight years ago, but they were comfortably brushed aside in the semi-final at the Parc des Princes by South Africa and were never really in danger of winning the tournament. I’m not saying they could now but, well... could they?
These two have played each other once already this season, when Australia recorded a thumping 34-9 win in Mendoza back in July. However that result doesn’t really reflect how closely matched the sides are just three years after Argentina were first brought into the Rugby Championship family. The 2014 double-header finished one win apiece, although you have to go back to 1997 for the Puma’s last win. Only once, in 1983, have they beaten the Wallabies outside on foreign soil, yet it would be a brave soul who bet against them breaking that duck today.
While Argentina’s quarter-final win over Ireland was, to put it bluntly, awesome, Australia’s over Scotland was a funny one. The Wallabies scored five tries, but weren’t very good. Bernard Foley held his nerve to seal the win quite brilliantly, but had a shocking game, missing three kicks and gifting Scotland one try, while his team collectively proffered another for Mark Bennett. I have no time for any idiot who says they’re only there because of one (marginal) wrong call; I thought Joubert had a poor game, wrongly carding Sean Maitland and letting Scotland off the hook in the scrum, but that final penalty, while the wrong decision, was a very understandable mistake. Nonetheless, Australia looked nothing like the side that had earned so many plaudits after demolishing England.
Today they are without Scott Sio and, given the Pumas’ vaunted scrum, this could be crucial. In Nicolas Sanchez, Argentina have perhaps the form fly-half at the World Cup and if Argentina get on top there, and if Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Pablo Matera can match Michael Hooper and David Pocock at the breakdown, my money says they will win. They have never won back-to-back Rugby Championship games and this is the first time at the World Cup they will have played two big matches on the bounce. With both sides favouring an attacking game and with, at the time of writing (12.30pm) the sun shining in this part of London (Holborn), it’s primed to be a fascinating, even brilliant match.
Kick-off is at 4pm BST GMT. That’s 3am over in our Sydney office – and indeed in the rest of the city – or a more palatable 1pm in Buenos Aires. Your case of gentlemen and players is as follows:
Australia
Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Bernard Foley, Will Genia; James Slipper, Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu, Kane Douglas, Rob Simmons, Scott Fardy, Michael Hooper, David Pocock.
Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Toby Smith, Greg Holmes, Dean Mumm, Ben McCalman, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Kurtley Beale.
Argentina
Joaquin Tuculet, Santiago Cordero, Marcelo Bosch, Juan Martin Hernandez, Juan Imhoff, Nicolas Sanchez, Martin Landajo; Marco Ayerza, Agustin Creevy, Ramiro Herrera, Guido Petti, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Leonardo Senatore.
Replacements: Julian Montoya, Lucas Noguera, Juan Figallo, Matias Alemanno, Facundo Isa, Tomas Cubelli, Jeronimo De La Fuente, Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.
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