Well that was a huge improvement from Rob Howley’s side; the returns for Alun Wyn Jones, Sam Warburton and Liam Williams made such an enormous difference. It wasn’t perfect but after a run of five straight defeats, and against southern hemisphere opponents to boot, they won’t complain too hard.
Argentina were disappointing and the team that lit up the World Cup just a year ago could do with showing that they’re not just a flash in the pan after only managing one win in the Rugby Championship this year.
That’s it from me for tonight. Cheers for reading, bye!
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Full-time: Wales 24-20 Argentina
Gareth Davies usher it into touch and that’s more like it from Wales.
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79 min Alun Wyn Jones drops the restart and Argentina have it, working their way towards the Welsh 22. A poor pass from Sanches sends them backwards but they still have it. Senatore barrels to the 22 but the maul is formed and Jones, the man of the match, has won Wales a turnover and a scrum! That should do it.
Penalty (Halfpenny) Wales 24-20 Argentina
10 metres in from the left and about the same distance outside the 22, Halfpenny fires Wales into a four-point lead.
77 min And Pieretto is in the maul at the side after the lineout. Penalty to Wales and Halfpenny should all but secure the win with this.
76 min Baldwin’s throw goes loose and Desio seizes it, but then Sanches kicks and the men in the ruck are penalised for being in front of the kicker. Biggar finds touch with the penalty on the left, just outside the 22.
75 min Biggar goes very long and Hernandez returns to touch with interest. Halfpenny, looking to catch it on the full, keeps his eye on the ball and trips over a ball boy. Iglesias replaces Hernandez. Evidently Argentina don’t think they’ll need his boot.
Penalty (Sanches 74) Wales 21-20 Argentina
A touch surprisingly, they take the points from 30 metres. One point in it...
73 min Hernandez finds touch five metres outside the Wales 22 on the left and Senatore takes it. Sanches attacks the line and Charteris is a touch unfortunate to be penalised for a high tackle, given how low the Pumas No10 ducked.
72 min Wales go left from the lineout midway inside Argentina’s half. It’s too quickly through the hand’s though and Jonathan Davies’s poor flapped pass for Liam Williams goes to touch. From that lineout Argentina attack at speed and get the penalty for a high tackle, I think.
70 min Penalty Wales at the scrum after Nicky Smith makes pulp out of Herrera. Off goes the Argentinian prop, again replaced by Pieretto.
69 min Good defence by Biggar, holding up the No13 Orland and winning his side the turnover scrum five metres or so outside his own 22.
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68 min “This’ll be up in the air,” says Jonathan Davies on commentary. Straight down the middle and flat goes Hernandez. “Yep,” says Davies. Argentina carry it 20 metres inside the Wales half.
67 min Montoya replaces Cap’n Creevy. After an exchange of kicks at the restart Biggar finds touch with a gorgeous banana kick on the run. Argentina will go from the lineout midway inside their own half but there’s no space for them to run at.
Penalty (Halfpenny 66) Wales 21-17 Argentina
Notch it he does and Wales have a four-point cushion.
65 min Halfpenny should notch three points here once Jones has had some treatment to his ear. It’s on the 22, just to the left.
64 min North chases Davies’s kick chase beautifully, Isa is wrapped up after taking it from Cordero and Wales win the turnover when North rips it clear! Swung left and it’s stabbed through in goal by Jon Davies for Liam Williams, but we’re going back for a penalty for side entry at a ruck by Sanches.
63 min Desio slips through a tackle from the restart and Argentina are flying clear. They go up to halfway but then De la Fuente messes up his grubber and slices it into touch. For Argentina, Cubelli and Senatore are on for Landajo and Matera; for Wales Nicky Smith is on for Jenkins. Tipuric wins the lineout on his own 10 metre line.
Conversion (Sanches 63) Wales 18-17 Argentina
Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in.
Try! (Landajo 61) Wales 18-15 Argentina
The question is whether or not he had control of the ball and the ruling is that he has!
61 min Isa comes now and throws a great offload out to Landajo. The scrum-half is scragged just short so Argentina go through the phases, inches out. Landajo darts and we’re going to the TMO. A few players celebrated and I think he might have got this.
60 min There is no excuse for keeping the clock running while scrums are reset.
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59 min Tomas Lezana comes on for Petti. Gethin Jenkins might be withdrawn soon too, I reckon, as he’s down having treatment before this Argentinian scrum 15 metres out. I imagine we’ll have a test of Liam Williams’ defensive attributes shortly, when Facundo Isa comes hurtling down his channel.
58 min Isa barrels into Moriarty and Argentina are up to the Welsh 22, whence Matera carries it on another five metres. Solid defence around the fringes from Wales though – take note, South Africa – and this is very, very slow going. Jenkins wins the turnover but Charteris knocks on.
57 min This time it’s a shallower restart and Wales struggle to gather it. The ball bounces to the try-scorer Gavin Davies, who then thumps it directly into touch from just outside his 22. Good lineout position for Argentina on the left.
Try! (G Davies 55 + Halfpenny con) Wales 18-10 Argentina
The ensuing maul crabs towards the posts before going to ground. Gareth Davies steps off the back, checks back inside, darts and stretches for the line to finish well. You Stole the Sun From my Heart is the celebratory music this time.
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54 min It’s still with Wales but they’ve made precisely zero metres. Gethin Jenkins of all people pops a beauty of a chip towards the corner and Cordero, covering back, doesn’t have a tight enough turning circle and his heel just brushes the touchline. Five metre lineout to Wales...
53 min Wales comes off the back of the scrum and probe for holes in midfield.
51 min Penalty Argentina from the lineout for obstruction but Hernandez’s kick to touch is kept in play by Liam Williams, flying to tap it back in. The Pumas must come from deep but a poor pop pass from Botta forces Sanches to drop it 12 metres inside his own half.
50 min Well that came from nowhere but that is sort of Argentina’s thing. From the restart, Landajo makes a cracking exit, finding touch around halfway on the right. The Pumas are making changes: Herrera returns and Botta replaces Noguera.
Try! (Hernandez 48 + Sanches con) Wales 11-10 Argentina
Penalty Argentina for offside and Landajo goes quickly. He steps from side to side and makes 20 metres before slipping a diagonal grubber kick through. Hernandez gives chase and outruns Biggar to gather and dive under the posts!
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47 min Jones concedes a penalty for throwing Sanches after the whistle had gone. The referee explains it to the Welsh lock, who says “thank you very much”. What a nice man he is. Hernandez finds touch on the right, halfway inside the Welsh half and from the lineout Matera bashes it up the middle. Wales haven’t allowed Argentina’s backs to play.
De La Fuente is playing, not Moyaro. Apologies. Back with the action there’s a big scuffle, instigated by Alun Wyn Jones but I can’t see why. The TMO will have a look.
46 min Tipuric picks it up out the ruck and G Davies puts a low kick ahead to chase. Hernandez comes across and slides it into touch. Argentina have been pretty dismal if I’m honest. Bad news for Wales though as Ken Owens goes off, Baldwin on.
45 min North takes Hernandez’s restart just outside his 22 and carries it up a few metres. Recycled inside once and Gareth Davies puts it up high. Cordero gathers the bouncing ball.
44 min From wide, wide on the left, Halfpenny hooks it the wrong side of the left-hand post.
Try! (Liam Williams 43) Wales 11-3 Argentina
But it’s not excellent enough! Liam Williams has a thoroughly deserved try. The Stereophonics ring out around the Stadium – 1000 Trees, so it’s good Stereophonics, too.
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If he’s short that’s excellent defensive work by Petti, coming across to make the covering tackle.
43 min Liam Williams gets the ball in his hands and the volume increases. With tacklers hanging off him he makes his way towards the line. Dragged down just short of the left-hand corner and we’re going to the TMO to see if he placed it over the line...
42 min Sanchez clears well finding touch on the right just inside his own half but Wales come back from the lineout and Biggar dummies then slices through a gap in the defence. Halfpenny and North take it to the line before they go left.
41 min Immediately it’s back in Welsh hands and Jonathan Davies stabs a trademark grubber kick down the left and into touch, midway inside the 22.
Peeeep!
Dan Biggar gets the second half under way with a kick to Isa in the 22. De La Fuente is apparently on for Argentina, which is surprising as he’s not on my list of replacements.
The players are coming back out. Argentina have been disappointing, Wales frustrating.
Half-time: Wales 6-3 Argentina
I haven’t checked social media, but I imagine there will be a lot of furious sweary Wales fans on there given their side’s failure to score after spending a good 10 minutes camped on Argentina’s line. They’re right to be angry. Back in 10.
40 min Moroni comes off the right wing and joins the scrum... and Argentina get the penalty at the scrum. Sorry Wales, that’s very funny.
39 min Another penalty against Herrera and he’s sent to the sin-bin. Wales opt for another scrum as the fresh-faced Pieretto comes on as a temporary replacement for the openside Desio.
38 min Liam Williams thinks he’s in, grabbing a scrappy ball after it had shot out of the scrum and squirming away from a desperate tackle by, I think, Sanchez. Moyaro gets across and just forces him out into touch before he can ground it. Another penalty against Herrera for standing up and they take the scrum again. I make that 10 penalties and still no card.
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37 min Tuculet is off for an HIA; Moyaro takes to the field after all.
36 min Warburton takes this time, again the maul is brilliantly defended, again it’s a turnover and again Argentina knock on at the back of the ruck – Landajo this time! Had he gathered cleanly they were in from 95 metres.
35 min Penalty Wales but that’s the wrong call: an early push from Wales I reckon but it’s gone against Noguera for slipping his bind. Biggar sticks it in the left-hand corner this time.
34 min Wales scrum, six metres out from the line and over on the left.
33 min Jones takes it this time and Owens has it at the back of the maul. It’s very well defended though and Wales have to use it. They pick and drive, going through the phases but getting shoved backwards by some strong, resolute defence and Creevy wins the turnover, only for Cordero to knock it on!
@DanLucas86 why are Williams, Jenkins and Biggar telling the ref what to do? He should tell them to shut up and reverse penalty
— Chris evans (@captbnut) November 12, 2016
Eddie Butler has just made the exact same point on the BBC, although he’s stopped short of recommending a reversed penalty.
32 min Charteris takes, taps it to Tipuric and there’s another penalty coming for an early drive by Argentina. Biggar kicks across for Liam Williams, Tuculet claims it and we go back. Creevy is warned that someone will go to the bin soon. Biggar goes to the corner again.
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31 min Biggar pokes it into the corner on the right. You fancy Wales to etc. etc.
30 min Free-kick to Wales and they go quickly, Jonathan Davies hitting the line at pace and Moriarty carrying it on quickly when the centre is felled. Tackled and they go right, where North cuts inside and busts into the 22. Argentina are stretched, go offside and they must be close to a yellow card now. That’s the seventh penalty against them.
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28 min Hernandez’s huge boot sends an excellent clearance from centre field on his own 22 to touch on the left, five metres inside the Welsh half. Argentina win it but in midfield Warburton and Tipuric combine to hold Matera up, form the maul and win the scrum on halfway.
27 min A desperate tap tackle in midfield by Hernandez is all that prevents Liam Williams going through. They recycle and come again but then Owens goes off his feet at the ruck and allows Argentina relief.
26 min Ah yes, Desio got Halfpenny around the shoulder and slipped up. Nothing else in it. Biggar finds touch on the 22, on the left. You fancy Wales to score soon.
25 min Taken in by North, kicked long by Davies again. This time it’s Isa who comes barrelling back over halfway but he drops it in contact and Charteris throws a lovely miss pass when Wales come away with it. Alun Wyn Jones goes through but the move breaks down. We’re going back for a high tackle though.
Penalty (Halfpenny 24) Wales 6-3 Argentina
That was as easy as they come.
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23 min And there are Argentine hands in the ensuing ruck, five metres out and under the posts. This will be the lead for Wales.
22 min Thrown long to Jones and he sets the maul. It’s stopped once but Owen adds his thrust and drives to within a couple of metres.
21 min Penalty Wales, against Herrera for not staying bound I think. Biggar snatches the ball away from Halfpenny on halfway and finds touch inside the 22, on the right.
20 min Now it goes through the hands and Williams comes in well off his wing to tackle Petti and prevent the lock from getting a pass away to Moroni. Argentina come back inside and eventually knock on.
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19 min The scrum is dead still, which is good to see. Sanchez chips after it goes left and his deflected kick is well gathered by North. Biggar clears, Hernandez puts snow on it. Not seen a lot of Argentina’s running rugby so far.
17 min And kicked back over the top, now Wales go left themselves and again Williams grubbers. The ball bobbling around on the ground proves anathema to both sides and, after chaos reigns amid those trying to gather it, Owens chucks a pop pass to Lee forwards. Scrum to the Pumas a metre or so inside Welsh territory.
16 min North does well under the high, hanging restart and Gareth Davies kicks long before Hernandez goes high. Biggar takes that brilliantly and they go left, then Liam Williams dinks it ahead for Jonathan Davies to chase. Swept up and Argentina go left.
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Penalty (Halfpenny 15) Wales 3-3 Argentina
Thought he’d sliced this for a moment. He had not.
13 min Lineout won but ball turned over once again for Wales. It goes loose at the base of the ruck with Landajo daydreaming and, after Sanchez jinks his way back into trouble, Matera is pinged at the breakdown. Penalty Wales 15 in from touch and only 22 metres out.
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12 min Wales have a penalty. They turned Argentina over and kicked to touch, then at their own lineout Argentina and Creevy are penalised for obstruction at the maul. Biggar finds touch on the right, inside Argentina’s 22.
11 min Er, I appear to have missed this but Cordero is playing instead of Moyaro, who is on the bench.
10 min Now we see the Argentina backs with ball in hand, Hernandez ducking and weaving and narrowly failing to slip through a gap. They’re patient though and a Creevy offload sends Petti through for a half break.
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9 min From 40-odd metres and straight in front Sanchez gives it a right wallop but it drifts wide of the sticks. From the restart Sanchez goes high and Halfpenny does very well to rip it from the chasing Isa. Turned over just one phase later though, inside the Welsh half.
7 min Hernandez, at second receiver, clears and the ball sits up off the pitch flummoxing Halfpenny. He gathers and Biggar kicks ahead, but everyone is in front of the kicker. 14 men offside and Sanchez will have another pop.
5 min Isa spills the restart backwards but Moroni gathers it. It comes to Landajo and he makes a right Horlicks of his kick, scuffing it straight to Liam Williams on the left. The wing hustles up to the 22, Wales go right and Francis knocks on in the tackle from Desio.
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Penalty (Sanchez 4) Wales 0-3 Argentina
It’s not the cleanest strike, from 25 metres and off to the right, but it wobbles through and Argentina lead.
3 min Spun left through the hands but everyone is taking it static. Liam Williams is tackled into touch midway inside his own half and Argentina go quickly with the lineout. Up to the 22, Owens fails to release the tackled man and this should be 0-3.
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2 min Biggar goes for the garryowen but slices it and Argentina have it on the halfway line. Owens tackles Matera well and Sanchez goes over the top with a neat chip and it’s Welsh ball.
1 min Penalty to Wales straight away as Argentina get a bit too enthusiastic and go flopping off their feet at the ruck. Biggar clears to touch around halfway. Moriarty crashes up the middle from the lineout.
Kick-off!
Peeeeeep! Get us started he does and Nicolas Sanchez kicks deep to North on the Wales right wing.
Bread of Heaven now. Angus Gardner will get things started soon, I’m sure.
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Actually at the rate these anthems are going you probably do have time to read that bit on the cricket.
Probably haven’t got time now, but anyone still stinging from last week can enjoy this.
“Send Away The Pumas,” puns Matt Dony. “Actually, I almost don’t care about the result, I just want to see a massively improved performance. That’s how dire the Australia game was.”
The sadness will never go. Will never go away, Matt.
And here come the players. Dan Biggar emerges alone ahead of the rest of the teams, winning his 50th cap.
An email! Simon McMahon, somehow still sober after watching Scotland’s heartbreaking defeat, writes: “Evening Dan. Good luck to both teams. Hope it’s a great game. I mean that most sincerely. Scotland teams have obviously angered the gods. At least we’ll always have Andy Murray. And Gary Anderson. God knows we need them. And whisky. Though I hear the Japanese do that better now.”
This is embarrassing but having noted Argentina’s lowly ranking of sixth, after a disappointing Rugby Championship, I have just seen that Wales are, er, seventh. Still, the choir in Cardiff is in fine voice.
Awkward start to BBC's coverage of Wales v Argentina: Gabby Logan + pundits all but drowned out by PA announcer and choir music.
— Sachin Nakrani (@SachinNakrani) November 12, 2016
Also predictions? I’m going with Wales to win a thriller by three, even though I hope it’s Argentina. No anti-Welsh sentiment there, just the Pumas are my favourite team to watch in the world. Got the shirt and everything.
@DanLucas86 3 hours is right and I can confirm spirits in Argentina are high and BBQ smoke is in the air!
— Hugh Taylor (@HughTaylor48) November 12, 2016
@DanLucas86 harsh but true by MartinP DrJ looked like a hospital case v Aus, benched rightly so! Plenty of tries & settled by DB's boot!
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) November 12, 2016
So it’s this is the New Wales. Why not have a read of Paul Rees’s take on Rob Howley’s brave new world so I can sit around and drink some tea do vital preparation?
Harsh, from our rugby man across the pond.
#WALvARG live with @DanLucas86, in which times change & Pumas are quick/nimble ones & Wales the lumpy gallumphers… https://t.co/ETbmz5SvRi
— Martin Pengelly (@MartinPengelly) November 12, 2016
Afternoon, folks. England were, as you may have read, aiming to end a 10-year hoodoo earlier today (I’m writing this the morning before the match so god knows how that one turned out) – to shake a South African bugbear from their backs. What has not been mentioned is that Wales too are looking to shake off an unwanted, decade-related record of their own: last week’s performance in the shellacking by Australia was their worst in just about as long.
Tenuous allusions that a tabloid football hack would be ashamed of aside, Wales need to shape up from the get-go today or the inauspicious start to Rob Howley’s reign could easily become a mini disaster. The last time Argentina came to the Millennium (sue me*) Stadium was the last time the Pumas played a northern hemisphere team and they took advantage of a slow start by Ireland to tear Joe Schmidt’s team a 43-point-sized new one. As far as watchability goes, today’s visitors to Cardiff are surpassed by perhaps no one.
The question for Wales is whether to stick or twist. The move away from Warrenball looked promising in the first two Tests against New Zealand in the summer (let’s be kind and not mention the third) and that was largely thanks to the performances of Liam Williams and Sam Warburton, both of whom return from injury today. However it would be entirely understandable if they were scarred by last week’s defensive performance in the first half especially; Dan Biggar is lucky to keep his place and it does feel regressive to leave Sam Davies out of the squad altogether. Jamie Roberts has also been dropped and, sad to say, not before time.
As for the Pumas you feel they only know one way to play and, win or lose, the game will be all the better for it. A team packed with talent enough that they feel they can ignore the charms of Juan Imhoff will always be capable of slicing you to pieces and they have a superior set-piece to Australia to boot. Argentina are ranked sixth in the world and can be beaten, no question, but since the World Cup you don’t need me to tell you what they’re capable of. The question is whether they can do it consistently so they do have a point to prove today.
Kick-off is 5.30pm local time, or 2.30pm Buenos Aires time. Is that right, three hours? Well that’s what Google says and who am I to argue? In any case, here are your teams:
Wales Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams, Liam Williams, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Gethin Jenkins (captain), Ken Owens, Tomas Francis, Luke Charteris, Alun Wyn Jones, Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric, Ross Moriarty.
Replacements Scott Baldwin, Nicky Smith, Samson Lee, Cory Hill, James King, Lloyd Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Jamie Roberts.
Argentina Joaquin Tuculet, Matias Moroni, Matias Orlando, Juan Martin Hernandez, Ramiro Moyano, Nicolas Sanchez, Martin Landajo; Lucas Noguera, Agustin Creevy (captain), Ramiro Herrera, Guido Petti, Matias Alemanno, Pablo Matera, Javier Ortega Desio, Facundo Isa.
Replacements Julian Montoya, Santiago Garcia Botta, Enrique Pieretto, Leonardo Senatore, Tomas Lezana, Tomas Cubelli, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Santiago Cordero.
*Please don’t.
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