The Pumas ate the Condores alive (59-5), Saturday September 30, at the Beaujoire stadium, in Nantes. In this one-sided match, the “celeste y blanco” scored eight tries. For his hundredth cape with the Argentine selection, fly-half Nicolas Sanchez (34) delivered a master class. The flyhalf – who announced his departure from Brive in June – achieved a 100% kick, netting eight conversions and a penalty. With 139 points on the clock, he becomes the Pumas’ top scorer in the World Cup.
Under bright sunshine and summer temperatures, Beaujoire was almost full for this match (34,000 spectators for 37,000 seats). The outcome of this “Andean derby” left little room for doubt because the two teams do not box in the same category. They have already faced each other 36 times and Chile has never beaten its neighbor.
To face the Condores, Argentine coach Michael Cheika had left most of his usual starters to rest. Ranked 9th nation in the world, Argentina is one of the outsiders of the World Cup, while the Chileans (22nd) are discovering this competition. In fact, after their defeats against Japan, Samoa and England, the Condores were already eliminated even before kick-off.
Offensive festival
In this meeting the suspense did not last long. Visibly tired, the Condores left too many feathers in their first three matches to hope to compete. From the 8th minute, Nicolas Sanchez scored the first try of the match at the end of the line, in a textbook action. With two more tries and 24 points ahead at the break (24-0), Argentina could return to the locker room with peace of mind.
If the condor is an endangered animal in the Andes, it was also endangered in defense in the second half, which allowed the Argentines to engage in an offensive festival. In the 46th minute, full-back Martin Bogado tore through the defensive curtain of the Rouge et Bleu to score the fourth try, synonymous with an offensive bonus. In a similar action, winger Rodrigo Isgro then broke through full axis to flatten between the posts. Four minutes later, flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez Samso scored from the winger position.
Eight minutes from the end, the men of Pablo Lemoine, the Uruguayan coach of the Chilean team, however managed to save the honor. After a maul following a touch, replacement hooker Tomas Dussaillant scored hard. But the Pumas took control of the game to score two more tries.
Rendezvous with Japan
After this impressive score, the Pumas can calmly prepare to face Japan. The usual starters of the Argentina team will return to Nantes on October 8 for a decisive match for qualification.
In group D, second place will, in fact, be played out between the two countries (two victories each). First place already seems promised to England (three victories in three matches). On Thursday, the country of the Rising Sun had difficulty getting the better of the Samoa Islands (28-22).
In the event of qualification, Argentina would meet Wales in the quarterfinals, first in Group C ahead of Fiji, for a meeting which promises to be very open. A clash between Pumas and Red Dragons would be a great poster, but the latter will first have to get rid of the Cherry Blossoms.
