After Argentina’s scrappy 19-10 win against Samoa in Saint-Etienne on Friday, here are a few things we learned from the Rugby World Cup match.
It was not looking nice to most people, but it worked well. Argentina won their first match at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and advanced in Pool D. The weather in Saint-Etienne was rainy, and playing an expansive style of rugby became difficult for those who did not adapt to the conditions.
In a heated but brutal match that featured brutal power and the biggest goal-line score in Rugby World Cup history, Argentine flanker Marcos Kremer made a powerful carry and brutal tackle alongside the bench goal.
The hero of the game was Emiliano Bofferi, who did a great job kicking the ball. Argentina was able to adapt better to the conditions than Samoa. Christian Lilifano, on the other hand, was really struggling with his kicks and passes. Despite the bad weather and a tough match, Samoa’s back row and back three players performed well.
Despite excellent defense from flanker Fritz Lee and hooker Seilala Lam, Pumas could not play. Argentina may not have been at their best, but they were better in the league than their performance against England two weeks ago.
Argentinian Beef
The Pumas took some time to come up with a game plan suited to the sodden conditions, but once they decided to hold onto the ball with short, direct passes and one-out carries, they hit the ground running.
Santiago Carreras used to make risky passes and mistakes when under pressure. However, in this game, he stayed back a bit and used the strength of players like Klemer and Pablo Matera to help Argentina win.
Kremer, in particular, was formidable throughout the afternoon, his 130kg weight wreaking havoc on both runs and defense, and his attack on Samoan scrum-half Jonathan Taumateen threatened the half-back’s entire body.
In this match, Argentina adapted to the situation and the upcoming match, which they have not been able to do this season. Michael Cheika will be pleased with how his team responded to the situation at hand.
Boffeli is a very valuable player in the sport. He is very good at scoring points, especially when kicking goals. He has a success rate of about 91% in goal-kicking, and he can even score from 60 meters away.
Soon, he will do great things at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He scored 16 points, with a good try in the first half, even though it was raining a lot. This helped Argentina win the game. But it’s not just his kicking skills that are impressive.
He and his back three, Mateo Carreras and Juan Cruz María, were in pursuit all day long, turning average kicks into great kicks as their physicality in catching and chasing wreaked havoc on the Samoan defensive line. Samoa made 29 handling errors, 15 of them in channel defense under pressure from Argentina’s wingers, but Boffeli’s intelligence was behind this performance.
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Puma Mauling
Part of Argentina’s adaptation was the use of a rolling hammer, but Samoa struggled to defend it. Considering the number of quality Premiership strikers on Samoa’s field, stalwarts like Chris Bui, Theo McFarland, Stephen Luatua, and Fritz Lee become more convincing to obvious weapons.
You would actually expect them to deal with it. However, the high body position never had much effect on the wet pitch, and Julian Montoya and his forwards spent the day rolling and rumbling through short channels.
You can control the field when you believe in your team’s ability to attack and score points. Argentina used some clever kicks from Santiago Carreras to challenge Samoa’s defense, and they succeeded.
Looking Forward
Argentina needs to keep winning in their upcoming games. They will play against Chile in a week and Japan in two weeks. These matches could determine if they qualify for the next stage.
However, complicating the situation is that Samoa is also scheduled to play Brave Blossoms in seven days’ time, and if they win that game, the bonus points formula will not work out or if they do.
The fact is that he can still maintain his eligibility. Losing Group D leaders England to Lille in two weeks would seem unlikely on today’s program. Samoa’s forwards, led by McFarland, came out late, and substitute Sama Malolo scored a well-deserved try to carry the momentum into the next game, but the Pacific Islanders were unable to make a statement in this match.
“It was too late, and they did not assess the game correctly. They will also be sorry for giving away the last penalty that gave Nicolas Sanchez the chance to score more points. This might be important later in the group stage.
