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Rugby

Argentina Defeats Samoa to Stay in the Race for the Rugby World Cup Knockout Stage

Argentina won their second Rugby World Cup match by flogging Samoa 19-10. They had lost their first game to England. The match took place in Pool D at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

The rain made the game a hard one, and there was not much excitement or skillful attacking play. Argentina had to work hard to get an important win on their way to the next round.

Argentina Defeats Samoa to Stay in the Race for the Rugby World Cup Knockout Stage
Emiliano Boffelli (Credits: Planet Rugby)

Emiliano Boffelli is the one who scored the only try for his team. Not just that, Emiliano kicked a total of eleven points, and Nicolas Sanchez added a long-range penalty at the end to make a strong win.

Samoa wanted to continue their success after beating Chile, but they had a hard time performing well, and now it will be tough for them to advance.

Saint-Etienne’s only try came late on, substitute hooker Sama Malolo, setting the stage for a thrilling finish, but they were unable to win. Pre-match pressure on Argentina was eased when Samoa full-back Duncan Paiaaua was sent to the toilet in the first minute.

Samoa’s Defense Stayed Strong as They Tried to Catch Up.

His absence was felt when Los Pumas took the lead, and Boffelli fired himself over the ball in the right corner. The Edinburgh winger then converted three penalties, and Christian Lilifano’s penalty put Samoa on the pitch in the first half.

Samoa’s defense stayed strong as they tried to catch up, and Malolo scored a try. D’Angelo Leuila turned that try into points, making the game more exciting for everyone.

Samoa's Defense Stayed Strong as they Tried to Catch Up
Slopped Samoa Player (Credits: Reuters)

But Argentina, which played well in the 2015 World Cup but had trouble in Japan four years ago, managed to stay ahead and win the game with a penalty that was scored by Sanchez.

The defeat against England raised concerns about an early exit, but by winning this match, they have a chance to keep going. Their next game is against South American rivals Chile in Nantes next Saturday.”

Samoa did not play as expected today, and now they have to win against both Japan and England if they want to make it to the next round.

The Teams

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo

Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Lucio Cinti

Samoa: 15 Duncan Paia’aua, 14 Nigel Ah-Wong, 13 UJ Seuteni, 12 Tumua Manu, 11 Ben Lam, 10 Christian Leali’ifano, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Fritz Lee, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Chris Vui (c), 4 Brian Alainu’u’ese, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Seilala Lam, 1 James Lay

Replacements: 16 Sama Malolo, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Michael Alaalatoa, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Sa Jordan Taufua, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 D’Angelo Leuila, 23 Danny Toala

Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO: Brett Cronan (Australia)

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Rugby

Argentina Win Over Samoa: Emiliano Boffelli’s Brilliant Plan

Emiliano Boffelli was the game-changer as Argentina survived to beat Samoa and reignite their World Cup campaign. To progress into the knockout stages, they needed to beat Samoa to keep their hopes alive.

They did win attritional 19-10 in Saint-Etienne, with Boffelli delivering his team’s first 16 points. All the pre-match pressure got eased when Samoa’s Duncan Paia’aua was sent to the sin bin in the opening minute of the match.

His absence made a huge impact on the game, and Argentina took advantage of it. Boffelli hit the front, going over the corner before conversion or converting the try.

Emiliano Boffelli
Argentina’s wing Emiliano Boffelli (center) (Credits: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images)

Pumas was underwhelmed by victory.

Edinburgh wing scored successful penalties, followed by a Christian Leal’ifano penalty getting on board with the first half.

Samao’s defense started getting stronger in the latter stages as they pushed to get back into the game, and Sama’s try was converted by Alai D’Angelo Leuila.

However, Argentina, who finished fourth at the 2015 World Cup, failed to get out of the pool stage in Japan four years ago, held on and wrapped up the win through Nicolás Sánchez’s long penalty.

The loss to England presented the possibility of an early exit, but securing the points gives us hope of still continuing and getting to face South American rivals Chile in Nantes.

Samoa, on the other needs to get results against both Japan and England if they want to come back and begin their winning start against Chile.

Emiliano Boffelli for Argentina
Emiliano Boffelli for Argentina. (Credits: Photosport NZ)

‘The better team won’ – what they said.

Argentina’s player of the match, Emiliano Boffelli, said:We knew it wouldn’t be easy. Samoa are a strong team. It was a very important win today.”

“It was a very tough game. I am happy for the team. Thanks a lot to everyone. The supporters were incredible. We felt their support.”

Samao’s captain, Chris Vui, said“Extremely proud of the boys today. I thought the better team won. All credit to Argentina, and they were more clinical, so full credit to them.”

During their try at the closing stages: “Yeah, the momentum was swinging our way, and we thought we could have come back. We’ve got some learnings to take and a six-day turnaround to take into Japan.”

Line-ups

Argentia: Mallia; Boffelli, Moroni, Chocobares, M Carreras; S Carreras, Bertranou; Gallo, Montoya (capt), Bello, Pagadizabal, Alemanno, Matera, Kremer, Gonzalez.

Replacements: Creevy, Vivas, Kodela, Rubiolo, Bruni, Cubelli, Sanchez, Cinti.

Samoa: Paia’aua; Ah-Wong, Seuteni, Manu, Lam; Leali’ifano, Taumateine; Lay, Lam, Alo-Emile, Alainu’u’ese, Vui (capt), McFarland, Lee, Luatua.

Replacements: Malolo, Faumuina, Alaalatoa, Seu, Taufua, Matavao, Leuila, Toala

Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)

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