Los Pumas thrash Wales, eyes now on the World Cup | OneFootball

In their first match of the November window, Los Pumas defeated Wales by a clear 52-28 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, in a key clash with an eye on the World Rugby Ranking and its importance for the 2027 World Cup draw.

The start for the Argentine team couldn’t have been better. With control of the ball and territory, they began to expose the weaknesses of an opponent that is not going through its best moment. In less than 10 minutes, Felipe Contepomi’s men had already scored two tries.

First, Pedro Delgado used all his power to just barely get the ball down, and a little later, Gerónimo Prisciantelli took advantage of a good kick from Santiago Carreras to extend the lead. It seemed like a knockout blow, but the hosts recovered.

With a lot of pride and the support of their fans, the Dragon tied it up with tries from Tomos Williams and Dewi Lake. Los Pumas had to reshuffle and start again.

The match was very even and hard-fought, and after an unsportsmanlike action, including a kick from the ground, Ben Thomas saw yellow. This allowed the Argentine side to breathe, and with a penalty, their fullback put them back in the lead.

Once the storm had passed, Argentina regained their game, and taking advantage of the spaces, a new flurry of tries came from Simón Benítez Cruz and Mateo Carreras, the latter after a great kick from Pablo Matera, to go into halftime leading 31-14.

Los Pumas capitalized on their momentum and right at the start of the second half scored again with the speed of Bautista Delguy, in a play where Tomos Williams was also sent to the sin bin. The scoreboard was now out of reach for the hosts, and despite a try from Jac Morgan, the Argentine victory was never in danger.

The entry of Louis Rees-Zammit brought a bit more defensive attention, but Contepomi’s men managed to close off all avenues well. The remaining time allowed the substitutes to get quality minutes, and gave Prisciantelli the chance to score again and complete a brace. Near the end, and only for the record books, the hosts managed to narrow the gap again.

Great victory for Los Pumas in Cardiff, who finished in style with a try from Santiago Grondona. With poise and class, they took a very good step forward with an eye on the rankings and the World Cup draw.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.