Argentina were 52-28 away winners over Wales on Sunday at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The victory set a new record for Argentina’s highest winning margin over Wales. It surpassed the 31-13 win at the same venue in 2021. The scoreline was also Argentina’s highest ever against Wales. it overtook the 50-44 result from 2004 in Tucumán.
Los Pumas won by outscoring Wales by seven tries to four. Fly half Gerónimo Prisciantelli ran in two tries and had a try assist while fullback Santiago Carreras kicked 8/8. His 100% accuracy gave him 17 points for the afternoon.
Argentina and Wales traded a brace of early tries. Felipe Contepomi’s side stormed out to a 14-0 lead in the opening ten minutes. First, Pedro Delgado barged his way over from close range and then a counter-attacking score started by Juan Martín González saw Mateo Carreras in the clear. The winger kicked infield for Gerónimo Prisciantelli to chase and score.
Wales came to life with tries in the 14th and 20th minutes. First, scrum-half Tomos Williams finished off an excellent move from Wales, though it had a hint of a forward pass. Second, prop Dewi Lake replicated Pedro Delgado’s try before fly half Dan Edwards leveled the scoring.
The Welsh then went a player down for ten minutes. Welsh center Ben Thomas was yellow carded for kicking Pablo Matera on the floor. Argentina took advantage by scoring ten points with Thomas off the field. Santiago Carreras landed a penalty and converted Simón Benítez Cruz’ try scored under the posts.
The kick-off saw a rare try coming as Pablo Matera took the kick and broke the line. He then kicked for Mateo Carreras to chase and score. It meant the first-half ended with Argentina leading 31-14.
The second-half began with Wales hit with a second yellow card. Tomos Williams was carded for tackling off the ball as Los Pumas broke up field and into the Welsh 22. Meanwhile, Prisciantelli put in a cross-kick for Bautista Delguy who danced through two defenders to score.
The Dragons looked to their captain for inspiration. Jac Morgan delivered by scoring near the posts. Los Pumas responded through Gerónimo Prisciantelli. In a play reminiscent of Nicolás Sánchez’ try in the Quarter Final against Wales at Rugby World Cup 2023, Prisciantelli latched onto a Welsh pass and slid through, scoring under the posts.
There was time for further tries as the teams traded late tries. New Zealander Blair Murray scored for Wales and Santiago Grondona scored for Los Pumas.
Attention now turns to next weekend. Wales face Japan in a must-win match on Saturday, November 15. Wales will be without captain Jac Morgan who left with a shoulder injury following his try. They remain 12th in the World Rankings but lost 0.48 points to now be on 73.57 points compared to Japan on 73.25.
Argentina travel north to face Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday, November 16. Los Pumas had a slight gain against Wales but remain 6th with 84.30 points. France are 5th on 86.95 while Scotland are 8th on 81.21 points and Australia are 7th on 81.69 points. In short, the match at Murrayfield is pivotal for Rugby World Cup 2027 seeding ahead of the draw in December.
- 50,185 attended the match in Cardiff.
- The 52-28 win set a new record for Argentina’s biggest winning margin over Wales.
- Olly Cracknell made his debut as a replacement for Wales. He qualifies for Wales via a grandparent.
- Wales fielded a team featuring 82.6% (19/23) Welsh produced players. The four others are from Australia (Archie Griffin), New Zealand (Blair Murray) and England (Freddie Thomas, Olly Cracknell).
- Argentina’s team was 100% homegrown.
- Santiago Carreras kicked 8/8 for 17 points.
WALES (28)
TRY – T Williams (14′); D Lake (20′); J Morgan (53′); B Murray (73′)
CON – D Edwards 3/3 (14′, 21′, 54′); J Evans 1/1 (74′)
YC – B Thomas (27′); Tomas Williams (44′)
ARGENTINA (52)
TRY – P Delgado (6′); G Prisciantelli 2 (8′, 60′); S Benítez Cruz (36′); M Carreras (39′); B Delguy (42′) S Grondona (79′)
CON – S Carreras 7/7 (7′, 9′, 37′, 40′, 43′, 61′, 80′)
PEN – S Carreras 1/1 (30′)
WALES
15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan (capt.), 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Rhys Carré
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit
ARGENTINA
15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Justo Piccardo, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Gerónimo Prisciantelli, 9 Simón Benítez Cruz, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 7 Juan Martín González, 6 Pablo Matera (vice-captain.), 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Julián Montoya (capt.), 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Thomas Gallo, 18 Tomás Rapetti, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Agustín Moyano, 22 Juan Cruz Mallía (vice-capt.), 23 Rodrigo Isgró
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England); Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Television Match Official: Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Split Screen/FPRO: Eric Gauzins (France)
