Montoya hat-trick as Pumas warn Eddie
ARGENTINA fired a warning shot at England ahead of Saturday’s crucial Pool C clash by securing their four-try bonus point against Tonga after just 26 minutes in front of a 21,000 crowd in Higashiosaka.
By comparison it took England until the 76th minute to claim their own bonus point against the Pacific Islanders, and the speed and precision with which the Pumas struck – especially from lineoutdrives – should have grabbed the attention of Red Rose boss Eddie Jones and his defence coach John Mitchell.
So should the performance of the powerful Pumas bench hooker, Julian Montoya, whose first half hat-trick put him at the top of the try-scoring chart with four in two matches.
Montoya, who usually plays second fiddle to former Argentine captain Agustin Creevy, made the most of a rare starting opportunity to state his case for another chance against England by scoring his first try after five minutes.
It came when fly-half Benjamin Urdapilleta kicked a penalty to the corner. When Montoya’s throw was deflected by Guido Petti to Tomas Lezana, the No.8’s peel round the front allowed him to give the unmarked hooker a free run to touch down in the corner.
Urdapilleta added the extras for a 7-0 lead, and with Argentina’s defensive line-speed forcing the Tongans into mistakes it did not take long before their driving maul was back in business.
The Pumas went to the corner again with another penalty and Montoya barged over after a textbook catch-and-set on captain Pablo Matera.
Argentina’s third try came straight from the restart. Tonga’s young flyhalf James Faiva’s throw-and-hope backdoor pass was picked up on halfway by wing Santiago Carreras, who raced away to score between the posts.
Urdapilleta converted both tries to make it 21-0, and Argentina were soon camping in the Tongan 22. A series of pick-and-drives resulted in the burly Montoya carrying hard round the corner from close range to ground the ball.
With Urdapilleta hitting the target again Argentina led 28-0. However, as they sat back for the first time in the match, the Tongans reminded them that they had a strike weapon of their own when Leicester’s Telusa Veainu nipped past two tacklers.
Tane Takalua’s conversion meant the Pumas were 28-7 ahead at half-time – although they had a scare on two fronts just before the interval when Zane Kapeli’s pass would have put David Halaifonua over in the corner but for a barge-tackle by Tomas Lavinini.
Following a referral to the TMO the Argentine lock was given the benefit of the doubt by referee Jaco Pyper on the basis that he “tried to wrap one arm around his target”.
Argentina brought on a platoon of replacements as they sought to keep key players fit for England.
This gave Tonga the chance to get back on the scoreboard when bench wing Cooper Vuna put Veainu over for his second try.