US romp cannot hide Argentine frustration
• South Americans run in seven tries but coach and players disappointed as they head for home
Argentina coach Mario Ledesma said his team finally delivered the sort of game they had been working towards for months in their 47-19 win over the US on Wednesday, but not even the seven-try romp could lift his gloomy tournament outlook.
The Pumas had the crowd on their feet with some wonderful running and handling, even from behind their own try line, as some of the youngsters drafted in grabbed their opportunity. Yet the game was a virtual dead rubber for Argentina who, for the first time since 2003, will be watching the quarterfinals from home after their earlier pool defeats by France and England.
“Today was very good in lots of areas but ultimately how I feel about this World Cup is that I’m not satisfied,” Ledesma told a news conference.
“We came here fighting to make the quarters and have been working very hard but we were never able to find the perfect game we were looking for.
“We really wanted to make it through and everyone is disappointed that we couldn’t, but the motivation was still there today but it was from inside, from the heart.”
Despite his frustration Ledesma was delighted with how some of his fringe players grabbed their opportunities, with all seven tries being scored by backs.
“Argentine rugby has a bright future,” he said. “The youngsters were incredible today. The way we played today was actually similar to how it was in 2015 [when they reached the semifinals] and we have been working hard to mix things up.
“We’ve scored several tries from driving mauls in this World Cup, the scrum was pretty consistent here, so I think it’s a case of trying to use the pack to get go-forward and a consistent set piece and then we have exciting backs who can deliver as we saw today.
“We were able to score some really good tries, and the players played with real joy.”
Captain Pablo Matera was also frustrated.
“We played three matches but couldn’t really show what we’ve practised for the full 80 minutes in any of the games,” Matera said.
“But everyone gave their all today. We were playing for the shirt but also for the players who are leaving us. It was Juan Manuel Leguizamon’s last game and he’s the man today and we’re very happy to give him a victory in his last game.”
The flanker’s 87th cap came 14 years after his first and Leguizamon was hoisted shoulder high by his teammates on an emotional lap of honour.
US coach Gary Gold said his team will need to tighten up their defence considerably if the US are to have any chance of leaving the World Cup with a rare win.
Despite a decent start, when they should have led, the Americans were too often disorganised as the Pumas ran in seven tries — more than half of them dotted down by players not troubled by the inconvenience of a tackle.
Gold questioned the accuracy of the statistics that listed his team as missing 46 tackles but accepted it was an issue.
“Yep, we missed some tackles but there’s probably a source to that, we were too often out of position and that led to some holes so we will work on that,” he told a news conference.
“We said before the game that we had to take our opportunities and we didn’t take them in the first 20 minutes when we were really good today.”