How they rated
JONAH HOLMES
A quiet afternoon on the whole for the Dragons man. Tried to stay busy and popped up in midfield a few times, but largely starved of service for any chance to threaten the try line.
WILLIS HALAHOLO
One uncharacteristic spill forward in a promising 21st minute Wales attack. Struggled for impact in a scruffy and scrappy first half and then replaced by
Nick Tompkins in the opening exchanges of the second half.
JONATHAN DAVIES (CAPT)
Caught offside when over-eager to generate defensive line-speed, costing his side three points in the first half. Steady enough in other areas but the captain was part of a fairly insipid Wales back line.
OWEN LANE
A frustrating afternoon for the Cardiff winger. Dealt with what came his way from his opponents and was excellent in defence. But unable to make his presence felt in attack until the second half. Held up very close in the 48th minute.
CALLUM SHEEDY
Not the Bristol man’s best game in the Test arena.
Missed a penalty shot he’d normally expect to slot in in the 14th minute and then messed up a drop-out 22 with a tap and hospital pass to Aaron Wainwright. Exposed on his own line for the first Pumas try and replaced in the 46th minute by Jarrod Evans.
KIERAN HARDY
Lucky not to be stretchered off after a sickening clash with the subsequently red-carded Juan Cruz Mallia. Box-kicking was often too deep, allowing Argentina to run the ball back at Wales with little difficulty. Tomos Williams replaced him early in the second half.
NICKY SMITH 6 5 5 6 4 5 6
Some huge hits which helped balance the physical battle. Energy and work-rate was second to nobody in the Welsh pack. Gareth Thomas replaced him in the 56th minute.
ELLIOT DEE 6
Led the charge which won a
26th minute penalty and three points for his team.
Usual industry and energy in the loose and pinpoint accuracy in the lineout. But he was part of a front row that was under the cosh at the set-piece. Made way for Ryan Elias in the 65th minute.
4 DILLON LEWIS
A tough day at the office.
Blamed for early scrum instability and yellow-carded with Pumas loosehead Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro in the 28th minute. Loose attempt at a pass to Nicky Smith led indirectly to second Argentina try early in the second half. Replaced with 15 to go by Leon Brown.
BEN CARTER
Steady at the lineout and marshalled some reasonably effective Wales rolling mauls. But stopped in his tracks in the fifth minute by a shuddering tackle which was a sign of things to come. After a superb debut against Canada, he found it much harder to make his presence felt against the more belligerent Pumas.
WILL ROWLANDS
A mixed bag for the
Dragons-bound lock. Gave away needless penalties for crawling after being tackled and a high tackle on No. 8 Rodrigo Bruni. But stood up well in contact and popped up for a much-needed 51st minute try.
ROSS MORIARTY
Showed himself capable of injecting some sudden impetus into
Welsh attacks at times and carried into contact with his usual uncompromising brute force. Did some good work rescuing the ball at retreating scrums after switching to No. 8 to cover Aaron Wainwright’s departure. Still a sense that he’s feeling his way back after missing most of last season with an ankle injury.
JAMES BOTHAM
Wales had a horrendous afternoon at the breakdown, being penalised regularly.
But Botham shouldn’t carry the can alone because the backs were often responsible for turning over possession in contact. Botham was quiet in the loose however and Taine Basham replaced him in in the 65th minute.
AARON WAINWRIGHT
Started explosively with a 40m run out of defence in just the third minute. He was also effective as an option
6 at the tail of the lineout before injury ended his afternoon in just the 23rd minute and Josh Turnbull replaced him.
STAR MAN HALLAM AMOS 5 6 6 5 8
A fantastic kick, chase and catch led to Wales’ first attack in the seventh minute. Always a dangerous runner from deep and looked for the straight angles in the back line. Solid and handed the man of the match gong.