Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PIVAC DISMAY AS PUMAS BITE
Wales 11
Argentina 33
WAYNE PIVAC bemoaned Wales’ error-strewn display after they were condemned to a Test series defeat at the hands of Argentina.
Dragons coach Pivac reckoned he was without 27 players due to injuries and the British and Irish Lions, as Wales were outclassed by a Pumas side who ran out deserved winners.
The Welsh escaped with a draw against 14-man Argentina last weekend, but had no answer in Cardiff yesterday.
Pivac said: “We’re disappointed with the result. We didn’t play as well as we would have liked to.
“The errors we made were far too many for this level of rugby.
“The players will get a lot of work-ons to take away. It was a worthwhile exercise. It’s been a long season.”
The hosts led via Owen Lane’s early try but that was as good
Australia 33 France 30 as it got after they were undone by far too many basic errors, poor handling among them, and came nowhere near Argentina’s tempo.
The South Americans scored three tries, while fly-half Nicolas Sanchez kicked 18 points to punish
Welsh indiscipline and guide the visitors home.
Stand-in Wales skipper Jonathan Davies said: “It’s very disappointing. The way we trained this week, we’d hoped for a much better performance.
“Our discipline was poor and we put too much pressure on ourselves.”
This heavy home defeat came against an almost fullstrength Argentina side that beat New Zealand and drew twice with Australia in late 2020.
Davies added: “Argentina are a very good side who have had a lot of good results over the past year.” New Zealand 60 Fiji 13