Argentina booked their place in the quarter-finals of the rugby World Cup with a 25-7 win over plucky Georgia yesterday, but will need to make big improvements if they are to upset favorites New Zealand in the next round.
Only needing a bonus point to progress to the knockout stage of the competition, Argentina cemented second spot in Pool B behind England with the victory, but they struggled to quell their lower-ranked opponents in a match littered with errors despite dry conditions in Palmerston North.
Two late tries gave Argentina a commanding scoreline, but Georgia fought hard for 80 minutes in their final match of the tournament, with a strong physical performance let down by poor handling and indiscipline.
Photo: AFP
Argentina will face hosts New Zealand on Sunday and captain Felipe Contepomi believes their task has not been made any easier by news that All Blacks flyhalf Daniel Carter has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
Argentina coach Santiago Phelan rued the numerous errors made by his side and their inability to dominate play against Georgia.
“The team did not play well,” Phelan said. “Mistakes were followed by more mistakes, and so in the second half we went back to basics and that’s when things started to happen.”
Photo: EPA
Georgia were guilty of giving away too many penalties, which stalled their momentum, said coach Richie Dixon, who felt the scoreline flattered Argentina.
“I’m very proud of the team and what we’ve done at this tournament,” Dixon said. “We’re becoming very competitive with the top unions. We can live at this top level, we just need more -experience of doing so.”
After a scoreless first 30 minutes Argentina winger Juan Jose Imhoff crossed after the South Americans recycled the ball quickly through a number of phases and stretched the Georgian defense to breaking point on their right flank.
However, the Georgians struck back within five minutes to take a surprise 7-5 lead into halftime. A break down the left wing from within their own half by Lekso Gugava was followed by a chip kick and flyhalf Lasha Khmaladze won the race to the ball to score.
Argentina were let down by some poor kicking in the first half, with captain Contepomi failing to convert Imhoff’s try and missing a pair of penalties.
However, they regained the lead early in the second half after spending most of the first 10 minutes pounding the Georgian line, eventually earning a penalty close to the posts, before adding another penalty 10 minutes later.
Contepomi stretched the lead further in the 68th minute as slick passing saw the Argentinians break down the right and quick ball gave them a massive overlap for Contepomi to score on the left. Argentina added another try to replacement, Agustin Gosio, just before the final whistle.
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