Felipe Contepomi played a key role in Argentina's upset victory over France.
Argentina have put in a dominant second half performance to upset a scrappy French side at Stade de France. In front of a capacity crowd the French side were never settled from the start. The Pumas played with an incredibly physical intent shocking Les Bleus.
The South Americans started off physically and looked very promising on attack. Just a few minutes into the tournament opener Argentine second five-eighth Felipe Contepomi got the Pumas on the board with a penalty goal.
The sides then traded penalty goals to give Argentina a 6-3 lead. But the French still looked troubled and seemed to be lacking the experience of Jean-Baptist Elissalde and Frederik Michalak directing the backline. The Argentinians continued to dominate, with the French having no answers. Contepomi then struck a mammoth penalty to extend the lead to six.
Then the French made a break and an attack was on. The ball was intercepted and a few passes later Argentine fullback Ignacio Corleto scored the first try of the 2007 World Cup. The sides again traded penalties to give Los Pumas a 17-9 half time lead. A lead that proved unassailable for the French.
The Pumas clearly dominated play and their backs were moving the ball freely. The Contepomi twins were linking up well in the centres and the experience of halfback and Captain, Agustin Pichot was paying off. The French never looked good and their game plan was clearly not working. The forwards couldn’t get clean ball for what seemed to be a struggling backline.
The French looked a better side in the second half but still didn’t trouble the Argentinean defence. French fly half David Skrela slotted a simple penalty to reduce the deficit to five points. It stayed that way as Skrela missed a penalty even Matt Dunning could get with his eyes shut before his replacement, Michalak followed suit.
Contepomi had a couple of chances to seal the game but couldn’t execute. It was then up to the French who had to work a 90 metre try on fulltime, only to the crowd’s disappointment, they were unsuccessful.
It was a deserved victory for a committed Argentina team, who will now top their pool if they can beat the Irish in a couple of weeks. If they can pull this off, they will advantage from an easy road to their first Semi Finals in World Cup Rugby with a predicted quarter against either Scotland or Italy. For the French, they now have the tough road as they must beat the Irish to qualify and even then they would play the All Blacks in a quarter final in Cardiff.
The South Americans started off physically and looked very promising on attack. Just a few minutes into the tournament opener Argentine second five-eighth Felipe Contepomi got the Pumas on the board with a penalty goal.
The sides then traded penalty goals to give Argentina a 6-3 lead. But the French still looked troubled and seemed to be lacking the experience of Jean-Baptist Elissalde and Frederik Michalak directing the backline. The Argentinians continued to dominate, with the French having no answers. Contepomi then struck a mammoth penalty to extend the lead to six.
Then the French made a break and an attack was on. The ball was intercepted and a few passes later Argentine fullback Ignacio Corleto scored the first try of the 2007 World Cup. The sides again traded penalties to give Los Pumas a 17-9 half time lead. A lead that proved unassailable for the French.
The Pumas clearly dominated play and their backs were moving the ball freely. The Contepomi twins were linking up well in the centres and the experience of halfback and Captain, Agustin Pichot was paying off. The French never looked good and their game plan was clearly not working. The forwards couldn’t get clean ball for what seemed to be a struggling backline.
The French looked a better side in the second half but still didn’t trouble the Argentinean defence. French fly half David Skrela slotted a simple penalty to reduce the deficit to five points. It stayed that way as Skrela missed a penalty even Matt Dunning could get with his eyes shut before his replacement, Michalak followed suit.
Contepomi had a couple of chances to seal the game but couldn’t execute. It was then up to the French who had to work a 90 metre try on fulltime, only to the crowd’s disappointment, they were unsuccessful.
It was a deserved victory for a committed Argentina team, who will now top their pool if they can beat the Irish in a couple of weeks. If they can pull this off, they will advantage from an easy road to their first Semi Finals in World Cup Rugby with a predicted quarter against either Scotland or Italy. For the French, they now have the tough road as they must beat the Irish to qualify and even then they would play the All Blacks in a quarter final in Cardiff.
1 koment:
Nice work Elliot, another astute analysis. Im looking forward to reading what you have to say about the All Blacks first match. Unfortunately im in the dark ages here in the outback without Channel 10 or Foxtel, so theres no vision for me of the mighty Blacks until we've charged into the quarterfinals. Looks like your tip on Argentina as the dark horse could be a winner, good form.
Blair
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