The USA lost 47-17 to Argentina on Wednesday, October 09 at Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya. At the break, Argentina led 19-5.
The match will be the final RWC 2019 match for the Pumas and the Pumas now need to wait until the outcome of the Australia match against Georgia to see if they finish in third place in Pool C and qualify for the Rugby World Cup in 2023. A Georgia win over the Wallabies would give them third place.
The Eagles play Tonga on Sunday in a short turnaround with both teams wanting to leave Japan with a win.
England tops the pool with 15 points, while France is in second place with 13. Both teams are 3-0 and have qualified for the quarterfinals and will meet Wales or Australia.
France held off a comeback by Tonga for a 23-21 Pool C win at Kumamoto Stadium, Kumamoto City on Sunday, 6 October to qualify for the Cup Quarterfinals and is in second place in Pool C with a 3-0 record and 13 points. England tops the standings with 15 points. Argentina is in third place with a 1-2 record and 6 points.
While a win by Argentina will qualify the team for the RWC 2023, the USA could claim third place with wins over Argentina and Tonga. An Argentina non-bonus point loss to the USA and a Tonga bonus-point win over the USA would have Argentina claiming third place based on their head to head win over Tonga.
The USA opened the RWC 2019 with a 45-7 loss to England and a 33-9 loss to France before their loss to Argentina. The Pumas began with a 23-21 loss to France, a 28-12 win over Tonga, and a 39-10 loss to England. before ending their RWC 2019 with a win over the USA.
Match Recap
Argentina appeared to strike first with Felipe Ezcurra grounding, however, after a TMO, it was ruled that the ball was held up by Tony Lamborn.
The USA attacked with a Bryce Campbell run, but the offload attempt by AJ MacGinty hit the ground and was recovered by Argentina near in-goal.
Argentina countered with a kick ahead and a break by Juan Cruz Mallia with Nicholas Sanchez scoring in the right corent and then converting to lead 7-0.
A Sanchez chip that was not fielded by Te’o then led to a try by fullback Joaquin Tuculet with Sanchez slotting the extras, 14-0.
Following a lineout 5-meters from in-goal, Tuculet added a brace to lead 19-0.
The USA got on the board after Paul Lasike drew in defenders and AJ MacGinty grubbed the ball with Blaine Scully grounding in the right corner to cut the lead to 19-5 at the break.
Second Half
The USA began the half advancing the ball deep inside Argentina territory, but lost the ball just prior to in-goal. Argentina wing Bautista Delguy run across in-goal and evading several defenders as he broke downfield. Juan Cruz Mallia finished with a try with Sanchez slotting the extras, 26-5.
Argentina added another try by Mallia after a steal of a USA lineout and then a quick tap from an Eagles penalty, with Sanchez slotting again to lead 33-5.
A USA attack then had Tony Lamborn held up and shortly after, the Eagles went into touch prior to in-goal.
Argentina answered with a Santiago Carreras offload to Jeronimo de la Fuente for a try, 40-5.
It was the Eagles turn to score with a try by Paul Lasike, which was converted by MacGinty to cut the lead to 40-12.
Argentina added another by Gonzalo Bertranou to push the lead to 47-12 before Will Hooley looped a pass wide to Blaine Scully for a brace in the right corner after the hooter.
Argentina exited the RWC with a 47-17 victory and must wait until Friday to see the outcome of Australia vs. Georgia match. A Wallabies win will mean Argentina qualifies for the RWC in 2013, while a loss means Georgia gains that spot.
Player of the Match honors went to Juan Cruz Mallia. The USA also had an accomplishment at Cam Dolan earned his 50th cap.
Squads & Match Preview
USA: 1 Eric Fry, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Titi Lamositele, 4 Nate Brakeley, 5 Greg Peterson, 6 Tony Lamborn, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 AJ MacGinty, 11 Marcel Brache, 12 Paul Lasike, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Blaine Scully (capt.), 15 Mike Te’o 16 Dylan Fawsitt, 17 Olive Kilifi, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Ben Landry, 20 Ben Pinkelman, 21 Nate Augspurger, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Martin Iosefo
Argentina: 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Julián Montoya, 3 Santiago Medrano, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Matías Alemanno, 6 Pablo Matera (capt.), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 11 Santiago Carreras, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 13 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Bautista Delguy, 15 Joaquín Tuculet 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Marcos Kremer, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Benjamín Urdapilleta, 23 Matías Moroni
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistants: Jaco Peyper (South Africa) & Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
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