Argentina 45-16
It was a predictably easy stroll about the Leicester Stadium for Argentina as they brushed aside a gutsy Tonga side who in the face of the mint blue and white tour de force, still managed to orchestrate two tries before the end.
Argentina manager Daniel Hourcade made seven changes from the side that dusted off Georgia 54-9. Jeronimo de la Feunte and Matias Moroni were drafted in to form a new centre partnership while Guido Petti, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera and Leonardo Senatore all earned starts against a Tonga side who have the oldest line-up in Rugby World Cup history.
But in retrospect, those strategic switches were superfluous as they crossed Tonga's cover six times, complimented by Nicolas Sanchez's four conversions and four penalties. Even the fair weather rugby followers would have foreseen this outcome. Just about the only unusual occurrence was the sighting of the Father of Football Diego Maradona in the crowd.
But the opening phases didn't materialise as imagined. Tonga's Kurth Morath pierced a way through Argentina's fortresses and grounded the ball despite the efforts of Argentina’s Tomas Lavanini in the 7th minute. Argentina eventually found their feet 10 minutes later with the first of Sanchez's penalties leaving the scoreboard reading 5-3.
Whatever mental block they were suffering from in the early stages, momentum was firmly leaning towards Argentina by the 22nd minute. Full-back Joaquin Tuculet was first to put his name on the Argentina try sheet followed two minutes later by Juan Imhoff in a move initiated by Santiago Cordero.
Sanchez and Morath traded penalties thereafter before Tonga's Soane Tonga’uiha broke the deadlock with his side's second try to leave them just a try and conversion away from Hourcade's charges with the scoreline reading 20-13 at the interval.
Argentina's panic was heightened a little further then with another Morath penalty in the 42nd minute. But while the Pacific Islanders deserve considerable credit for their display up to that point, Argentina were merely lining themselves up to invent another gear.
Sanchez put on a scoring exhibition over the next fifteen minutes notching on a further two penalties and a try in the 64th minute. Argentina were able to stretch their legs a little by this point with substitute Julian Montoya getting in on the scoring action with his side's fourth try.
And to bring the game to a comprehensive conclusion, Cordero snatched his first try of the day with Sanchez on hand to complete the conversion.
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