Argentina stun France at home ground
Published on: Monday, November 24, 2014
PARIS: Argentina produced a tactical masterclass to beat France 18-13 at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.The Pumas scored four drop goals and dominated the majority of a turgid contest to end their November tour on a high.France came within inches of snatching a potentially match-winning try deep into added time, but South African-born full-back Scott Spedding was held up over the line.ADVERTISEMENT Had they scored that, and converted it to snatch an unlikely victory, it would have been hard on an enterprising Argentina that dominated in almost every aspect of the game and aligned an almost impenetrable light-blue and white wall in front of France's runners.It was their first win in France since the 2007 World Cup, and richly deserved."We're very happy, we played a spectacular match. We're a young team that gives everything and we gave everything we had," said Pumas full-back Joaquin Tuculet."It's a great pleasure, we played badly against Scotland but now we have to be happy with this win." The hosts may have come into the clash brimming with confidence following wins over Fiji (40-15) and Australia (29-26) but they were given a tactical lesson in the first half.ADVERTISEMENT France coach Philippe Saint-Andre said his side lost the match in the first half hour, at the end of which they trailed 15-0."We weren't surprised by Argentina's performance, during the week we told the players that they (Argentina) have the level of a southern hemisphere side," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The only thing was that we were totally absent in the first half hour. We were dominated at the breakdown and in terms of dynamism."Argentina fly-half Nicolas Sanchez and inside centre Juan Martin Hernandez dominated with precise kicking, while the tourists rumbled well with their forwards and broke quickly in the backs.They needed only a minute to force the first penalty as France were penalised for holding on, and Sanchez kicked the first three points.Right wing Juan Imhoff, who plays for Racing-Metro in Paris, almost scored a try on five minutes as Argentina exploited the space left by an injury to France right wing Yoann Huget, who was receiving on-field treatment, but Spedding got across to knock the Puma into touch just before he grounded the ball.France fly-half Camille Lopez missed a penalty attempt on 12 minutes and five minutes later, Sanchez landed a long-range drop goal to stretch their lead to 6-0.Argentina lost outside centre Marcelo Bosch and No.8 Leonardo Senatore to injury but they continued to control proceedings.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
Lopez hit the post with his second penalty attempt before Sanchez landed his third kick after a long range Imhoff counter.Argentina then started to humiliate France with Hernandez and Sanchez in the space of two minutes each knocking over a drop goal to open up a 15-0 lead -- and this from a team soundly beaten 41-31 by Scotland two weeks ago. – AFP