Mateo Carreras shifted the crisis cabinet of Argentine rugby with a memorable performance, three attempts to end the resistance of Japan, the giant-killer of international rugby in the last decade, not far from it, an illustrious collection that includes South Africa, another Add piece. Ireland or Scotland. The big challenge of the group stage, an open duel for a place in the top eight, ended in Nantes with cheers from the Albiceleste fans, who will open the quarter-final against Wales next Saturday.
The game appeared to be a formality when Chocobares took advantage of a major mistake in the tackle by the Japanese to sneak in unhindered for the first attempt. Barely 65 seconds had passed and the doubts about the Asians, a downgraded version of the team that shone at their 2019 World Cup, seemed justified. A generation with no obvious replacement, a missed opportunity to integrate a team that had just won nine of its last twelve World Cup games into the global ecosystem. But it was not like that.
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The lack of size forces the Japanese to play without the net, a constant taking of risks, even on their own field, in search of possession, their best defense against superior physicality. After the initial bullshit, they stood in the Argentine field and didn’t get a try because Naoto Saito, the scrum-half, missed the oval. The first Japanese record came about because its captain, Michael Leitch, the New Zealander who was more Japanese than the samurai, took a risk by keeping the ball in his own court. Two Argentines were stung; This created superiority, so that Amato Fakatava, a giant of more than two meters, attempted a follow-up shot that was unsuitable for his size. The result went well and Japan equalized.
It was the first exchange of blows in the big offensive duel so far in the World Cup. After the Pumas were blown away, Japan took control of the territory and soul, but failed to take control of the scoreboard and lost momentum after the yellow card due to a high tackle from Pieter Labuschagne. Even in those ten minutes with one less, they risked a drop – kicking an early rebound in search of the sticks – which Kremer blocked. The result was that the Japanese defense spiraled out of control and Carreras’ first lucky sprint took place. An attempt to which the Asians responded with a tackle from Kotaro Matsushima, their great goalscorer, who slipped between Boffelli and Mallía as if dressed in Albiceleste to support Saito and reduce the disadvantage to a minimum before the break ( 14-15).
Proof of Albiceleste’s nervousness is that their fans whistled towards the locker room when Betranou refused to mount a final attack. Their lead improved completely in the second act and soon created a superiority, so that Carreras, standing like a sniper on the wing while his big men pushed to the front, activated his engines and, after a dancer’s break, rehearsed next to the goal area. This time Japan responded calmly, two shots between the posts – a penalty and a drop – and came back to within two goals.
An hour of play and chaos for the Pumas, nervous but with a stronger lead. From there came the fourth attempt, with Betranou picking the ball out of the scrum just a breath before the front rows collapsed. Mallía and Boffelli rehabilitated their defensive error and took advantage of the superiority on the side, so that the second dived and also scored the conversion after touching the stick, a good omen. Again at nine.
But Japan didn’t give up. Again at the Argentinian five-meter line, with their forwards reaching over and taking the physical toll. The Argentines massed troops in the trench, leaving their rearguard naked. So Naikabula rehearsed, Matsuda landed a vicious kick and the Pumas felt the Japanese breath on their necks again. But the heartbreaking end didn’t happen: Carreras stepped on the gas again as soon as his team resumed play.
His effort between the posts was not repeated and the precarious situation Argentina faced in the tie was put on hold. The referee blew his whistle and the media, Santiago Carreras and Betranou, greeted each other with relief. Their coach, Michael Cheika, trusted them despite the heavy defeat against England or the poor win against Samoa and left the old guard, their previous winners, on the bench. With a period full of doubts and a lot to lose, they reached the quarter-finals. Now another World Cup begins.
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