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In a game that will be remembered more for the conditions of the pitch rather than what happened on it, the Argentina XV defeated Canada by a score of 20-6 in the first round of the Americas Rugby Championship at Westhills Stadium in Langford on Saturday. At kickoff the players were greeted with the unusual sight of snow on the field, with only the lines shoveled clear and the sleet billowing down to soak the pitch. It was a far cry from the balmy warmth of Buenos Aires that the visitors had left behind.
The players soldiered on, and when the match finally started it didn’t take long for Domingo Miotti to give Argentina the lead, slotting a penalty in just the second minute of the match to the dismay of the Canadian onlookers. Things got worse moments later as a sloppy Lucas Rumball challenge landed him in the bin for 10 minutes. To Canada’s credit they did not concede points with the numerical disadvantage, and instead is was Gordon McRorie who landed a penalty of his own to draw the scores level. There it would remain through to half time.
Running rugby was difficult to manufacture in the frozen wetness, with neither side able to find continuity aside from a few phases through the forwards. As the conditions worsened the teams looked to the boot to find territory, and it was an educated nudge ahead into the in-goal from Miotti that gave Santiago Medrano a chance to pounce and score the game’s first try. Miotti landed the conversion to claim the full seven and grab the momentum for the visitors.
After a further period of stalemate, despite the best effort of Argentina’s effervescent fullback Bautista Delguy, it was McRorie who tallied his second penalty goal to close the gap to four. That would be as close as Canada would come. Segundo Tuculet produced the moment of the match with a terrific solo effort, dancing past several defenders on a counter-attack down the left flank and over the line. Miotti’s extras were followed by his second penalty goal and Canada could not move the scoreboard again.
Survival might be the key takeaway for both sides given the circumstances. While certainly Canada will be disappointed with the loss, they might wish to close the book quickly and pray for better weather against Chile, to be played at the same venue in a week’s time. Argentina gleefully retreat to the South, where they will meet Uruguay in Bahía Blanca.
SCORING
CANADA 6
Pens – G. McRorie 2 (12’, 62’)
Yellow cards – L. Rumball (3’)
ARGENTINA 20
Tries – S. Medrano (50’), S. Tuculet (66’)
Cons – D. Miotti 2 (51’, 67’)
Pens – D. Miotti 2 (2’, 75’)
Yellow cards – J. Lescano (79’)
TEAMS
CANADA
1 Rob Brouwer (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 49’), 2 Eric Howard (16 Benoît Pifféro 58’), 3 Matt Tierney (18 Cole Keith 68’), 4 Conor Keys, 5 Liam Chisholm (19 Reegan O’Gorman 65’), 6 Admir Cejvanovic, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Clay Panga (20 Matt Beukeboom 58’), 9 Gordon McRorie (capt.), 10 Robbie Povey (21 Phil Mack 58’), 11 Taylor Paris, 12 Nick Blevins, 13 Brock Staller (22 Guiseppe du Toit 71’), 14 Dan Moor, 15 Carl Pocock (23 George Barton 53’)
ARGENTINA XV
1 Franco Brarda (17 Nicolás Solveyra 71’), 2 Gaspar Baldunciel (16 Marcelo Brandi 71’), 3 Cristian Bartoloni (18 Santiago Medrano 49’), 4 Juan Cruz Guillemaín (19 Franco Molina 68’), 5 Pedro Ortega, 6 Francisco Gorrissen (20 Rodrigo Bruni 71’), 7 Lautaro Bavaro (capt.), 8 Tomás de la Vega, 9 Sebastián Cancelliere (21 Juan Manuel Lescano 72’), 10 Domingo Miotti, 11 Santiago Álvarez (23 Segundo Tuculet 58’), 12 Bruno Devoto (22 Tomas Granella 71’), 13 Juan Cappiello, 14 Fernando Luna, 15 Bautista Delguy
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Kurt Weaver (USAR)
Assistants: Harry Mason (RC) & Michael Jones (RC)
Attendance: 2,000
