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Call it surprising or ridiculous or something in between, but Argentina vs Tonga had never taken place prior to RWC 2015. Their historic first ever test match was a pool match in Leicester, UK. It was a must-win fixture due to Los Pumas having had fallen to New Zealand and Tonga to Georgia in earlier matches.
The Pacific Islanders got off to a perfect start, scoring an early try. Argentina were under pressure to hit-back and they managed to do so with a Nicolás Sánchez penalty and a Joaquin Tuculet try. The try came from the restart with Juan Imhoff counterattacking following a kick from either team.
The Rosario express would not break the line, but simply take the ball towards his players.From the following phase the ball went left wherein Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe linked with Matías Moroni. The latter got Los Pumas to the 22 before a rampaging Ramiro Herrera was on hand to break clear and pass on his inside to Tuculet. The crowd erupted in delight. Among those in attendance was Diego Maradona.
Los Pumas went on to win the match. They followed it up by also playing their final match of the pool stage in Leicester against Namibia. With the win the South Americans finished second in the pool and secured a Quarter Final against Ireland in Cardiff, Wales.
The style of play of Argentina and Tonga combined for an entertaining match. The second match between the sides took place four years later, this time in Osaka, Japan. Los Pumas were again the winning team.
ARN can confirm that there are presently no plans to schedule a match between Argentina and Tonga outside of RWCs. There are, however, early plans for Los Pumas to play host to Fiji, potentially in 2022. This would mark the first time that Argentina play host to Fiji since 2003.
