Argentina XV run over 14-man USA

The Argentina XV ran over a 14-man USA in Patagonia to put one hand on the 2019 Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) trophy. The 45-12 victory was arguably the greatest win from the Argentina XV in the four year history of the ARC.

A blistering start to the match from the home side saw the home supporters on their feet. Tries from fullback Santiago Carreras and tight head prop Lucas Favre had the Argentina XV leading 14-0 after eight minutes.

The Eagles were unable to put together phases while the Argentina XV continued to break clear and run the ball deep into USA territory. A third try came with hooker Gaspar Baldunciel blasting his way over the touch down.

Rather than settling down it went from bad to worse for the USA. The Eagles lost powerful inside center Paul Lasike. The Harlequin was red carded for stamping on Matías Osadczuk on the flour. The ugly incident saw Osadczuk holding Lasike’s foot. Unable to break free the Eagle pushed Osadczuk twice before stomping on the back and neck area.

Down to 14 men and trailing by 21 points the result of the match was clear before half time. While the game may be remembered for the Lasike-Osadczuk incident the game also showcased an impressive performance by the home side, one which the players were clearly highly motivated for.

The focused effort from the Argentina XV would continue until the final minutes. This brought impressive scores early in the second half from Carreras and winter Julián Domínguez. Both players significantly boosted their prospects as future Jaguares. They were able to get past Eagles defenders with Gannon Moore, and Will Magie dropping tackles throughout the match.

Domínguez had his hand not only in scoring, and beating tacklers but also in setting up others. His work put over players in both halves. Felipe Ezcurra would be the benefactor for a second half try. With it the Argentina XV were leading 40-0 with a quarter left to play.

Having been held up over the line in the first half captain Lautaro Bavaro would not be denied twice. Providing support he was in the right place at the right time to finish off good work from the backs and score.

The final minutes saw players from both teams in trouble. Following yellow cards the Eagles enjoyed their best moments of the match as they scored a penalty try and a try to replacement hooker Dylan Fawsitt.

 

SCORING

ARGENTINA 45
Tries – S. Carreras 2 (1’, 46’), L. Favre (7’), G. Baldunciel (28’), F. Ezcurra (54’), J. Domínguez (56’), L. Bavaro (74’)
Cons – M. Elías 5/6 (2’, 8’, 29’, 55’, 57’), T. Castiglioni 0/1
Yellow cards – L. Mensa (50’), J. Ureta (76’)

USA 14
Tries – Penalty try (76’), D. Fawsitt (78’)
Cons – W. Magie 1/1 (79’)
Yellow cards – J. Quill (50’)
Red cards – P. Lasike (31’)

 

TEAMS

ARGENTINA XV
1 Nicolás Solveyra (17 Santiago García Botta HT), 2 Gaspar Baldunciel (16 Axel Zapata 58’), 3 Lucas Favre (18 Marco Ciccioli 58’), 4 Jerónimo Ureta, 5 Franco Molina (20 Benito Ortíz de Rosas 56’), 6 Francisco Gorrissen, 7 Lautaro Bavaro (capt.), 8 Nicolás Sbrocco (19 Santiago Portillo 20’), 9 Felipe Ezcurra (21 Gregorio del Prete 60’), 10 Martín Elías, 11 Julián Domínguez (22 Teo Castiglioni 60’), 12 Lucas Mensa, 13 Agustín Segura (23 Facundo Cordero 58’), 14 Matías Osadczuk, 15 Santiago Carreras

USA
1 Titi Lamositele (18 Paul Mullen 56’), 2 Joe Taufete’e (16 Dylan Fawsitt 56’), 3 Dino Waldren (17 Chance Wenglewski 31’), 4 Greg Peterson (19 Nate Brakeley 58’), 5 Nick Civetta, 6 John Quill (20 David Tameilau 60’), 7 Hanco Germishuys, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Shaun Davies (21 Ruben de Haas 56’), 10 AJ MacGinty, 11 Marcel Brache (capt.), 12 Paul Lasike, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Gannon Moore (23 Dylan Audsley 58’), 15 Will Magie

Not used: 22 Tadhg Leader

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Francisco González (URU)
Assistants: Esteban Filipanics (UAR) & Juan Manuel Martínez (UAR)
TMO: Marcelo Pilara (UAR)