October 14th 2023.
Argentina stunned Welsh hearts with an incredible surge at the end of the match, coming back from behind to win 29-17 over Wales in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup. Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson, speaking to the BBC, was left 'mind-blown' at the result, given the Pumas' poor performance against England in the group stages only a month ago.
Wales had taken an early lead, going 10-0 up after just 22 minutes. But Argentina, spurred on by the coaching of Michael Cheika, shifted their game considerably in the second half, leaving Wales unable to counter the attack. Wales regained the lead midway through the second half, but Argentina scored two late tries to break Welsh hearts.
Dewi Lake, Wales' co-captain, spoke of the emotions running high after the match in an interview with S4C. He said: "We're gutted as a group from missing out on the final four, all the work we've done over the past four months to get to this point. At the start of the campaign not many people thought we'd get out of the group and we came into this game as favourites, and full credit to Argentina, they left everything out there."
Former Wales fly-half James Hook, speaking to the BBC, added: “We’re lost for words. In the second half, Argentina just turned the screw. Their driving mauls started to work, their carries in the 22 started to work. I know we’ll probably go to that incident with Nick Tompkins – that seemed to change the momentum with the fans and with the Welsh players, they looked deflated after that.”
Argentina will now face either France or England in the semi-finals. Fiji, meanwhile, are still in the running and are set to take on England in the quarter-finals, with Fiji star Sam Matavesi expected to play despite the death of his father. Whatever the results, the Rugby World Cup is shaping up to be one of the most memorable tournaments in history.
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