Wales defend their way to a win against Argentina
Having beaten Samoa, Scotland and Argentina the Wales U20's are on their way through to the semi finals of the Junior World Cup 2013 in France after beating the South American team 25-20 in the quarter finals.
Argentina came out on to the field with a plan to keep the ball in hand and to challenge the Welsh defence. In the first ten minutes and for most of the game the Welsh defencive line was put under immense pressure from both the Argentine forwards and backs as they continuously charged towards the line of red shirts. The blitz defence that was used by the Welsh worked well in order to secure their win, however at times, especially in the second half, this tactic led to the Welsh clumping together in midfield and thus allowing the opposition to take advantage of the free wings. Argentine full back, Santiago Cordero took advantage of this problem in the welsh defence as he shrugged off fly half Sam Davies by powering down the sparsely defended line to score a magnificent try in the last five minutes of the game. Despite this minor problem in, the Welsh defence allowed them to rule the break down and to control the tempo of the game.
Throughout the game Sam Davies and fellow half back Rhodri Williams showed their impressive kicking ability by allowing their team to make enormous territorial gains by kicking behind the Argentine backs and in to touch. Fly half Davies added to his impressive game by chipping over 20 of the 25 points score by Wales during today's game. The Osprey managed to keep a 100% record by knocking over all six of his attempts at goal even when the team was under increasing pressure as the Pumas began to make their way back in to the game.
With 19 minutes on the clock, Welsh full back Hallam Amos gave the men in red their first five pointer of the match. The Welsh passed the ball wide from the first phase which allowed Amos to take advantage of the insufficient number of Pumas on the wing. The powerful full back hit a great angle and managed to score the try with a great finish that resembled that of fellow Welshman Alex Cuthbert.
Amos' try all started from Wales' scrum. In the build up to this quarter final game all the talk had been about the strength of the Argentine front 8. Certainly during the first ten minutes of the game the Argentine forwards did destroy the Welsh scrum but all that changed by the time twenty minutes had passed and the Welsh were able to compete confidently within the scrum and were able to create a steady platform for the backs that allowed them to be presented with quality ball. The Welsh pack did extremely well today in the face of a very strong Argentine front row and their performance should most definitely not go unnoticed.
Wales' head coach, Danny Wilson, would not have been pleased with the first twenty minutes of the second half. Wales seemed to lose their dominance which they possessed in the first half and Argentina began to dominate the play. Most of this first twenty minutes was played on the Welsh five meter line with the Argentine forwards moving towards the white wash inch by inch. After a long period of pressure the Pumas crossed the line to make the score 16-7.
With fantastic runs from the likes of the Argentine hooker adding to the renewed energy of the South American men, the blue and white outfit began to creep up on the Welsh with the score becoming 22-20 with three minutes left on the clock.
Wales, however, kept calm and with Jordan Williams dancing through the defence with intense speed, it was almost certain that the Welsh would see the game away with another win on the board. Two yellow cards for the Argentine team, a result of a high tackle on Rhodri Williams and then a spear tackle, the Argentinians began to lose their second half momentum.
Having showed great character to regain control of the second half after a strong Argentine surge, the Welsh won the game with a margin of five to go through to the semi finals of the IRB Junior World Cup.
Argentina came out on to the field with a plan to keep the ball in hand and to challenge the Welsh defence. In the first ten minutes and for most of the game the Welsh defencive line was put under immense pressure from both the Argentine forwards and backs as they continuously charged towards the line of red shirts. The blitz defence that was used by the Welsh worked well in order to secure their win, however at times, especially in the second half, this tactic led to the Welsh clumping together in midfield and thus allowing the opposition to take advantage of the free wings. Argentine full back, Santiago Cordero took advantage of this problem in the welsh defence as he shrugged off fly half Sam Davies by powering down the sparsely defended line to score a magnificent try in the last five minutes of the game. Despite this minor problem in, the Welsh defence allowed them to rule the break down and to control the tempo of the game.
Throughout the game Sam Davies and fellow half back Rhodri Williams showed their impressive kicking ability by allowing their team to make enormous territorial gains by kicking behind the Argentine backs and in to touch. Fly half Davies added to his impressive game by chipping over 20 of the 25 points score by Wales during today's game. The Osprey managed to keep a 100% record by knocking over all six of his attempts at goal even when the team was under increasing pressure as the Pumas began to make their way back in to the game.
With 19 minutes on the clock, Welsh full back Hallam Amos gave the men in red their first five pointer of the match. The Welsh passed the ball wide from the first phase which allowed Amos to take advantage of the insufficient number of Pumas on the wing. The powerful full back hit a great angle and managed to score the try with a great finish that resembled that of fellow Welshman Alex Cuthbert.
Amos' try all started from Wales' scrum. In the build up to this quarter final game all the talk had been about the strength of the Argentine front 8. Certainly during the first ten minutes of the game the Argentine forwards did destroy the Welsh scrum but all that changed by the time twenty minutes had passed and the Welsh were able to compete confidently within the scrum and were able to create a steady platform for the backs that allowed them to be presented with quality ball. The Welsh pack did extremely well today in the face of a very strong Argentine front row and their performance should most definitely not go unnoticed.
Wales' head coach, Danny Wilson, would not have been pleased with the first twenty minutes of the second half. Wales seemed to lose their dominance which they possessed in the first half and Argentina began to dominate the play. Most of this first twenty minutes was played on the Welsh five meter line with the Argentine forwards moving towards the white wash inch by inch. After a long period of pressure the Pumas crossed the line to make the score 16-7.
With fantastic runs from the likes of the Argentine hooker adding to the renewed energy of the South American men, the blue and white outfit began to creep up on the Welsh with the score becoming 22-20 with three minutes left on the clock.
Wales, however, kept calm and with Jordan Williams dancing through the defence with intense speed, it was almost certain that the Welsh would see the game away with another win on the board. Two yellow cards for the Argentine team, a result of a high tackle on Rhodri Williams and then a spear tackle, the Argentinians began to lose their second half momentum.
Having showed great character to regain control of the second half after a strong Argentine surge, the Welsh won the game with a margin of five to go through to the semi finals of the IRB Junior World Cup.
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