Argentina player ratings: ‘Classy’ Tomas Albornoz best of a bad bunch in huge defeat to Springboks
Argentina fly-half Tomas Albornoz in action against South Africa.
After a 48-7 defeat in their Rugby Championship Test against the Springboks at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, here’s how Argentina’s players performed on Saturday.
Argentina player ratings v South Africa
15 Santiago Carreras: The 26-year-old was put under plenty of pressure with an aerial bombardment from Manie Libbok and struggled in that department. Did not have much of an influence in other areas and was yellow carded late on for a deliberate knock on. 4
14 Rodrigo Isgro: Not much to report here as he saw very little of the ball and was restricted mostly to defensive duties. 5
13 Matais Moroni: Another one who did not influence the game much on attack as his team were starved of possession and made little impact in other facets of play. 4
12 Santiago Chocobares: The Toulouse centre was forced off the field after just 25 minutes with a knee injury following a clash with Aphelele Fassi but was restricted mostly to defensive duties until that point. NA
11 Mateo Carreras: The Newcastle Falcons speedster had few attacking opportunities and was yellow carded late in the opening half after taking Fassi out in an aerial challenge. 5
10 Tomas Albornoz: The classy Benetton playmaker showed some deft touches on attack and was rewarded with a well-taken try in the first half which he also converted. Albornoz continued to ask questions of the Boks‘ defence but received little support from his team-mates. 7
9 Gonzalo Garcia: Although the diminutive number nine received scraps of possession behind a retreating pack, he did his best under the circumstances and provided a solid service to his outside backs. Replaced by Lautaro Bazan Velez in the 68th minute. 6
Back-row trio impress in poor forward effort
8 Joaquin Oviedo: Despite battling on the back foot for the full 80 minutes, the young number eight emptied the tank on attack although he made little headway. Was also excellent on defence with a joint match-high 13 tackles made.6
7 Santiago Grondona: Showed his class by running a superb angle in the build-up to Albornoz’s try and also delivered an assist with that score. Apart from that, he was solid in defence with 13 tackles before being replaced by Pablo Matera in the 44th minute but came back on late on after his replacement received a 20-minute red card. 6
6 Juan Martín Gonzalez: Like the rest of the starting loose forwards, the Saracens stalwart put in a huge shift and he caught the eye on both sides of the ball. Did his bit as a ball carrier, gaining 23 metres, impressed on defence with 12 tackles made and was a valuable source of lineout possession. 7
5 Tomás Lavanini: The veteran second-row had little influence on this match as he made no impact as a ball carrier and spent most of the match defending. Finished with 10 tackles made. 5
4 Pedro Rubiolo: The 21-year-old took the fight to the world champions with some strong carries and finished with 23 metres gained. Also made his mark on defence with 13 tackle completions. 6
3 Joel Sclavi: It was a tough day at the office for the 30-year-old as he was put under great pressure by Ox Nche in the scrums and was eventually yanked off after 49 minutes with Pedro Delgado replacing him. 4
2 Julian Montoya: Argentina‘s skipper toiled manfully but with his side coming off second best in the forward battle he did not have much influence on this match. Replaced in the 57th minute by Ignacio Ruiz. 5
1 Thomas Gallo: Like fellow prop Sclavi this is a game which Gallo will not remember fondly as he spent most of his time back-pedalling at scrum time. Impressed on defence with eight hits before being replaced by Ignacio Calles after 57 minutes. 5
Replacements: Although Los Pumas’ bench showed improvement in most facets of play and stemmed the Springboks’ attacking flow in the second half, all that good work was overshadowed by Matera’s dangerous clear out of Vincent Koch which resulted in the veteran back-row receiving a yellow card which was later upgraded to red following a bunker review. Lucio Cinti did well when he came on and asked some questions of the Bok defence. 5
