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Argentina player ratings vs England | Rugby World Cup 2023
By Josh Raisey
Argentina finished their World Cup how they started- losing to England, this time by a slender margin of three points, 26-23.
The Pumas put in a better display than they did against the All Blacks in the semi-final, and a better showing than against a 14-man England in the opening round, but did not have enough to get over the line.
There were some eyecatching performances nevertheless. Here's how the players rated:
15. Juan Cruz Mallia - 6
Always had Englnad guessing whenever he had the ball in his hands. Finished his World Cup well.
14. Emiliano Boffelli - 6.5
Kicked his kicks and did everything he was required to do. Strong aerially, but did not exactly set the game alight on the wing.
13. Lucio Cinti - 5
Saw a lot of action in defence, and won a decent penalty at the breakdown, but that was not mirrored by his offensive output. But that was more the flow of the game rather than a fault of his.
12. Jeronimo de la Fuente - 5
Like Cinti, was called upon to make tackles, which he did.
11. Mateo Carreras - 6
Became the Argentinian Jonah Lomu briefly up against Marcus Smith. Was a flash of what we all know he can do (although he is not exactly famed for his power), but was unable to show it consistently across the 80 minutes. Looked his most dangerous in the final minutes of the match.
10. Santiago Carreras - 4.5
Tore England's defence to shreds early in the second-half for his try only to be charged down just seconds later for an England reply. The epitome of a mixed bag.
9. Tomas Cubelli - 4
A try probably glossed over a slightly error-strewn and ill disciplined display.
1. Thomas Gallo - 5
Marmalised early on by England scrum, but went on to produce a high energy display which has been characteristic of his World Cup.
2. Julian Montoya (c) - 5
The usual from the captain. Threw his body around in defence.
3. Francisco Gómez Kodela - 4.5
Sent marching backwards by Englnad scrum early, but after that was solid in all departments.
4. Guido Petti Pagadizabal - 5
Middle of the road performance. Nothing calamatous but equally nothing to write home about.
5. Pedro Rubiolo - 5.5
Filled the hole left by Tomas Lavanini well. A lot of activity albeit with little return.
6. Juan Martin Gonzalez - 7
Bamboozled for Ben Earl's opening try of the match but a decent outing otherwise with far more productivity in attack than previous weeks. Showed that he is one of the best defensive lineout operators in the game.
7. Marcos Kremer - 5
Will surely finish the World Cup with the most tackles after yet another machine-like performance in defence. An errorsome display elsewhere.
8. Facundo Isa - 5
After a plucky display against the All Blacks last week given the circumstances, he went into his shell this week, although still made plenty of tackles for the 46 minutes he was on the field.
Replacements
16. Agustín Creevy - 5.5
17. Joel Sclavi - 4
18. Eduardo Bello - 3.5
19. Matias Alemanno - 4
20. Rodrigo Bruni - 5
21. Lautaro Bazan Velez - 5
22. Nicolas Sanchez - 5.5
23. Matías Moroni - 4
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Latest Comments
All of these media pundits always miss the obvious whenever they analyse what is ailing or assisting the game. Rugby always has contentious points for debate when picking apart individual games and finding fault with itself. All this focus and scrutiny on “speeding up the game”, “high ball in play” etc is all contextual to the fan. As a tv viewer, if you’re absorbed into a game, regardless if your team is playing or not, more ball in play time and action are all byproducts of the contest. A good contest subliminally affects your memory in selectively remembering all the good aspects. A poor contest and your brain has switched off because its a blowout and the result is never in doubt or it’s a real chore to watch and remain engaged throughout. The URC, Top 14 and English premiership are all competitions that feel like there’s real jeopardy each week. The dominance of Super rugby by NZ teams was unhealthy from a sustainable interest perspective. You can’t fault those teams or the players, but the lack of competitions won by SA and Australian teams long term was always going to test the faith and patience of die-hard and casual fans from those regions. SANZAR took their eye off the fans and fans voted with their feet and subscriptions. They were so concerned about expanding their product they forgot the golden rule about broadcasting live sport. Viewers tune in more when there’s an atmosphere and a true contest. You need to fill stadiums to create one, host unions need to do more to service ticket buyers, and this year proves the other, there’s more interest in Super rugby this year only because more games are competitive with less foregone conclusions. All these micro statistics bandied about, only interest the bean counters and trainspotters.
Go to commentsIt’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
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