In the furnace of sudden-death World Cup games Wales can usually be relied upon to glow red hot. Give them a clear objective and, under Warren Gatland, they have a track record of reacting positively while other teams shrink and melt. If his side can reach a third World Cup semi-final in four tournaments, Gatland’s reputation as a rugby alchemist will be further enhanced.
Strength of mind and body are often the key in games such as Saturday’s showdown against Argentina and Wales, who have made more tackles than any other team in France, also believe they have forged a potent team spirit to complement it. There have been few more upbeat squads out here and the side’s tight-knit, all-for-one mentality suits the most intense occasions.
It is all a far cry from the chaos that surrounded Welsh rugby at the start of the year, from threatened player strikes to the regions’ financial problems. Gatland says the coaches used to joke among themselves about what else could possibly be thrown at them. Small wonder he made clear this week “it would be a huge achievement” if his side were to make the last four again.
To emulate – or even surpass – the brave campaigns of 2011 and 2019, however, they first have to overcome a Pumas side whose passion also shines through when everything is at stake. Argentina cannot possibly play as badly as they did last month against a 14-man England, when they dropped almost everything and became increasingly panic-stricken, and there were glimpses of far greater attacking fluency against Japan last Sunday.
Wales L Williams; Rees-Zammit, North, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar, Davies; Thomas, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Morgan (c), Reffell, Wainwright.
Replacements: Lake, Domachowski, Lewis, Jenkins, Tshiunza, T Williams, Costelow, Dyer.
Argentina Mallia; Boffelli, Cinti, Chocobares, M Carreras; S Carreras, Cubelli; Gallo, Montoya (c), Gómez Kodela, Petti, Lavanini, Gonzalez, Kremer, Isa.
Replacements: Creevy, Sclavi, Bello, Alemanno, Bruni, Bazan Velez, Sanchez, Moroni.
The high-speed rivalry between the wings Mateo Carreras and Louis Rees-Zammit is just one of several tasty match-ups, with the latter openly keen – “I would say it is pretty realistic at the moment” – to finish as the tournament’s highest try-scorer. Before they can be unleashed, though, the battle of the breakdown will need to be won if either side want to control their own destiny.
Wales have gone for the specialist threat of Tommy Reffell alongside the captain, Jac Morgan, as they look to counter the jackalling ability of Reffell’s Leicester teammate Julián Montoya. The set piece will also be vital, with 12 of Wales’s 17 tries to date having originated from either lineouts or scrums.
The injured Taulupe Faletau will be conspicuous by his absence but the same applies to Pablo Matera in the Pumas’ back row. Gatland, though, does have Dan Biggar back from a pectoral muscle injury and this kind of contest is absolutely made for the ever-competitive Welsh No 10.
Gatland has also deliberately kept training short and sharp this week, having worked his players a little harder prior to the Georgia game. “As a group of coaches, we don’t over-coach this week. We purposely had a heavier week last week … we knew we were in the quarter-finals, so it was a bit of a top-up week.” Ever since his days in charge of Wasps two decades ago, Gatland’s teams have had a knack of peaking when it matters.
Which is why the head coach insists Wales are not just here to make up the knockout-stage numbers: “The guys have been excellent this week. I know there are some people in some teams out there who won’t want to face a Wales team when they start playing with confidence and start having momentum. That is when we are at our most dangerous and we are starting to look that way at the moment.”
The first quarter-final to feature two teams from outside the top five since the world rankings were introduced in 2003 – England v Fiji on Sunday will be the second – could just hinge on which team starts the fastest. The team trailing at half-time has won just one of the past eight matches between the sides and Wales will be looking to sap Argentina’s spirits as effectively as they did Australia’s in their 40-6 pool win over the Wallabies in Lyon.
Michael Cheika, who knows Gatland’s methods well, is also well aware his Pumas cannot afford to give away soft penalties. “They are a team that likes to defend … we have to be intelligent, dynamic and have continuity in our attack.” Either way, a steely minded Wales will take some knocking over.
