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Rob Howley’s men looked to bounce back against Argentina at the Principality Stadium
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Two penalties from Leigh Halfpenny gave Wales a slender 6-3 lead at half-time
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Tries from Liam Williams and Gareth Davies secured the narrow victory in the second-half
Wales bounced back from last weeks’ embarrassing loss to Australia with a narrow victory over Argentina at the Principality Stadium on Saturday evening.
All the tries came in the second half with man of the match Liam Williams and Gareth Davies crossing as Wales twice opened an eight-point lead.
But Juan Martin Hernandez and Martin Landajo both scored as the Pumas refused to lie down.
Leigh Halfpenny’s 78th-minute penalty edged Wales four points clear to settle the encounter.
A penalty from the ever-dependable Nicolas Sanchez gave the Pumas an early three-point advantage as the visitors dominated possession and territory in the first ten minutes.
Nevertheless, Wales responded through a pair of three-pointers from fullback Halfpenny to lead 6-3 at half-time. The hosts would have been bitterly disappointed to have such a narrow lead having been camped in the visitors 22 for long periods.
Despite missing several try-scoring opportunities in the opening 40, Wales took just three minutes to cross the whitewash after the restart with Liam Williams beating two men and squirming over the line. Halfpenny could not add the extra two points. 11-3.
Wales though switched off with the Pumas replying soon after as Juan Martin Hernandez picked up Martín Landajo’s clever grubber kick to dive over. Sanchez then added the extras to make it a one-point game.
The hosts though were able to open up a healthy lead as Gareth Davies peeled off the back of the lineout drive, beat three men, and showed great strength to stretch over the whitewash. Halfpenny this time added the extras, 18-10.
Argentina though wouldn’t give up as scrum-half Landajo squirmed over the line with Sanchez converting to yet again make it a one-point affair.
Halfpenny and Sanchez then traded penalties as the game remained too close to call. The Wales fullback though settled the game by kicking one last penalty with two minutes to go, 21-20.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins (c)
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Cory Hill, 20 James King, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Jamie Roberts
Argentina: 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Matías Moroni, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Lucas Noguera
Replacements: 16 Julián Montoya, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Leonardo Senatore, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Santiago Cordero
