Japan v Argentina: Five takeaways as Los Pumas finally arrive in ...

Following Los Pumas’ thrilling 39-27 win over Japan to secure a quarter-final spot, here are our takeaways from Nantes.

Nantes hosted an absolute thriller in a winner-takes-all Pool D match between Argentina, played at breakneck pace and with some delightful rugby from both teams.

Argentina deserved their win, finally showing glimpses of the team we’ve seen beat a number of big nations in recent times and will move forward to play Wales in the quarter-finals next weekend.

Los Pumas were energised by brilliant performances from two units of their team. Firstly, their back three, where Mateo Carreras helped himself to a quite superb hat-trick and Emiliano Boffelli who grabbed a score but seemed to be everywhere in carry and catch.

The Argentinian back-row, aided by their honorary fourth member, Julian Montoya, also put in a huge shift, ensuring fast ball and a magnificent platform for the ambition of their back division.

A word too for Ben O’Keeffe; in an age where ref bashing is too commonplace, the Kiwi optometrist was magnificent in creating an environment of positivity and pace. World Rugby are said to be thrilled with his performances in the competition and he had another wonderfully empathetic game in Nantes on Sunday.

It was a quantum improvement from the South American side and they moved forward to the World Cup quarter-finals and given their upward trajectory, they will give Wales a big test next Saturday down in Marseille.

????️ "Prolific personified and the player of the game with a superb hat-trick. He had no right to score his third try." #JPNvARG #RWC2023

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— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 8, 2023

Cheika must have spent a week showing his players videos of the outstanding way they played in the 2022 Rugby Championship as this was a big step up in pace and physicality from the performances we’ve seen from Los Pumas at this World Cup.

130kg Marcos Kremer put in a massive performance of abrasion and nuisance around the breakdown, stealing, charging down and clearing out and the speed of Argentine ball was largely due to his lead in the contact area.

Los Pumas also exploited a clear aerial advantage, with Boffelli and Juan-Cruz Mallia dominating the catching zone. The first try for Mateo Carreras was a result of Mallia’s work in reclaiming the box kick and as well as Mateo finishing it was the clever kicking strategy of the other Carreras, Santiago, and Mallia’s commitment to chase that created the opportunity.

With Montoya back to his barrelling best around the lineout acting as a secondary scrum-half and intelligent displays from Juan-Martin Gonzalez and Pablo Matera (until the Argentinian talisman limped off with a hamstring injury), this was a thrilling performance by Los Pumas and one based clearly on focused coaching and intelligent strategy from Cheika and his backroom team.

Japan leave the tournament knowing that if they’d captured the form they showed in Nantes things may well have been different for them. A great game was created by two teams and the Brave Blossoms showed ambition, quality in attack and played every part in making this match the cameo it was.

The big Japanese lock Amato Fakatava also scored the individual try of the day. Finding himself isolated on the left wing and 50 metres out, the huge second row simply feinted a pass, chip kicked, regathered and went flying into the corner to grab a score he’ll recall forever. As the evening wears on and after a couple of ales, it’s likely the distance might get nearer 80 metres, knowing the way forwards tend to remember their kicking exploits.

Elsewhere, Kotaro Matsushima has been relatively quiet by his standards in this tournament but until he went off with a knee strain, he was everywhere, popping up in the centres, at first receiver and in the wide channels, causing havoc for Argentina’s brilliant defence. He, Lomano Lemeka and Siosaia Fifita are equally as good as the Argentinian back three and it was only the aerial superiority of the Los Pumas trio that created the points of difference to enable their side to win the match.

It might have gone under the radar, but this is likely to be the last time we see Japan’s greatest rugby player, Michael Leitch, in the red and white hoops at a Rugby World Cup. It is the end of an era for this most celebrated of back-row forwards, a man whose impact is so great back home that there’s a full-size statue of the flanker in his alma mater, Sapporo Yamanote Sr. High School in Hokkaido.

Once again, he has been outstanding in this tournament, the speed of his rugby brain making up for any drop off in the pace of his feet, and again in this game, he was everywhere, popping up on the wing to make the extra man, competing hard at the breakdown against the power of Kremer and his power-based back-row and supporting every bit of carrying brilliance from the talented Japanese back division.

It’s hard to think of one man who has epitomised his country’s efforts so conclusively. Maybe Sergio Parisse for Italy or Mamuka Gorgodze for Georgia would be his nearest challengers, but Leitch has endured 15 years in Test rugby, led his team to that memorable victory against South Africa in Brighton in 2015 and scored some 20 tries in his 81 test matches.

He has defined Japan’s rugby and his influence on the sport in the country can never be underestimated or understated.

???????? LOS PUMAS QUALIFY FOR THE QUARTER-FINALS WITH A BREATHLESS WIN OVER JAPAN. #JPNvARG #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/e3kn7teSzK

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 8, 2023

Argentina’s week looking towards the Wales game will feature a nervous wait to find out the fitness of their brilliant flanker Matera. He is an absolute bull with ball in hand or in tackle defence, and his ability to take the ball at pace down the middle of the park and offload either side to supporting backs has been a feature of Los Pumas’ attacking system for at least three seasons.

He offers balance to their back-row alongside the Kremer power and the Gonzalez subtleties and should he not make the Welsh fixture Argentina will struggle to replace him like for like and if he’s missing it might well be the fine margin that tips the tussle in Wales’ favour.

But they move forward knowing their pacy backline is now fit and firing and the aerial duel next weekend against a very skilled Welsh back three will be a thrilling match-up. Liam Williams and Rio Dyer strutted their stuff in the kick chase battle last night and the match-up between Louis Rees Zammit and Mateo Carreras is one for the lovers of true rugby speed.

With Taulupe Faletau missing from Wales that might balance out the loss of Matera and given the similarities between both teams at their best, great back threes, combative back-rowers and brilliant goal kickers, it’s almost too close to call, providing of course that we see the same Argentina we saw turn up once again in Marseille next weekend.

READ MORE: Argentina advance to Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with hard-fought win over Japan