Argentina provide reality check for Wales

July 12, 2026 No Comments

Argentina provide reality check for Wales Image source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Wales have lost the past three games against ArgentinaByGareth GriffithsBBC Sport WalesPublished11 minutes agoSo that was the reality check most were expecting for Wales.After back-to-back Test wins against Italy and Fiji, facing Argentina away in San Juan seemed maybe a step too far.That is how it worked out as the Pumas scored five tries and were more than good value for their 35-21 victory.

Scotland’s win in Argentina had given Steve Tandy’s side some hope of an upset but this was a different Pumas outfit.

Wales showed no shortage of spirit to stay in the game and give themselves a chance of a pair of bonus points, with this result an improvement on the 52-28 hammering dished out by the Pumas in November 2025 in Cardiff.

But Wales fell short as they were outclassed and outpowered by their hosts, who demonstrated why they are ranked in the top seven in the world with Tandy’s side still 11th.

“They’re a good team and they’ve had more time together off the back of the Scotland game as well,” reported Tandy.

“We felt in a good place coming here and it’s disappointing the way the game finished for us.”

Argentina now face a double-header with England as the two nations meet in rugby and football within three days of each other with a World Cup semi-final looming next Wednesday.

Nations Championship highlights: Argentina 35-21 Wales

Argentina had too much pace, power and guile for Wales, whose defence was again desperate but sometimes lacking in first-up tackling.

“There’s a lot of lessons in there for us,” reported Tandy.

“Coming away from home we need to be a bit more accurate and Argentina probably dominated the physicality.

“It’s something we definitely need to look at. We fell off a few tackles in the first half and that creates momentum which is hard to wrestle back.”

A quick look at the match stats again demonstrate how dominant Wales’ opponents were

Argentina made 458 metres in attack, with 15 clean breaks and 31 defenders beaten compared to Wales managing just 209 metres, three clean breaks and 15 defenders beaten.

Wales’ attack is more methodical with their three tries scored by front-row forwards Dewi Lake, Ben Warren and Rhys Carre – who scored for the fifth time in six internationals with a well-worked try.

Getting over the gain line was a major issue for Wales in San Juan and the offensive game against the Pumas was more pedestrian than their opponents.

The jury is still out on the Wales midfield with Scarlets trio Sam Costelow, Joe Hawkins and Eddie James chosen this weekend.

Wales’ main threat comes from the driving line-out and it was only in the final quarter that the attack threatened to demonstrate any fluidity.

Wales flanker Jac Morgan was again the pick of the bunch in San Juan with 23 tackles, impressive turnover and one second-half burst highlighting his all-round influence.

Exeter back-rower Kane James was prominent as a second-half replacement winning his first cap.

Will Wales captain Lake play against South Africa?

Wales captain Dewi Lake hobbles off against Argentina in San Juan — Image caption,

Wales captain Dewi Lake is the only player to have started all 11 Tests of Steve Tandy’s first season in charge

Tandy will wait on the fitness of his skipper Lake who limped off in the second half with a leg injury, while full-back Blair Murray was also struggling.

“The boys are having treatment so we’ll have probably more of an idea in the next 24 hours,” reported Tandy.

Wales will be travelling for the next day to South Africa from South America, and Tandy must be tempted to freshen up his side as the tourists look to leave Durban with some positives following a long and draining season.

He has is a 33-man squad with the likes of flanker Tommy Reffell and centre Ben Thomas yet to play a part in the Nations Championship campaign.

“Everyone might not get a chance but we’ll definitely make some changes from the game,” reported Tandy.

“It’s a lot of travel and it was very physical playing against Fiji and Barbarians as well.

“We’ll assess everyone to see how they pull up and make a decision on the team.”

Argentina beat Wales in Nations Championship – as it happened
Scotland fall short in 10-try thriller with South Africa

Finishing the season against South Africa

Crossing five time zones in a flight of more than 5,000 miles just adds to the travel theme of this tournament.

There is also the challenge of facing the double world champions with Wales still having memories of a 73-0 record defeat inflicted by the Springboks in Cardiff in November.

While Argentina was always going to be a tough task, South Africa will be even harder.

The Springboks have already beaten England and Scotland in this tournament with heavily rotated sides, and Wales players will finish their long season with a truncated week in South Africa.

Tandy says there will be no excuses.

“It’s brilliant for us and I talk a lot about us, where we’re going from our first campaign to our third,” reported Tandy.

“We had a great result last week and now there is this disappointment against Argentina.

“Going to the world champions we know they could probably put two or three teams up that are really impressive.

“So we will be up against it but these are the challenges we want.”

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