PARIS, 8 September – Argentina's plan to take it to the French forwards laid the platform for their stunning upset 17-12 win over France in the IRB Rugby World Cup opener at Stade de France on Friday, coach Marcelo Loffreda says.
"We wanted to play it in the forwards and that is the way we played. We played smart," Loffreda said.
"We came with a plan to beat France and we knew that it would not be easy, but this is an important win for Argentina. We have a difficult Pool D and to start with a good win was important."
Huge defence
Argentina started the match aggressively, dominating territory and possession. However, they kicked much of it back in the form of towering up-and-unders that the French had trouble controlling.
A feature of the match was Argentina's defence. They made 110 tackles to France's 60.
When the Argentina full back Ignacio Corleto went over for a sensational try in the 24th minute, giving Argentina a 14-3 lead, the capacity 80,000-strong crowd sensed an upset could be on the cards.
Argentina went into the half-time break 17-9 ahead thanks to their tenacious defence, a 67 per cent possession advantage and France's handling errors.
France began the second half well, a 30m line-out drive taking them within centimetres of Argentina's line. However, referee Tony Spreadbury penalised them for holding on to the ball.
France's woes were further compounded by two missed penalty goals.
Handling errors costly
Despite France bringing on five replacements in the last 20 minutes, Argentina soaked up the pressure and controlled the pace of the game.
France captain Raphaël Ibanez said Argentina's defence was outstanding and admitted handling errors cost his side.
"We made too many mistakes. It's a big, big disappointment for the whole team. Argentina did exactly what they had to do. We couldn't stop them."
France coach Bernard Laporte said the best team won and his team may have been overwhelmed by the moment.
"We showed a lot of weakness. Some of our players did not play at their usual level. We were overcome, maybe we did not do what was required. It is only on the field that top-class rugby is played."
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