Argentina vs Australia: Not even Diego Maradona's heavenly intervention can inspires Pumas past the Wallabies

The Argentinean legend watched on as everyone's second-favourite team fell short of reaching a first ever World Cup final

(Getty Images)

No reliable poll has been taken among supporters since the home countries were knocked out of this English World Cup but it felt at Twickenham as if the tournament had lost everyone's second favourite team, as the attack-minded Argentina ran out of try-scoring steam. Well, not quite lost. The Pumas and South Africa move now to the cloyingly named ‘Bronze Final’ on Friday at the Olympic Stadium where, of all places, teams should surely be going for gold.

A more serious vote was on the minds of folk in Buenos Aires and Cordoba and Mendoza and Patagonia on Sunday: the election of the country’s new President. But there were a few indications that the amazing rugby odyssey taken by Agustin Creevy’s team, who had scored 26 tries in five matches before they hit a Wallaby roadblock, would be given its due place in the Sunday sun. The second largest newspaper La Nacion had a 12-page special rugby supplement, and the widely-subscribed to TV broadcaster ESPN began its coverage two hours before the 1pm kick-off, local time.

Argentina is a sporty nation, and the odds-on president-elect, Daniel Scoli, is a world powerboating champion, while his main rival Mauricio Macri, is a former president of Boca Juniors, the football club whose most famous son Diego Maradona was present and correct at Twickenham as he had promised after attending the pool win over Tonga in Leicester, draped throughout in the blue and white national flag. Screaming “vamos argentina!” into the stadium camera, he appeared to be going slightly ‘loco’ as an official guest of World Rugby.

On the pitch, the No.10 with Argentina’s destiny in his hands and at his feet was Nicolas Sanchez. Watched by his wife Juliana and his parents, the 27-year-old who was hooked on the oval ball at the age of 11 by seeing Argentina’s run to the 1999 World Cup quarter-finals was nervy at first, kicking possession away too quickly. Thereafter, Sanchez could not have done more to drive his team on. Playing for Toulon in France last season he had received coaching in “the mentality that a kicker has to have” from one Jonny Wilkinson. No problem there: the plucky Puma nailed five goal kicks out of five here, with wonderfully smooth swipes of his right boot.

(Reuters)

In open play, and despite Argentina’s newly open style, Sanchez is not exactly a fancy dan; his 10-12 combination with Juan Martin Hernandez was a touch less artful by stiff comparison with their opposite numbers Bernard Foley and Matt Giteau, until Hernandez and Giteau each went off injured in the first seven minutes of the second half. Tellingly Australia were able to summon Kurtley Beale followed by Matt Toomua from the bench, to maintain their midfield threat. And you knew another illustrious No.10, Mark Ella from the Wallaby Grand Slam dream team of 1984 who was viewing from the press seats, had been glowing inside surely at Giteau’s long scoring pass to Adam Ashley-Cooper for the venerable wing’s second try.

Argentina were unable to manage a single score after the 54th minute but Sanchez never lost the stomach for the fight - “I like the battle generated in tackling,” he commented in the match programme - and he finished joint top of his side’s tackle count with 10, and led their carrying stats too, with 15. But in the 66th minute, with Pumas blowing hard all around him, he was required to chase into the backfield to pick off a dangerous kick ahead by Genia. This came not long after Maradona had been shown on the big screens praying, and the motivation to do so was in no way misplaced. Matters had improved for Argentina from the Wallaby-dominated first half-hour when the score really did look getting messy (no, not Lionel), but by not nearly enough.