Wales need to be ‘ruthless’ to beat Argentina – Nick Tompkins

The two teams drew 20-20 at the weekend.

Andy Hampson
Wednesday 14 July 2021 22:00 BST
Wales centre Nick Tompkins is hoping to round off the season with victory over Argentina
Wales centre Nick Tompkins is hoping to round off the season with victory over Argentina

Wales centre Nick Tompkins has urged his team-mates to be ruthless and wrap up the season with a series victory over Argentina on Saturday.

Wayne Pivac’s side host the Pumas in the second match of their two-Test series at the Principality Stadium looking to go one better than last week’s 20-20 draw at the same venue.

Wales showed determination to battle back from behind to earn a share of the spoils but, after playing most of the game against 14 men, Tompkins felt opportunities were missed.

Wales battled back to draw against Argentina but Tompkins still felt opportunities were missed

The Saracens back said: “We came off really frustrated, everybody across the board. You look at it, 14 men, you should be dominant and there should be holes and opportunities.

“We look back and think we squandered a lot of good opportunities. We’ve looked at that pretty heavily over the last few days and picked out what we need to be better at.

“They are a good side and have got a full-strength team – you have to remember that – but we came off frustrated and it is building now for this last game. There is a lot more we want to give and thank God we’ve got one more game.

“We need to up our kicking game, put pressure on them and defuse any pressure they are going to bring. They got to our wingers a lot off kicks and we need to improve on that.

It's been a long old season, and a weird one as well.

Nick Tompkins

“In attack there are areas we need to exploit better and, in defence, I think we all need to step up.

“That is the main thing. We need to go in with a ruthless mindset and really step it up.”

The match marks the end of a draining campaign for Tompkins, which as well as being unrelenting due to the pandemic-affected schedule also saw him have a loan spell with Welsh region Dragons. He then finished the domestic campaign back with Saracens as they secured promotion back to the Premiership.

“I am excited to play the game and maybe take a bit of a holiday,” the 26-year-old said. “It’s been a long old season, and a weird one as well. It’s been emotionally draining and it’s been pretty tough.”

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