Despite Steve Tandy’s first match in charge of Wales ending in a 28-52 defeat, there was much to be encouraged by in the Welsh performance.

The defence is a concern and Argentina dominated the aerial and scrum battles, but with ball in hand Wales were inventive and carried a consistent threat.

Jockey makes his impact known

Wales got off to an awful start at the Principality Stadium, conceding twice in different ways. The first a powerful effort from Pedro Delgado, the second a clever chip from Mateo Carreras that found the hands of Geronimo Prisciantelli.

Wales responded well after going 0-14 down, scoring a lovely try when Ben Thomas put Tom rogers through a gap and the wing handed off to Jac Morgan and Tomos Williams finished as a scrumhalf should.

The dual playmaking of Thomas and Dan Edwards was in fine form at the first opportunity, with Edwards’ ability to run with the ball a highlight, often taking the ball in wider channels. His break in the second half rivalled Pablo Matera’s audacious kick for the moment of the match and would’ve been an all-time great try without Prisciantelli’s tap-tackle.

What was pleasing for Wales was that they looked a threat from a number of different scenarios. The game is dominated by set-piece moves and Matt Sherratt’s gameplan was effective in getting Wales into the 22 against a big Argentinian pack.

They will only get better and scoring four tries against the Pumas is a good start.

Jac’s performance and injury

Undoubtedly the most disappointing part of the match, perhaps even more than the result, was the injury suffered by Jac Morgan. The Wales captain was his usual excellent self, but injured himself as he scored Wales’ third try of the match.

Landing awkwardly and going off holding his lower arm gingerly, Tandy said after the match that he suffered a dislocated shoulder, ruling him out of the rest of the autumn. If he requires surgery, Wales will be sweating on his involvement in the Six Nations next spring.

The question of who replaces him in the squad is a tough one. Morgan was the only out-and-out openside flanker in the original squad, as the likes of Harri Deaves and Tommy Reffell were overlooked.

Whether either of those come in – or a more left field option like Josh Macleod – remains to be seen. Wales will miss Jac the player and captain for the rest of this month.

Aerial woes

The area of the game that Argentina got the most joy was undoubtedly in the skies. Starting only his second test match, Prisciantelli’s kicking was spot on and, with the recent law changes around protecting the chaser, the Pumas got consistent territory and points from their aerial game.

Wales started the match with Josh Adams, Rogers, and Blair Murray in the back three, and while Adams and Rogers are good under the high ball, Murray struggled.

With Louis Rees-Zammit waiting in the wings for his first start since returning to rugby, perhaps some shuffling of the pack is required, especially for the games against South Africa and New Zealand where they are so strong in the air.

Halfback synergy

Apart from Morgan, Wales’ best two players were their halfbacks. Despite being sent to the sin bin for a late tackle in the second half, Tomos Williams was excellent as ever, providing tempo, a sniping threat, and astute kicking game.

Edwards was similarly composed, swapping consistently with Thomas and Murray as the first receiver, as providing some go forward for Wales.

If Wales are to improve as quickly as necessary to have a successful next couple of years under Tandy, their halfbacks will be the key.

Physicality and ‘boxing smart’

Argentina were always going to be a test of physicality for Wales. Seeing players like Guido Petti, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera and Juan Martin Gonzalez charge into contact for 80 minutes was quite a sight and credit to Tandy’s new defensive set up that they were able to repel them for the most part.

In attack, Wales used their superior speed and neat footballing skills to box clever, often putting relatively smaller players like Kieron Assiratti and Alex Mann in the best possible situations to gain ground through disguise and guile rather than brute force.

With Tandy’s speciality being the defence, seeing his side concede seven tries will have hurt. Wales need to rectify that if they are to compete with the top 8 of international rugby.

---

Sportin Wales’s coverage of Wales’s World Cup qualifying campaign is proudly sponsored by S4C. You can watch all of Wales’s matches this year for free on S4C and S4C Clic.

If you want to read more pieces from Sportin Wales, why not read to our monthly magazine here or subscribe to the magazine and newsletter at https://sportin.wales/subscribe/.

Our podcast is back for the new season and our co-founder Alex Cuthbert is in charge! You can find all the episodes here or the video versions on our YouTube channel.

You can also keep track of our pieces and videos on our socials at @Sportin_Wales on X or Sportin Wales on Instagram and Facebook.