Richard Whiffin couldn’t hide his frustration and disappointment at seeing his Wales U20 side lose 34-27 to Argentina on the opening day of the World Rugby U20 Championships.
The Wales U20 head coach, as well as all his players, knew that winning the first Pool game was vital to their chances of breaking into the top tier of nations and now they must pick up wins over France and Spain to stand any chance of breaking into the top four.
Things started so well with three tries in the opening 28 minutes against Los Pumitas as Harry Beddall’s team raced into a 17-point lead. In the end, though, a 77th minute try from Argentinean skipper Agustín Garcia Campos sealed the win after the two sides had been locked at 27-27 for more than 20 minutes.
“I’m very disappointed because we put ourselves in a very good position at 24-7 and, unfortunately, we gave them a couple of soft tries right before half-time. We switched off, which is unlike us,” said Whiffin.
“We were in a proper arm wrestle after that in what was a proper Test match. There was no quarter asked or given by either side.
“We didn’t execute the chances we had in the second half, and it was frustrating because we were pretty confident we could come through the game, especially after starting so well. That’s why it was so disappointing to lose in the end.
“Those two quick tries just before half time gave them momentum and saw them get their tails up. Even so, the boys were confident coming into the changing room at the break, and we felt that if we could execute some phases in the second half, we would trouble them.
“But we didn’t see much ball in the second half. There were lots of stoppages, lot of penalties, we brought the referee into the game, and they found some dominance around the set piece – off the back of that they found a way to sneak the win.”
Having lost all three games in The Rugby Championship U20 tournament prior to the World Cup in Italy, the Argentine team dug deep to stay in touch after conceding those three early tries and having two players sent to the sin-bin.
Then they used their monster pack to get on top and dominate territory (63%) and possession (61%) before clinching the win with their late, close-range try. It could have been a different story, however, had the TMO not intervened to rule out a try at the posts by prop Louie Trevett that would have given Wales the lead, and a try bonus point, 10 minutes from time.
The referee changed his verdict on the score after the TMO picked up a neck roll in the build-up to the try.
“There were some positives. You only had to look at the way we played in the first 30 minutes and gave ourselves the chance to pull away,” added Whiffin.
“We were pretty dominant in that opening half an hour, and some of our goal line defence was outstanding as we held them out a few times. As ever, there was plenty of heart shown, but we need to be more accurate on both sides of the ball to win these tough games.
“It was very hot, but it’s the same for both sides. You could see players from both sides going down with cramp late in the game, but these conditions are going to be easier than a 3.30pm kick-off on Friday.
“It’s important now that we rest up and get our recovery protocols right because it is a short turn around. We will be taking on the Six Nations champions, France, and we know they are a great team.
“They have got threats all over the park, but I know our boys will be keen to right the wrongs from today and put our best foot forward.”