Warren Gatland’s Wales will face Argentina in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final after Las Pumas beat Japan 39-27, helped by Newcastle winger Mateo Carreras’ three tries; the round of 16 will take place in Marseille on Saturday October 14
Last updated: 08/10/23 2:27 p.m.
Argentina’s Mateo Carreras takes a challenge before scoring a try during the Rugby World Cup Pool D match against Japan in Nantes
Wales face Argentina in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final next weekend after Newcastle winger Mateo Carreras scored three tries in a 39-27 win over a team resilient Japanese.
Wales face a tough match in Pool D against a Pumas side who were put to the test throughout a thrilling rugby match on Sunday in which tries were exchanged throughout the 80 minutes.
Argentina took an early lead in Nantes, with a Santiago Chocobares try in the second minute, but 2019 World Cup hosts Japan bounced back with a try of their own 15 minutes later, featuring Amato Fakatava as scorer.
Japan were temporarily short of a player, after Pieter Labuschagne was sent to the dustbin for a frontal tackle. The yellow card did not become more severe as both players rushed for the tackle.
Japan showed determination, coming back from a losing position on several occasions in an exciting competition.
A fabulous collective try then allowed Carreras to restore the advantage to the South Americans before Emiliano Boffelli scored a penalty a few minutes later.
Japan has not turned around, however. Seconds after flanker Labuschagne returned to the field, Naoto Saito broke through the Argentine defense to bring the score back to one point before half-time.
Six minutes after the break, Carreras scored his second try of the match to give Argentina some breathing room.
Japan came knocking as they looked to rebound for the third time in the match, and did so with a penalty and a drop.
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Rugby World Cup highlights from last Sunday as Wales hammered Australia and Scotland to keep their World Cup quarter-final hopes alive with a bonus point win over the Tonga.
Boffelli then scored a crucial try, which was converted, to put Las Pumas ahead 29-22.
Japan continued to chase, continuing the cat-and-mouse match with a converted try from Jone Naikabula.
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Wales head coach Warren Gatland sympathizes with the criticism Eddie Jones is receiving as Australia head coach before the two teams meet at the Rugby World Cup.
But it was the star of the match, Carreras, who once again gave his team the advantage with his third try of the day.
Japan threw everything at Argentina, but the South Americans held on to book a quarter-final against Wales, who they faced just 11 months ago in a 20-13 defeat at Principality Stadium.
The World Cup quarter-final will be played at the Stade de Marseille on Saturday October 14 at 4 p.m. BST.