The Stade Vélodrome filled with tears. Tears of despair for the Welsh. Tears of regret after losing control of the match and tears of sorrow when their generation of warriors retired.
For Argentina, they were tears of joy. Tears of relief after their first half and tears of joy as their supporters transformed the stands into what looked like the Buenos Aires carnival.
The stadium shook when Nicolas Sanchez intercepted Sam Costellow’s pass and sprinted 40 meters to snatch victory in the 76th minute. An essay that will define careers. The South Americans were jumping, chanting and throwing all their belongings into the darkening Marseille sky.
This was billed as the quarterfinal undercard. It was the first time a round of 16 match had pitted two teams ranked outside the top five, but what it lacked in quality it made up for in emotion and intensity.
The Welsh were struck, beaten and bruised. Dan Biggar has fought his way to his final match in Welsh colours. For years they boasted of their bloodthirsty spirit, but their resistance was finally broken.
It is rare that the Welsh national anthem is sung, but this was the case. The Argentinians, a stylish and bejeweled bunch, have arrived here in force. It looked like a South American takeover on European shores. They were very noisy.
And during the first exchanges, Argentina was just as fiery on the pitch. They broke through the Welsh defense with dummies and offloads. They recycled the ball at high speed and bounced their army of fans.
The Welsh, on the other hand, were a little gruffer. Their supporters were nervous, full of six pints to relax with, leeks slung over their shoulders. But they are tough, pragmatic and have an iron will. They weathered the early siege, watching Emiliano Boffelli’s first shot on goal miss the target.
Josh Adams pushed the ball out of contact as the Wales tackle counted his 30 in the first 10 minutes. Their old dogs have mobilized.
It was Biggar, George North and Gareth Davies’ third consecutive World Cup quarter-final appearance and they combined for the opening try. In a three-phase strike play from the scrum, North used all their strength to break the line, offloading from the deck to Davies who sent Biggar under the posts.
Biggar played to the line, feeling Marcos Kremer’s shoulder more than once. He spread the ball wide and used delayed passes to open up the defense. They made gains thanks to Louis Rees Zammit and Liam Williams sliding between the tackles. They should have accumulated more points, but their lineup performed poorly. Biggar gave his team a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter, but they couldn’t get away with it.
Referee Jaco Peyper limped off after 15 minutes and the Pumas clawed their way back with six points from Boffelli. Adams dodged a yellow card for a stupid low shot on Tomas Cubelli on the last play of the half and Wales went into the locker room, ruining their missed chances.
At half time Wales changed out of their peeling shirts and their whore. First the numbers came off, then the wheels came off. Argentina started with another early push and within minutes the gap was reduced to a point, before Boffelli hit another from 55 yards to give his side the lead.
Nick Tompkins struck the ball into midfield and the Welsh looked shocked. All of a sudden, they were camped in their own half. They broke back, with Tomos Williams joining the bench, before hitting the team out of the scrum to score. Biggar ran a dummy support line and, exploiting the lack of defenders, Williams found himself under the posts in a flash.
But Wales were unlucky. Liam Williams limped off injured and Rees-Zammit was forced to replace him at full-back. He kicked his first punt and that gave Argentina its position back. The Welsh were once again under siege. Guido Petti was cleared of smashing his shoulder into Tompkins’ head as the Welsh center was sent for an assessment of his head injury.
Sam Costellow was brought in to cover midfield and Wales eventually broke. After three consecutive lineouts, replacement prop Joel Sclevi fought to score. The carnival felt like we were starting all over again. Rees-Zammit was tackled into touch before Biggar left with the look of a man who knew his career was closing in on him.
Costellow was hailed as his long-term successor, but the transfer began disastrously when his pass was intercepted by Sanchez. And Boffelli sealed it with a penalty in the final game, while the Vélodrome bowl was simmering in a crucible of emotion.