Almost a year ago, Vancouver was a party for the Los Pumas 7’s. In that city on Canada’s west coast, Argentina’s rugby sevens team had the pleasure of winning a stage on the world circuit again after 13 years. A 29-10 defeat of Fiji in the final capped off a tournament with an unbeaten record and third title on this circuit. Last night Los Pumas returned to the final in the same place and history repeated itself: 33-21 victory against France in the decisive match.
Argentina then adds five crowns in the world circuit: Los Angeles 2004, San Diego 2009, Vancouver 2022, Hamilton 2023 and Vancouver 2023.
The national team is experiencing its best moment: champion at the Pan American Games in Lima 2019 and bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in addition to performances on the world circuit.
The final started ideally for Los Pumas, because in the minute Marcos Moneta intercepted a French pass and went alone towards the goal. Joaquín Pellandini’s conversion left the game 7-0. But three minutes later France handled the ball very well, patiently, Theo Forner backed up the try and Jean Pascal Barraque leveled it 7-7 with his conversion.
The party did not give up. Rodrigo Isgro closes a nice run with a goal converted by Pellandini for 14-7. But shortly after the break, Varian Pasquet rested down the left and Barraque converted from a tough spot to make it 14-14.
France took the lead early in the second half with a try from Stephen Parez, converted by Barraque. Argentina responded immediately with a break from Matías Osadczuk in support behind the posts. And there was another conversion by Luciano González to make it 21-21.
Then came a play: the Pumas recovered the oval, Tobías Wade kicked a football and Moneta ran like Usain Bolt to arrive before an opponent and give the pass to Wade, who supported and then scored the conversion for 28-21. And on the last play came the decisive try from Agustín Fraga after another kick from Wade. For Los Pumas to become champions.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.