2015 Rugby World Cup: Argentina thrash Tonga to make quarterfinals

Action from the match between Argentina and Tonga

Fly-half Nicolas Sanchez put on quite the show for the Pumas as they hammered Tonga in their Pool C match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup at the King Power stadium in Leicester.

Argentina pulled off a 45-16 win and ensured their qualification into the quarterfinal stage with it. Sanchez led the way with 25 points as the South Americans recovered from a slow start to power past Tonga.

The Pacific islanders took the lead through a try from Kurt Morath after a flowing move just seven minutes into the game. Argentina however responded with a Sanchez penalty and two quick tries from Joaquin Tuculet and Juan Imhoff to take control of the match. Tuculet received a pass from Ramio Herrera down the left flank and powered his way past two tackles to touch down for the first on 20 minutes and two minutes later Imhoff scored his third try of the tournament after selling a dummy to the Tongan defence.

With the conversions and another Sanchez penalty, Argentina quickly found themselves 20-5 ahead. Tonga scored their second try too though, from Soane Tonga’uiha, just before the break to trail 20-13.

Argentina’s class prevailed though as Sanchez had a try to his name apart from 19 points from his boot which now puts him on top of the list as the top points scorer in this year’s tournament. Julian Montoya and Santiago Cordero added two more tries late on to cap the night. Montoya’s try also ensured that Argentina took home the bonus point from the win.

Sanchez’s try with 16 minutes to go had the Argentine fans in the crowd on their feet and dancing as they celebrated their team’s progress into the knockout rounds.

Argentina play their last game against minnows Namibia at Leicester again, a day after the All Blacks play their last game against the Tongans.