Summary

  • Wales suffer record defeat to Argentina in Steve Tandy's first game in charge.

  • Pumas scored seven tries in biggest winning margin and points tally against the Welsh.

  • Wales scored four tries with scrum-half Tomos Williams and hooker Dewi Lake going over in the first half and flanker Jac Morgan and full-back Blair Murray after the break.

  • Captain Morgan suffered an injury to his arm when crashing over for his try while number eight Aaron Wainwright was also forced off.

  • Wales take on Japan in their second autumn Test on Saturday.

  1. Goodbye from Cardiffpublished at 18:03 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Argentina players celebrateImage source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

    Well that's it from a thoroughly entertaining opening match of Wales' autumn Test series in Cardiff.

    Argentina's early lead through Delgado and Prisciantelli was cancelled out by Lake and Williams for Wales.

    But another quickfire double from Benitez Cruz and Mateo Carreras put the visitors back in control at half-time.

    Delguy, Delgado, Grondona and a second for man of the match Prisciantelli saw Argentina claim a record win over Wales.

    That was despite the return of Louis Rees-Zammit and tries from Murray and Jac Morgan, who suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder in the process of scoring.

    If confirmed, that would be a major blow for Wales for their forthcoming games against Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.

    But join us next week for the first of those - against the Brave Blossoms - for what will be a crucial game in the world rankings and the subsequent 2027 World Cup pool draw.

    Wales in a huddle after the matchImage source, Huw Evans Picture Agency
  2. An amazing Test for us - Tandypublished at 17:58 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Steve TandyImage source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

    Wales head coach Steve Tandy said: "We're disappointed with the result but there's some pride in the good things we did and scoring four tries. We could have scored more.

    "It was an amazing test for us. We can't die wondering and the only way to gain experience is by being out there. Dan Edwards, on his third of fourth cap, some of the moments he had in the game were great. And the only way to get that is by doing it.

    "You're coming up against a really battle-hardened Argentina team who have possibly 800-900 caps in their squad and have just played South Africa and New Zealand.

    "They were outstanding in the air and the tries either side of half-time was a blow.

    "There is always that disappointment when you concede seven tries and there were too many sloppy moments to win any big game.

    "That's not something we want defensively, but also we know the bits where we need to grow.

    "But it's also about the importance of what we're trying to be, making sure that we reflect on what we set out to do and there are a lot of things that we can tidy up pretty quickly."

  3. Tough fixtures on the horizonpublished at 17:51 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Gwyn Jones
    Former Wales captain on S4C

    There is so much optimism around Steve Tandy and his side after two years of suffering. In those two years, there wasn't really any attacking or creative rugby.

    Today, we saw aspects of the team improving but it just shows that it's a long term project, there is a lot of coaching to do.

    Next week's game is important because New Zealand and South Africa are to come, then starting the Six Nations against England and France.

    That's the magnitude of the task but everyone is behind them wanting them to succeed.

  4. Kicking game was keypublished at 17:46 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Rhys Priestland
    Wales international fly-half on S4C

    A lot of the pressure that Wales were under came from the kicking game.

    When Argentina put the ball in the air, they were winning it almost every time and that put Wales under so much pressure.

  5. We saw improvementspublished at 17:41 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Ian Gough
    Former Wales international on BBC Radio Wales

    You've got to take some positives from the game especially after being shell-shocked in the first ten minutes.

    We got back into it but the two yellow cards disrupted us as well.

    Second half, we're playing against a team six places higher than us and they proved that in the way they were very clinical in parts.

    But there are so many positives for us - the inventiveness in the way we upped the tempo when we had to. We surprised them and we were quite clinical in their half. We wanted to see improvements and we did in places.

    Unfortunately international rugby is a relentless arena. You get little things wrong and its exacerbated hugely and that happened as well.

  6. Postpublished at 17:38 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Sioned Harries
    Former Wales captain on S4C

    Argentina could just create something out of nothing. They were reading Wales' plays very well.

    They didn't really have to fight that hard to score any of their tries today. They didn't have to work very hard for it.

    Full credit to them, they are not the team we were playing against 10 years ago. They're one of the best sides in the world now.

  7. It doesn't look good for Jac - Tandypublished at 17:36 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Wales head coach Steve Tandy speaking on S4C: "I think there's a dislocated shoulder, so it's not looking good for Jac.

    "He's a world class player, he's huge for us and we know how much he loves playing for Wales and how he leads the team.

    "It is massive blow for but ultimately it's someone else's opportunity."

  8. Missed tacklespublished at 17:33 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Ken Owens just mentioned the number of missed tackles and he's right.

    Amid the barrage of statistics that come from games, this one stands out the most (well, apart from the scoreline obviously).

    Missed tackles: Wales 30-17 Argentina

    There's no way you're going to win any game - at ANY level - with that number of missed tackles!

  9. Inconsistency costs Walespublished at 17:30 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Ken Owens
    Former Wales hooker on S4C

    The amount of missed tackles is what stands out. Wales have conceded 52 points.

    To be fair, there were aspects of the game where there were positives and you could start to see glimpses of the shape that they want to play. There just wasn't enough consistency over the course of the 80 minutes.

    It's early days and positives were there to build on. There just needs to be a spark next week to get a win and get some confidence.

    You can still see there's a lack of confidence in this squad.

  10. We've got to learn quickly - Beardpublished at 17:28 GMT 9 November

    Adam Beard against ArgentinaImage source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

    Wales lock Adam Beard told S4C: "Even though it doesn't look it on the scoreboard, there are still lots of positives - some quality D (defence) sets, some of our attacking shapes were awesome.

    "That's what we want to do, we want a crowd excited, we want to get them off their feet, we want the fans to be proud of what we're putting out on the pitch.

    "Get those lapses in concentration right and the ill-discipline and we're going to be in a better place spot, but we've got to learn quickly and we've got to do it next week against Japan."

  11. No quick fixpublished at 17:25 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Richie Rees
    Former Wales international on BBC Radio Wales

    Wales were good in the first half. They brought themselves back into the game at 14-14 but we struggled in second half with the physicality of the game.

    When you lose someone like Jac Morgan, such a talisman for Wales as a group it's a real blow. And we picked up another few injuries as well.

    Argentina have played some world class rugby over the last few months.

    Wales are also a new group coming together and it will take time. People have got to be invested for the long term.

    There's a good core group of players, but we've got to understand where we are in the pecking order at the moment. There is no quick fix and it will take time.

  12. A 50/50 performance - Lakepublished at 17:22 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Dewi Lake carrying the ball for Wales against ArgentinaImage source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

    Wales hooker Dewi Lake told S4C: "We showed glimpses of what this new story is going to bring us.

    "There were a few times in attack that we looked great with the ball but there were a few lapses in concentration.

    "Against a team like Argentina, they are going to punish you. It's hard to assess because it didn't feel too bad out on the field but to look up at the scoreboard and see 50 points for the opposition, something has clearly gone wrong.

    "Things have changed for us over the last two weeks. We have had to learn a lot but that isn't an excuse for conceding 50 points.

    "We have seen glimpses of the patterns we can play and a few nice defensive sets but we have to keep working on them."

  13. Man of the Match: Geronimo Prisciantelli (Argentina)published at 17:17 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Geronimo Prisciantelli races over for Argentina against WalesImage source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

    Seems like we were a little premature dishing out the man of the match award earlier.

    Yes it was a Puma but the award has gone to fly-half Geronimo Prisciantelli.

    He scored two tries and created two more.

    He finished off a scorching break in the first half and then picking Ben Thomas' pocket with an interception for the second, while his passing and kicking set up another brace.

    He said: "We're really happy with the result. We knew Cardiff is a very difficult place to come and we knew Wales would be tough so we wanted to stick to the plan."

  14. Wales sweat on Morgan injurypublished at 17:10 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Jac Morgan was injured scoring for WalesImage source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

    Wales are waiting to discover the extent of a seemingly significant injury to captain Jac Morgan.

    The Ospreys open-side flanker was taken off after appearing to seriously damage his arm in the act of scoring a second-half try.

    Morgan's eighth international try was the highlight of a typically impressive all-round individual display in defence and attack.

    It would be a major blow for Wales to lose their 25-year-old skipper, who could be in danger of missing the remaining three Tests of their autumn series.

    Aaron Wainwright also limped off with what looked a heavy blow to his leg so Steve Tandy could be worrying about the shape of his back-row next week.

    Japan come to Cardiff next Saturday, before New Zealand and South Africa visit over the following two weekends.

  15. Postpublished at 17:10 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Stay with us as we bring you all the reaction from Wales' opening game of the Autumn series.

  16. Small signs from Walespublished at 17:08 GMT 9 November

    FT: Wales 28-52 Argentina

    Gwyn Jones
    Former Wales captain on S4C

    Steve Tandy and his coaches know that Wales have to improve defensively. You can't concede over 50 points at home.

    Jac Morgan was brilliant and he will be missed. Tomos Williams showed why he was on the Lions tour.

    There are lots to work on, the kicking game and the discipline were important but there were signs in attack that foundations are developing.

  17. Full-time: Wales 28-52 Argentinapublished at 17:03 GMT 9 November

    That's it, all over here in Cardiff as Argentina claim their biggest ever win over Wales.

    It's their biggest score and their largest winning margin.

    Stay with us as we bring you all the reaction.

  18. try

    Converted try: Wales 28-52 Argentinapublished at 80 mins

    Grondona try, Carreras con

    The replacement back-row piles over despite Alex Mann's effort on the try-line.

    Argentina grabs a seventh try and that's a record win over Wales.

    Gerónimo Prisciantelli of Argentina celebrates with his teammate Mateo CarrerasImage source, Getty Images
  19. Intensity and physicalitypublished at 78 mins

    Wales 28-45 Argentina

    Richie Rees
    Former Wales international on BBC Radio Wales

    You can tell Argentina have been playing rugby these last few months. They are fresh and ready to defend Wales straight away.

    Wales have struggled to deal with the intensity and physicality of Argentina today.