Pumas rout hapless Georgia
After a tight first half, which included just one try, the Pumas ran riot after the break with six unanswered tries.
The turning point came early in the second half, a questionable sin-binning of Georgian captain Mamuka Gorgodze.
The score was just 14-9 in favour of the Pumas when their skipper was sin-binned, When Gorgodze returned his team was trailing by 26 points (9-35)
Argentina certainly maximised on Gorgodze's second-half sin-binning. It literally knocked the stuffing out of the Georgian resistance and the Pumas then ran riot.
Having been beaten 26-16 by champion New Zealand in their opening game, the Argentinians had to beat Georgia – who were surprise 17-10 winners over Tonga in their opener – to stay in the race for the knock-out phase.
With two remaining pool games against Tonga and minnows Namibia on October 4 and 11, both in Leicester, Argentina will be out-and-out favourites to progress alongside the All Blacks into the quarterfinals.
Argentina were made to work hard in the first-half, enjoying just a 14-9 lead thanks to nine points from the boot of influential flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez and Tomas Lavanini's solitary try – while Georgian veteran Merab Kvirikashvili kicked three penalties.
But when Gorgodze was sin-binned in the 44th minute, the South Americans made hay – scoring three converted tries through Tomas Cubelli, Juan Imhoff and Santiago Cordero in the space of six minutes with some wonderful running.
With Georgia flagging, Martin Landajo first scored, and then Cordero and Bosch grabbed their second tries, Marcelo Bosch hitting two conversions as Argentina racked up 40 unanswered points.
Sanchez got the scoreboard ticking with a cheeky sixth-minute drop-goal. As Georgia struggled to impose themselves, more pressure was exerted, the ball was moved right and lock Lavanini was on hand to crash over.
A blocking foul on Kvirikashvili by Lavanini's locking partner Matias Alemanno saw the Georgian fullback, winning a national record 87th cap in his fourth World Cup, kick the penalty and a second shortly after.
The Pumas almost immediately restored their five-point lead after flank Giorgi Tkhilaishvili was pinged by referee JP Doyle for a high tackle, Sanchez making no mistake with his pot at goal.
The Georgians refused to go away, however, Kvirikashvili bagging his third, and the ping-pong nature of the match continued after a second high tackle saw Sanchez again punish the Georgians.
Lasha Malaguradze went close with a drop-goal effort as Georgia, with hard-tackling Clermont flank Viktor Kolelishvili and Toulon No.8 Gorgodze to the fore, pressed in the run-up to half-time, Argentina's well-drilled defence holding firm.
Georgia's hammerblow arrived five minutes into the second period, Gorgodze first penalised for a high tackle and then sin binned for preventing quick release as the Pumas pushed after a searing Sanchez break.
Lavanini was denied a second try after Doyle ruled he'd been held up over the line, but from the resulting scrum, Cubelli darted in for the first of three converted tries, a simple dart down the blindside too much for a stretched 14-man Georgian defence.
From the restart, the ball was whipped left and smart hands saw Racing 92 winger Imhoff in the clear as he outsprinted Kvirikashvili for the line.
With Gorgodze looking on from the sidelines, the Pumas nabbed the bonus point for scoring four or more tries when Cordero stepped in from his wing and showed a clean pair of heels to scoot in under the posts.
With Sanchez converting all three tries, Argentina were suddenly 35-9 up and the game was in the bag for the team that finished third in the 2007 World Cup.
The final 10 minutes saw the Argentinians turn the screw, Landajo being driven over before Cordero and Imhoff each grabbed a second try for a comprehensive victory.
Man of the match: Of all the Vilis in the Georgian team fullback Merab Kvirikashvili and flank Viktor Kolelishvili were the best by some distance. Nicholas Sanchez had a fairly solid game, including a fantastic run where he broke the line along with kicked accurately from the tee. Juan Imhoff scored two tries and looked potent with ball in hand. Lock Tomas Lavanini was a menace at the line-out and put in a lot of work throughout the game. However, our award goes to Argentinian wing Santiago Cordero – who scored two great tries and showed his finishing class.
Moment of the match: There is no doubt it is the questionable sin-binning of Georgian captain Mamuka Gorgodze in the 44th minute – a tight game became a one-sided contest. The result may not have changed, but the margin in the end should not have been this lopsided.
Villain of the match: English referee JP Doyle showed he is in the Romain Poite league of incompetence. There are just too many poor referees at the World Cup, while some very good ones were left home. Favouritism perhaps in the selection process? However, Georgian captain Mamuka Gorgodze gets our award. Despite several warnings – and regardless of what you think of the referee's performance – he should have known any borderline play will get you in trouble with an erratic and incompetent official.
The scorers:
For Argentina:
Tries: Lavanini, Cubelli, Imhoff, Cordero 2, Landajo, Imhoff
Cons: Sánchez 3, Bosch 2
Pens: Sánchez 2
DG: Sánchez
For Georgia:
Pens: Kvirikashvili 3
Yellow card: Mamuka Gorgodze (Georgia, 44 – professional foul, killing the ball)
Teams:
Argentina: 15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martin Hernández, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy (captain), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Javier Ortega Desio, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.
Georgia: 15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 13 Davit Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Giorgi Aptsiauri, 10 Lasha Malaguradze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Mamuka Gorgodze (captain), 7 Viktor Kolelishvili, 6 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 5 Konstantine Mikautadze, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.
Replacements: 16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Levan Datunashvili, 20 Shalva Sutiashvili, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Giorgi Pruidze, 23 Murazi Giorgadze.
Referee: JP Doyle (England)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
