Rugby’s Greatest Matches: Argentina 17 - 12 France
Argentina celebrate their narrow victory over hosts France on the opening night of the 2007 World Cup
Credit: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
It is often cliche to say that hosting a major tournament can go two ways for the team in question.
On the one hand they can rise to the occasion, such as South Korea in the 2002 FIFA World Cup or both New Zealand and Australia reaching the final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup on home soil.
Alternatively, they can choke under pressure and be filed alongside England’s dour pool stage exit in the 2015 Rugby World Cup or Brazil’s 7-1 drubbing by Germany in 2014 at Belo Horizante (known as the Agony of Mineirão by locals).
For hosts France in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, they had a bit of both. A truly magnificent 20-18 victory over the mighty All Blacks in the quarters is one of the greatest victory’s in the tournament’s history, no doubt.
It sparked an upheaval of New Zealand rugby, at that point at it’s lowest ebb since the 1987 World Cup win, and culminated in the back to back winners of 2011 and 2015.
France would go to suffer a narrow 14-9 loss to England, no great shame considering the tournament started in disastrous fashion for them on a balmy night at the Stade de France on 7 September 2007.
Six Nations champions take on South American upstarts
First of all, this is not a shock on the same level as Japan beating South Africa in 2015 or Fiji defeating Wales in the same tournament.
However, it ranks highly due to the fact this Argentina team were the lost sheep of world rugby as they had no regular annual tournament to play in with just the odd few games to whet their international appetites.
Warm-up games against Italy, Wales and minnows Chile, along with two end-of-season Test matches against an under-strength Ireland, were hardly the perfect preparation for a World Cup.
France, meanwhile, won the Six Nations in 2007 and warmed up for their home tournament by beating England convincingly (twice) and also Wales for good measure.
Long serving coach Bernard Laporte was due to step down after the competition to become a Sport Minister in the French government, with it all perfectly set up for him to go out in a swansong.
However the Argentines, led by petit generale scrumhalf Agustin Pichot, were not there to make up the numbers but to throw a cat among the pigeons.
Half their squad were based in France and head coach Marcelo Loffreda had them well drilled defensively, although somewhat relying offensively on x-factor moments from geniuses such as Juan Martin Hernandez or Felipe Contempomi.
France was expectant, but Argentina quietly hopeful.
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina
You know the South Americans mean business when they are reduced to blubbering messes at their national anthem and they began brightly, harrying the shell-shocked French into repeated errors.
Leinster’s Felipe Contepomi, a qualified surgeon, showed his ice cool nerves by knocking over two penalties to give his side a 6-3 lead after a breathless opening ten minutes.
David Skrela, the enigmatic France fly-half, perhaps personified his sides chaotic start to the match when he dropped the ball in his own 22 when trying to kick from hand, which could have been more costly.
The shooting themselves in the foot continued after a break by Damien Traille in the 26th minute saw him offload to Remy Martin, with the flanker inexplicably handing the ball back when his weak pass was intercepted on halfway.
Horacio Agulla, accepting the present, launched the counter attack, shovelling the ball on to Manuel Contepomi who passed on for the long haired fullback Ignacio Corleto to burn Christophe Dominici and cross the whitewash.
As Eddie Butler put it, Corleto “shattered a grand French illusion” with Argentina’s sole try scoring opportunity in the match. They were not the most attractive side to watch at times, but tackled ferociously and punished mistakes from opponents.
Although Contempomi’s conversion crashed off the post and Skrela nabbed a penalty on the stroke of half time, a 17-9 first-half cushion was established which the Argentinians thoroughly deserved.
Stade Francais fullback Ignacio Corleto dives over for the opening try of the 2007 World Cup
Credit - Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Tepid France lack authority
By then, the damage was done as a France team with modern greats such as Jauzion, Pelous, Betsen, Harinordoquy, Heymans and Ibanez could only muster a solitary penalty as Argentina defended for their lives.
Les Bleus sorely needed composure, with a lack of it on display in the navy blue shirts as they begin to get more and more nervous as the Gallic whistles rang out.
The mercurial Frederic Michalak, the star of the 2003 World Cup previously, squandered an opportunity when he missed a simple three-pointer with only 10 minutes left, as France huffed and puffed but were thrown back repeatedly by a monstrous Argentine defensive wall.
A 17-12 win to the Latin force of rugby got the tournament off to a blockbuster start, with the victory met with general adulation across the world.
In terms of the score or the play, it was not an all-time great, but what made it so special was the fact that this Argentina team was simply so likeable in their never say die attitude.
A fearsome front row of Martin Scelzo, Mario Ledesma and Rodrigo Roncero never took a backward step at the scrum, with the headbanded Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe a workhorse at the breakdown and in the loose.
Behind the scrum, there was more than a sprinkling of stardust with Hernandez and Contempomi as a 10/12 axis which would, arguably, rival such similar pairings of O’Gara/D’Arcy, Ford/Farrell and Larkham/Horan.
Felipe Contepomi and Juan Martin Hernandez all smiles after their victory over France on the opening night of the 2007 World Cup
Credit: Getty Images
They would ultimately fall at the semi-final stage to eventual winners South Africa in a 37-13 loss that flattered the Springboks, not before they dumped Ireland out at the pool stage.
However, Argentina stamped their imprint on a tournament by playing with vim, vigour and passion.
It says it all how this team encapsulated the entire sporting world (not just the rugby one) when El Superclásico, the Buenos Aires derby between Boca Juniors and River Plate, was rescheduled so that it would not conflict with the Pumas' quarter-final victory against Scotland.
As Rob Kitson so adequately summarised on that night in Paris 13 years ago: “What was supposed to be a nerve-settling Parisian stroll for the hosts ended instead with a spectacular Latin mugging which has thrown the tournament wide open.”
It not only threw the World Cup open, but the face of South American rugby as Argentina had been banging on the door for admittance to an annual tournament for donkeys years preceding their exploits in 2007.
It finally came in 2012 when SANZAR relented and admitted Argentina to the Tri Nations, now the Rugby Championship, and their national team has gone from strength to strength since their 2007 heyday.
Much like Japan defeating South Africa in 2015, this result not only caused shock waves in the competition but shook up the fabric of world rugby, which The Flanker thinks is worthy of being considered one of games the greatest matches.
