Argentina scored seven unanswered tries to beat Romania 50-3 in a Pool A match at Sydney’s Aussie Stadium tonight.
Flying Puma full back Juan Hernandez and big number 8 Pablo Bouza scored two tries each as the Pumas’ power up front proved too much for the plucky Romanians to contain.
The Pumas’ 24-0 half time lead was added to within 21 seconds of the resumption when half back Nicolas Fernandez Miranda scooped up his own charge down to score close to the posts for the crucial bonus point.
His brother Juan added the extras for a 31-0 lead.
Bouza crashed over from an immense Argentine eight man shove to give the Pumas their fifth try inside 49 minutes to lead 36-0.
The try was a carbon copy of Bouza’s first from a scrum just before half time and the number 8 is now the highest scoring forward in the Tournament with four tries.
Replacement Puma captain Augustin Pichot made his presence felt immediately after coming on with a brilliant wrap around move to put a flying Hernandez into the corner for his second try in the 68th minute.
Gonzalo Quesada kicked the extras with his second sideline conversion after coming on in the 60th minute.
Despite the loss Romania contested gamely right to the end and brought the 30,000 strong crowd to its feet with a tighthead on their own line with two minutes to go.
Their best on the night was replacement scrum half Iulian Andrei who was full of running and tested the Pumas’ defence with a number of slashing breaks.
Full back Gabriel Brezoianu was another to make the most of the scraps of possession Romania managed to snaffle through some trademark big defence and commitment at the ruck and maul.
Argentine centre Martin Gaitan had a fine game in attack, opening the scoring when he burst on to a short ball from inside centre Manuel Contepomi to race 35m under the posts in the 10th minute.
The Pumas had the lion’s share of possession and position but had a number of scoring opportunities thrawted by a combination of handling errors and offensive Romanian defence.
One area Argentina will have to brush up on before their next match, a crucial game against Ireland, is the lineout where they lost eight of their own throws.
With the bonus point Argentina oust Australia out of second place in Pool A behind Ireland.
The Pumas, Wallabies and Ireland are in a three way tussle to qualify for the quarter finals.
Everything will go on the line in the Puma’s next match against the Irish on 26 October in Adelaide. A must see encounter.
Scorers:
Argentina 50
Tries: Martin Gaitan, Juan Hernandez 2, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Pablo Bouza 2, Manuel Contepomi
Conv: Juan Fernandez Miranda 3, Gonzalo Quesada 2
Penalties: Fernandez Miranda
Romania 3
Penalties: Ionut Tofan