{"id":294461,"date":"2023-10-13T09:39:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T09:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=294461"},"modified":"2023-10-13T09:39:31","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T09:39:31","slug":"5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing<\/h3>\n

Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news<\/h3>\n

Thanks for signing up to the
Sport email<\/h2>\n

Wales will target a third Rugby World Cup semi-final appearance in the last four tournaments when they tackle Argentina on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The quarter-final clash in Marseille comes after Wales collected 19 points from a possible 20 to dominate the pool.<\/p>\n

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the talking points heading into the game.<\/p>\n

Wales in the driving seat<\/h2>\n

It would have been fanciful seven months ago to identify Wales as possible World Cup semi-finalists, given a miserable Six Nations campaign that saw them win one game.<\/p>\n

Head coach Warren Gatland has turned things around, though, masterminding an unbeaten group phase that produced key victories over Fiji and Australia.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Argentina found it tough going, losing to 14-man England before posting an unimpressive win against Samoa and then qualifying as Pool D runners-up.<\/p>\n

It is a first World Cup meeting between Wales and the Pumas since 1999, with Gatland\u2019s team firm favourites.<\/p>\n

Faletau loss a huge blow<\/h2>\n

Wales\u2019 victory over Georgia last weekend was clouded by number eight Taulupe Faletau suffering a broken arm that ruled him out of the tournament.<\/p>\n

With 104 caps to his name and a consistent ability to hit world-class standards, his absence cannot be sugar-coated, even if Wales have enviable back-row strength.<\/p>\n

Big players produce big performances in big games, and few Wales players have delivered such quality so regularly than Faletau during his 12-year Test career.<\/p>\n

The shows goes on, but one of its star performers has left the stage.<\/p>\n

Form and history favours Wales<\/h2>\n

Former Wales flanker Richard Webster once said that rugby is a sport played on grass, not paper, but form and history strongly supports a Wales victory on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Four successive wins since losing their final World Cup warm-up match to South Africa represents a longest unbeaten run for more than two years, while Gatland has a 100 per cent record as Wales boss against the Pumas of played six, won six.<\/p>\n

Argentina have beaten Wales only twice in the last 11 meetings, and their World Cup performances so far do not suggest an immediate turnaround in fortunes.<\/p>\n

Biggar to boss the show?<\/h2>\n

Biggar is back at fly-half after recovering from a pectoral muscle injury suffered against Australia almost three weeks ago, with his leadership and game-management vital to Wales successfully negotiating their quarter-final hurdle.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old, who has won 111 caps, will retire from international rugby after the World Cup, and he is likely to be front and centre in Marseille as Wales target a triumph that would take them on the road to Paris for the tournament\u2019s final fortnight.<\/p>\n

His influence cannot be understated.<\/p>\n

Jac Morgan \u2013 captain marvel<\/h2>\n

While Wales\u2019 cap centurions like Biggar, Faletau and George North \u2013 who makes a Welsh record fourth World Cup quarter-final appearance \u2013 have all made their presence felt in France, the relatively inexperienced Morgan has also operated at an impressive level on a consistent basis.<\/p>\n

Squad co-captain with hooker Dewi Lake, 23-year-old Morgan led Wales superbly in key pool-stage victories over Fiji and Australia, while his performances warranted the rave reviews they received.<\/p>\n

There is a calm, quiet authority about the Ospreys flanker, who revels in Test rugby\u2019s unforgiving and unrelenting environment.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294460,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot - All My Sports News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot - All My Sports News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"All My Sports News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-13T09:39:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/5-talking-points-as-Wales-face-Argentina-for-a-Rugby-World-Cup-semi-final-spot.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/\",\"name\":\"5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot - All My Sports News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-10-13T09:39:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-13T09:39:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rugby Union\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/category\/rugby-union\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"All My Sports News\",\"description\":\"allmysportsnews.com\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"mediabest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mediabest\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot - All My Sports News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot - All My Sports News","og_description":"Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up […]","og_url":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/","og_site_name":"All My Sports News","article_published_time":"2023-10-13T09:39:31+00:00","author":"mediabest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/5-talking-points-as-Wales-face-Argentina-for-a-Rugby-World-Cup-semi-final-spot.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mediabest","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/","url":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/","name":"5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot - All My Sports News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-10-13T09:39:31+00:00","dateModified":"2023-10-13T09:39:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/5-talking-points-as-wales-face-argentina-for-a-rugby-world-cup-semi-final-spot\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rugby Union","item":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/category\/rugby-union\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"5 talking points as Wales face Argentina for a Rugby World Cup semi-final spot"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/","name":"All My Sports News","description":"allmysportsnews.com","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"mediabest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mediabest"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294461"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}