Match 24 -- Argentina v. New Zealand

Friday, 20 October 2023

My 24th match, and the 45th of the tournament, was Argentina v. New Zealand in Paris. (The stadium -- Stade de France -- is in the suburb of Saint Denis, so some times it'll be called Paris and some times Saint Denis.) This was the first semifinal.

The way the pools and brackets worked out, everyone expected the quarterfinal matches to be more competitive than the semifinals, so this wasn't expected to be a very exciting match. Historically New Zealand is a much better team than Argentina. (The all-time record is 33-2-1 in favor of New Zealand.) But, Argentina has beaten New Zealand twice in the last three years.

My seat was in the top row, aligned with the in-goal area. (There were a few rows higher in the next section over, but row 82 is as high as it got in my section.) That made for a pretty nice view. Plus, the seats on ether side of me were empty -- I suspect the occupants opted to stand in the walkway behind the last row.

Way up high

Hard to get the exposure balance right

The national anthems

Argentina jumped out to a 3-0 lead. It didn't last long. They stayed within nine points until the very end of the first half, when New Zealand scored a try with no time left on the clock, to take a 20-6 lead into halftime.

The second half was all New Zealand. Their winger, Will Jordan, ended up with three tries. That puts him in the lead for the most tries scored in this tournament, with eight. That also ties the all-time record, so he has a decent chance to break it next week. 

Argentina kept at it, even when the outcome was clear. Even as time expired in the second half, they were still pushing hard to score. Alas, they did not. And it wouldn't have mattered. The final score was 44-6 in favor of New Zealand. New Zealand will play the winner of England/South Africa in the final next Saturday, while Argentina will play in the bronze medal match next Friday. 

I walked both to and from the match. My hotel is about 2.5 miles away, so it's about a 45-minute pleasant walk.  

...doug