Wales 17-19 Argentina – Rugby World Cup quarter-final LIVE: Pumas power over after finally making their sustained pressure tell… with Warren Gatland’s side less than 10 minutes from elimination in France

We’re into the final ten minutes of the match here and that try could have been a huge moment in the game.

It’s Sclavi diving under neath the Welsh defense to bring Argentina back into the game!

Boffelli strikes the ball through the posts from a tough angle to put them back into the lead.

Agustín Creevy is on the field for Montoya adding some extra power to the pack and he’s straight into the action. They’re driving for the line here!

Some excellent handling from the backs sees Argentina move the ball out wide and they reach the try line but it is fantastic defeence from Wales.

But they’re offside and the number of penalties is starting to mount.

Dickson has instructed Morgan that his players need to be more disciplined here.

And now Wales will lose Tompkins who suffered the blow to the head from Petti’s shoulder. He’ll go off for a HIA.

In the meantime, Argentina win the line out and use their strength to push over the try line, but the ball is held up.

They have another lineout here and maul the ball forward.

Petti steams in to a ruck to clear out Wales players trying to steal the ball.

It looks like his shoulder has made contact with the head of one of the Wales players contesting for the ball. But the Welsh player, Nick Tomkins, seemed like he was falling to the floor in the process of the hit.

But the referee does not call it foul play, interestingly. He explained to the line judges: ‘No foul play because I called tackle, the player’s released, and the red player falls to the ground.’

Petti stays on field and Argentina go for the line out.

Looks like the TMO has seen something he doesn’t like here so we’ll go back for a review.

Argentina have been building up play nicely heree and have possession in Wales’ 22 just ten metres off the try line.

Here’s the moment Williams put Wales back ahead…

Liam Williams has had an excellent game today but he’s currently limping off the field in a worrying sight for Warren Gatland.

The winger was actually spotted wearing a protective boot earlier in the week so perhaps it may be a re-occurance of that injury.

On comes Rio Dyer in his place as Louis Rees-Zammit will move into the middle to play at full-back.

The substitute Tomos Williams crosses the line for Wales!

Sensational stuff from the scrum-half who utilised his lightning speed to break the Argentina line and dot down under the posts.

Biggar converts the penalty.

Again Wales are lacking in that final bit of quality. While they’ve thrown the ball around nicely so far they’ve conceded a couple of knock-ons and silly penalties.

In the meantime, they’ve managed to find their way into the Argentina 22. The forwards are crashing the ball through the middle here but Argentina are just hodling firm in defence.

In case you missed it, the South African referee left the field mid way into the first half after he pulled up with a groin injury.

Karl Dickson came on to replace him in the middle.

It looks like he twisted his knee earlier in the game and has been substituted for Tomos Williams at scrum half.

Not good news for Warren Gatland.

Boffelli puts his side ahead for the first time in the match with a monster kick from just off the half-way line.

He put some power into that too!

Argentina have had more carries than Wales but interestingly haven’t made as much ground.

Wales have made 374 metres with the ball in hand to their opponents 298.

Argentina are certainly trying to play the ball through their forwards – they are certainly a more physical side.

Meanwhile, it looks like Liam Williams is receiving treatment here but he looks okay to continue.

Argentina using all their muscle to drive at Wales’ try line here.

They make it to the five metre line but can’t come away with a try.

It’s a bright start from Argentina and they eventually win the penalty.

Bofelli slots the goalkick!

It’s Argentina to start the second half and it looks like there have been a few changes at half-time.

Chocobares will not come back onto the field after failing his HIA. It seems Moroni will stay on the field in his place.

Well that was a bit of a breathless first half!

It was capped off by a pretty tense ending with a brawl erupting on the field with both sets of players squaring off against eachother.

It came after Adams struck Cubelli to the ground with a no-arms hit while the scrum-half was not in possession of the ball.

It was a late hit and incensed the Argentina team, who steamed in to square up to the Wales back.

On review, referee Karl Dickson decided the foul was not enough to warrant a card.

Let us know what you thought about the tackle in the comments!

The Prince of Wales was spotted in the crowd with Prince George at Stade Velodrome today!

It was an action packed first half in Marseille.

Dan Biggar, back in the side following an injury, has impressed so far today running the show and touching down early on to give Wales the lead.

It was an excellent team try too. Wales win the ball of a scrum on the left side, with the backs moving the ball through the hands to create the space on the far side.

They would find a gap through Argentina’s defence with George North breaking the line before the ball moved out to Biggar who crashed over to give Wales the lead.

Wales have looked the stronger side so far, but Argentina are threatening. They’ve moved the ball well through their hands but it’s their discipline that has let them down.

Michael Cheika will be instructing his players to cut down on penalties at half-time.

But Wales are only four points ahead after letting Argentina in late on. This game will likely come down to the wire.

‘It’s a cheap shot, nothing more,’ says referee Kaarl Dickson, but I think Adams is very lucky there not to receive a yellow.

He pleads his case to the referee but Argentina will have a penalty to end the first half.

The replay showed Adams hitting Carreras with a no arms shot on Cubelli whodid not have possession.

He sent the Argentina nine to the ground and the crowd inside Stade Velodrome are in uproar at the incident.

I think the referee will look at this.

Looks like Carrera, who broke through the line again, was dropped on the floor by a Welsh player.

Lavanini comes flying in to shove a Welsh player resulting in a brawl on field!

Wow what a run! The fly-half picks up a bit of speed and winds his way through the Wales defensive line!

It’s a threatening run with Welsh defenders unable to catch him! But he’s eventually pulled down inside the 22.

Unfortunately Argentina can’t quite make good of it.

Argentina showing some good pressure now. They’re up to the Welsh five metre line with Moroni breaking the line but just being dragged dwon by the Wales back line.

Wales are trying to slow the ball down but concede the penalty at the ruck and Bofelli makes no mistake this time from the tee – putting three points on the board for Argentina.

It looks like their shirt numbers haven’t been glued on properly with the numbers on the back of the player’s shirts all peeling off!

Meanwhile, Argentina centre Chocobares has just gone off for a head injury assessment.

Wales make it to within five metres of the Argentina try line but can’t come away with a score, conceding a penalty for going off their feet at the ruck.

Meanwhile, Argentina bring the ball back up to the half-way line, but again concede a penalty with Reffell putting some great pressure on the ball carrier who was sanctioned by the referee for not releasing.

Biggar steps up to have a shot at goal but uncharacteristically he sends it wide!

Biggar has also been impressive so far during the match! He’s running the show here!

I’ve been very impressed with Wainwright so far. The back row has come in to the side to take the place of Taulupe Faletau today and he has not disappointed.

His power through the tackle is immens and has broken through the Argentina line on multiple occasions already.

Meanwhile Wales win a penalty just off the 15 metre line here after some poor discipline at the ruck from Argentina – Cheika will be disappointed with that.

Dan Biggar slots over the goal kick to keep the scores ticking over.

It’s a dream return from injury for the Welsh No 10, who crossed the line early to give Wales a 7-0 lead.

But he looks like he might be injured here – he seemed to be in some discomfort hobbling behind a scrum and that will be a worry for Wales who are also without Gareth Anscombe today too.

Looks like it could be a stinger and he’s just had some treatment on the field but looks okay to continue.

This doesn’t look good for the South African referee.

It seemed like he pulled up with a groin injury there trying to follow Biggar in for his try.

It seems like he may have injured his groin and Karl Dickson will now come on to replace him.

Meanwhile, Argentina get play back underway

Biggar crosses over under the posts for Wales. It’s a great backs move with North breaking the line to offload from the deck before Davies draws a man and plays the ball to the fly-half, who kicks the conversion!

It’s been an action packed opening ten minutes here, both sides have shown some briliance with the ball in hand.

Argentina look very good with the ball in hand too, but Wales are taking most of the territory. There has been plenty of kicking though, with Argentina looking to get the the ball in behind the Wales defensive line.

For Wales, it seems they’re just lacking a final bit of quality, Morgan and Davies linked up superbly with some excellent offloading play but Davies can’t quite hang on to the ball!

Here’s some action shots from the first ten minutes…

Argentina’s work in the tight is excellent! Some great offloading play from Petti and Cubelli sees them crash through the Wales defensive line.

They’re bounding in confidence and have a lot of pace on this left wing with Mallia threatening early on.

While they can’t find a try from their attack, they’ve won a penalty on the right side of the posts and will look to add three points here but they can’t convert!

While Wales are a little heavier, the scrum goes Argentina’s way!

They kick long out of their 22 and recover the ball.

They go wide and are mounting a great attack here – having reached the Wales 22.

The Wales fly-half gets us underway sedning the ball into the Argentina 22 and Josh Adams puts a massive hit in before Argentina clear for a line out.

Immediately Wales are on the offensive, with Louis Rees-Zammit receiving the ball on the wing and charging down the touchline.

Argentina recover the ball, but it’s a strong start for Warren Gatland’s side.

Let us know who you think is making it to the final in the comments!

Warren Gatland has hit back at those who have claimed Wales have had a more favourable draw in the World Cup.

Wales have beaten Australia, Fiji, Portugal and Georgia to reach the quarter-finals. While Ireland and Scotland have had much tougher draws.

Speaking on those claims, Gatland said: ‘I’d just say to the other teams, they should have done better in the last World Cup,’ he said, in reference to the 2019 tournament that saw Ireland and France exit at the quarter-final stage.

‘That’s where the draw comes from. It’s not our fault that it has happened. If teams had got better performances and results at the last World Cup, there would be a different draw.

‘You didn’t hear us complaining in 2015 when we got Fiji, Australia, England and ourselves in the same pool. You are dealt a hand and you’ve just got to deal with it. I agree with the sentiment that the draw may have been done too early. It was probably done too early before 2019 as well.’

We’re fast approaching kick off which is scheduled for 16:00 UK time and Argentina coach Michael Cheika has been speaking ahead of today’s match.

On his side’s preparations, Cheika said he was pleased with where his side were coming into today’s game.

‘We had a shorter turn around, a day less of prep and had a few problems around the field but I’m pretty pleased with where we’re at.’

Speaking on where his side can beat Wales today, he said: ‘Its more about where we think wales might go at us. So it’s just our work around the ball carrier and the ruck.

‘There’s some golden rules of rugby we’re trying to stick to in attack,’ he added.

Wales will be boosted today by the return of talisman fly-half Dan Biggar.

The No 10 missed out on their win against Georgia last week after suffering a chest injury during Wales’ win against Australia.

He has shaken off that problem and will lead the backline out today for Warren Gatland’s side, but will not want to be beaten today by Argentina, after announcing he will retire from international rugby at the end of the tournament.

And writing in his column for Mail Sport, Biggar reinforced the sentiment that Wales are not ready for their Rugby World Cup campaign to end.

He wrote: ‘Our boss Warren Gatland made a really clear point at the start of the team meeting this week. The opening slide of his presentation had one message in big text: ‘We’re not ready to go home.’

It was white writing on a red screen and the next slide had a simple message of our plan. He’s absolutely right. None of us in our camp are ready to go home.

Read Biggar’s full column below…

So as we said earlier, Taulupe Faletao will miss the remainder of the tournament after suffering a broken arm.

It’s a huge blow for Wales, with their star No 8 having featured in all of the sides’ pool matches so far. He notably scored during their win against Portugal.

Speaking on his side’s injury woes last week, with Gareth Anscombe also an injury concern, Gatland said: ‘Toby (Faletau) has broken his arm so he’ll be out. We’re just going to assess Gareth (Anscombe) over the next 72 hours. He’s pulled his groin very high up. Talking to the medics, he’s got a bit of power still in his leg which is a positive. It means he’s not pulled it off the bone.

‘We’ve got to look at a replacement for Faletau,’ he added. ‘Whether that’s directly as a loose-forward replacement or whether we look at another position.’

In his place, Wales have opted to play Aaron Wainwright who is hoping to make No 8 his new position after starting his international career as a flanker.

Speaking to BBC Sport back in August, he said: ‘My preferred position at the moment is eight,” said Wainwright.

‘I see myself playing there longer-term. You see some of the athletes we have in the squad at six and the strength we are building.

‘It doesn’t mean I am not able to play six, where I was the first part of my career, but I see myself as more of an eight going forward.’

Argentina have also lost a key back row player, with Pablo Matera having been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury sustained during their win against Japan.

Facundo Isa will come in to play No 8 in his place with Juan Martin Gonzalez moving to No 6.

Tomás Cubelli also replaces Gonzalo Bertranou at scrum-half while the remainder of their backline stays unchanged.

Argentina: Mallia; Boffelli, Cinti, Chocobares, M Carreras; S Carreras, Cubelli; Gallo, Montoya (capt), Gómez Kodela, Petti, Lavanini, Gonzalez, Kremer, Isa.

Replacements: Creevy, Sclavi, Bello, Alemanno, Bruni, Bazan Velez, Sanchez, Moroni.

Ahead of today’s match, Warren Gatland has expressed his pride at how well his team have played throughout the tournament.

Coming through several big challenges this year with problems occurring throughout the WRU over player contracts, Wales have performed very well in the past few weeks, but Gatland said his side are not here to make up the numbers.

‘It would be our third semi-final and, reflecting on that, we would be pretty proud,’ he said.

‘After all the challenges during the Six Nations, with the documentary (with allegations of sexism at the WRU) and the potential strikes and the contracts and the money with the Union and regions, as coaches we’d joke about what would be the next thing thrown at us. I definitely think there’s been a line drawn under that.’

He added: ‘The guys have been excellent this week. I know there are some people in some teams out there who won’t want to face a Wales team when they start playing with confidence and start having momentum.

That is when we are at our most dangerous and we are starting to look that way at the moment.’

Warren Gatland’s side will be without star man Taulupee Faletau for todays quarter-final clash.

The No 8 was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a broken arm.

They will miss his experience tonight, yet Aaron Wainwright will come in to take his place and will be able to use his excellent ball carrying skills to help Wales break through the Argentina line today.

Elsewhere, Wales have made several other changes following their victory against Georgia but have named 14 of the starting XI that played against Australia and Fiji earlier in the campaign.

Ryan Elias comes in for Dewi Lake at hooker while Adam Beard and will drop into the second row alongside of Will Rowlands, in place of Dafydd Jenkins.

Wales will receive a boost with Dan Biggar back in action today at fly-half, while Josh Adams will come in on the wing in place of Rio Dyer.

The returns of Biggar and Liam Williams will be another huge boost for Wales

Wales: L Williams; Rees-Zammit, North, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar, G Davies; G Thomas, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Morgan (capt), Reffell, Wainwright.

Replacements: Lake, Domachowski, D Lewis, D Jenkins, Tshiunza, T Williams, Costelow, Dyer.

Good afternoon and welcome to our live blog where we’ll be bringing you all the latest news, updates and commentary on Wales’ Rugby World Cup quarter-final clash against Argentina.

The match kicks of a huge day of rugby at Mail Sport with Ireland taking on New Zealand in the other quarter-final later on this afternoon.

Warren Gatland’s side come into this clash hoping to continue their unblemished run at the tournament with Wales hoping to reach the final four of the competition for the third time in their last six Rugby World Cup appearances.

Argentina, meanwhile, have enjoyed an excellent campaign so far, having lost only to England in the pool stages.

Today is the 22nd meeting between these two sides with Argentina, with Wales winning their previous tie back in 2022.

It’s set to be a cracker of a match at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille, so stay with us as we’ll be running through all the latest team news next!