However, the way the 34-year-old centurion flyhalf read Sam Costelow's loop-pass to Tomos Williams on halfway, before holding off the Welsh chasers to score between the posts will confer legendary status on Sanchez.
That the veteran super sub-rounded off his devastating 11-minute contribution by then kicking a penalty - from a last-minute turnover won by their other bench grey-beard, Agustin Creevy to give Argentina their winning margin will have made the turnaround in the Pumas fortunes, not just in this quarter-final but also in the tournament as a whole, sweeter still.
This was the Argentina that everyone expected to see in their opening match against England, but that defeat, and a couple more lacklustre pool performances before the improvement against Japan last weekend, left big question-marks over their ability to progress against a resurgent Welsh side.
They remained unanswered until the scintillating last stanza of a match which was full of pendulum swings. It started with Wales taking a 10-6 half-time lead - thanks to a converted Dan Biggar try and penalty against two Emiliano Boffelli penalties and then falling behind when two further Boffelli penalties early in the second half gave Argentina a 12-10 advantage.
However, it did not last long, with the Welsh appearing to steal a crucial march by scoring a 56th minute try through bench scrum-half Tomos Williams, who nipped past the tiring Pumas ruck guards after a showand-go to score a fine opportunist try.
Bu hikaye The Rugby Paper dergisinin October 15, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Rugby Paper dergisinin October 15, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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