The Pumitas had no scares in their debut and lived up to expectations against a lower-status opponent. In their U20 World Cup opener, they crushed the United States 78-14 in a new edition of the tournament where they aim to reach the semifinals. On Thursday, they will face Ireland.
The match played in Tbilisi at midday was one-sided and exposed the gap between two teams with different goals; Argentina finished third in 2025, while the United States was one of the teams promoted to the top tier of the U20 World Cup after the tournament expanded from 12 to 16 teams. The long-term objective for the North Americans is clear: start building a foundation to strengthen the senior team ahead of the 2031 World Cup they will host.
Despite some early haste and anxiety, Nicolás Fernández Miranda’s side made their mark in almost every area of the pitch. From a dominant scrum that pushed the American pack for 80 minutes to lineout throws to the back channel, where they broke through a porous defense. Bautista Benavidez, a second-row from Santa Fe Rugby, opened the scoring, which grew as the minutes ticked by.
Pedro Coll is one of the great gems of Argentine rugby, based on his performances in last year’s World Cup and his club form for Tigres and Tarucas in Super Rugby Americas. The powerful center confirmed this in the first half with a try and an assist of similar creation, attacking the transition zone with his physical strength. He was substituted at halftime, and Nicolás Fernández Miranda’s message was clear: with a 40-0 lead, he quickly rotated the bench to manage efforts in a tournament demanding in terms of player workload. With matches every five days, rotation is constant, and squad depth is vital to sustain performance over the five rounds.
The Pumitas had some lapses with lapses in concentration in the second half that led to opposition tries and a yellow card for Nicolás Cambiasso for a high tackle. This is one of the areas World Rugby is focusing on in this edition: as a rule, tackles above the sternum are prohibited. A specific exception is allowed in pick-and-go situations close to the try line, where attackers often go low and defenders have little space to adjust their technique. In Cambiasso’s case, the contact was to the head area, carrying some degree of danger.
The man of the match was Simón Pfister, indecipherable for the opposition defense when he attacked from the backfield. The Tucumán Rugby fullback had the most carries (16), most breaks (5), most defenders beaten (13), and most meters (200) covered with the ball, and he bagged a hat-trick. The only other Argentine to score three tries in a single match at a U20 World Cup was Juan Cruz Mallía, in the third-place playoff in 2016 against South Africa. Pfister is another who has gained minutes with Tarucas in Super Rugby Americas. Bautista Lescano also made a big difference on one wing every time he got the ball.
The 64-point margin is the largest for the Pumitas in a U20 World Cup match, a category unified in 2008. The previous record was a 46-5 win over Italy in 2015. In 2021, they thrashed Georgia 82-10, but that match was part of the U20 International Series due to the World Cup’s cancellation because of the pandemic.
Next Thursday at 8:30 AM Argentina time, they will face their first major challenge in a tournament that allows no slip-ups. Only the top team in each group advances to the semifinals, and they will face Ireland, runners-up to France in the Six Nations in this age group. Another step up in complexity, with higher intensity in the fight to once again reach the top four.
Argentina: Simón Pfister; Bautista Lescano, Ramón Fernández Miranda, Pedro Coll, and Benjamín Ledesma Arocena; Federico Serpa and Valentino Reggiardo; Jerónimo Sorondo, Basilio Cañas, and Tomás Dande (captain); Bautista Benavídez and Joaquín Pascual Viale; Bautista Salinas, Manuel Cúneo, and Fabrizio Cebrón. Replacements: ST: 0′ Benjamín Ordiz for Coll, 3′ Federico Narváez for Salinas and Jeremy Annand for Pascual Viale, 12′ Franco Marizza for Dande, Benjamín Farías Cerioni for Cebrón, Juan Preumayr for Reggiardo and Nicolás Cambiasso for Cúneo, 17′ Manuel Giannantonio for Serpa. United States: Gavin Holder; Marco Lapierre, Dane Mitchell, Leo Keesler-Venables, and Sialeafuhia Ofa; Declan Cadden and Spencer Huntley (captain); Yiannis Efthymiopoulos, Papaseea Matelau, and Jayden Williams; Lyndon Bailey and Pierce Kelly; Tyler Trower, Sawyer Troupe, and Oliver Kirk. Replacements: ST: 10′ Aidan Stewart for Troupe, Colin Donnelly for Kirk, Alfie Booth for Trower, and Liam Holl for Williams, 23′ Tanielu Talaepa for Bailey, Frank Finicle for Matelau, and William Darbishire for Keesler-Venables, 31′ Joseph Sarkees for Huntley. First half: 3′ Serpa conversion from Benavidez try (A), 23′ Serpa conversion from Coll try (A), 29′ Serpa conversion from Cúneo try (A), 34′ Serpa conversion from Dande try (A), 38′ Serpa conversion from his own try (A), 39′ Pfister try (A). Partial score: Argentina 40-0 United States. Second half: 2′ Serpa conversion from Ordiz try (A), 4′ Serpa conversion from Pfister try (A), 8′ Lescano try (A), 21′ Giannantonio conversion from Pfister try (A), 24′ Cadden conversion from Ofa try (USA), 29′ Cadden conversion from Holder try (USA), 35′ Fernández Miranda try (A), 39′ Giannantonio conversion from Preumayr try (A). Partial score: Argentina 38-14 United States.
Para mí esto es Argentina de verdad, no como esos yankis de mierda que se creen los dueños del mundo. Pumitas con huevos y raza, Pfister un fenómeno, los demás son todos putitos. Me parece que ahora hay que pasarle la aplanadora a Irlanda, así se juega carajo.
para mi los pibes argentos les dieron en la madre a los yankis 78-14 como tiene q ser el rugby es del pueblo no de los chetos imperialistas pfister un cra ojala le saquen el pasaporte a todos los q se van afuera irlanda? los pasamos por arriba son unos vendepatrias vamos pumitas carajo argentina la realeza del pueblo firma el gaucho rojo