New head coach Steve Tandy laments 'sloppy mistakes' as Wales suffer record defeat to Argentina in Quilter Nations Series
Published 09/11/2025 at 19:41 GMT
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Wales were well beaten by Argentina in the Quilter Nations Series in new head coach Steve Tandy’s first game in charge, but is there cause for optimism going forward? It was a 10th home defeat in succession for Wales, but there were flashes of excellence sprinkled throughout the 80 minutes inside the Principality Stadium. Wales will have a chance to end that drought when they face Japan next.
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Steve Tandy admitted his Wales players made "too many sloppy mistakes" to get the better of Argentina and begin his reign with a momentous victory, but he was still able to pick out some positives from the display at the Principality Stadium.
The Pumas, ranked six places higher, proved far too strong and eventually prevailed 52-28 in what was a record win for the visitors over Wales.
It was also a 10th successive home defeat for Wales, who face Japan next weekend in a crucial clash in the Quilter Nations Series.
However, there were flashes of the Wales of old.
After falling 14-0 down with barely 10 minutes on the clock, the worst would have been feared. But through some slick attack, Tomos Williams and Dewi Lake both scored to restore parity and, briefly, belief in the Welsh capital.
Three tries either side of half-time saw Argentina reclaim control and Wales were well beaten in the end, but Rome was not built in a day.
Asked for his overriding feeling after the defeat, Tandy told TNT Sports: "Without any shadow of a doubt it’s disappointment. Losing any Test match is disappointing but there’s pride in what a lot of the boys did. I thought some of the tries we scored [were great] and we probably could have had a couple more tries as well.
"We’ve got to look at little bits of our discipline. We conceded two yellow cards and against a top-level team you will be punished but there’s loads of pride around what we did and you could definitely see some of the things we’ve worked on at training, especially in our attack.
"But ultimately, there were too many sloppy moments to win a big game against Argentina."
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Tandy: ‘Too many sloppy moments to win’ but ‘loads of pride in what we did’
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TNT Sports pundit Dan Biggar echoed Tandy’s sentiments. The Wales legend spoke about the renewed optimism around the national team in the build-up after a turbulent time of late both on and off the field.
He conceded they are still some way off competing with the likes of Argentina, who beat New Zealand and ran South Africa close during the recent Rugby Championship. But Biggar was pleased with how they used the ball going forward and picked out captain Jac Morgan for particular praise.
"It’s important to say Wales were beaten by a bigger, more powerful, better side," Biggar said. "And do you know what? Over the last two years we probably haven’t said that’s OK [with] where Wales are at at the minute.
"Argentina are a better team than Wales as they showed today, but you look at some of the positives.
"Four tries, I thought their attack shape looked really nice in terms of lots of ball at the line, lots of tips at the line, manoeuvring defenders, looking to play into space.
"I thought they showed some bottle at 14-0 down to come back into the game, and Jac Morgan was head and shoulders above every other Welsh player on the pitch in terms of carries, turnovers, metres made, brilliant."
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Highlights: Wales suffer record defeat to Argentina as home drought continues
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Warburton fearing worst for Morgan injury
Morgan was the standout figure for Wales, even on a Sunday night in Cardiff that ushered in a new era for head coach Tandy and saw the return of box-office winger Louis Rees-Zammit.
That made the talismanic flanker’s exit from the game all the more concerning. After storming over for a second-half try from a tap and go, Morgan appeared in considerable pain and held his left arm as he trudged off before it was later revealed he suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder.
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Few are better placed to assess a collision like that than former Wales captain and flanker Sam Warburton, who could not hide his concern over Morgan’s fitness after his outstanding display.
"I think the word world class gets bandied around too easy but Jac is genuine world class," Warburton said. "He was brilliant in the summer with the Lions, he’s come back and he’s used that confidence to lead this team.
"Whether it’s both sides of the ball, carrying, tackling, competing over the ball, scoring tries, he’s such a smart, brave, intelligent player. He’s a really nice ball player too and is exactly what Wales need.
"I do fear the worst with his injury. He’s a tough man. The way he is, that’s not good news. I do worry he’s not going to be involved the rest of the autumn."
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Watch and stream every game of the Quilter Nations Series live on TNT Sports and discovery+
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