NANTES, France (AP) — Argentina secured its place in the quarterfinals and knocked out Japan from the Rugby World Cup after winger Mateo Carreras’ hat trick of tries inspired a 39-27 win in a breathless pool-stage eliminator in Nantes on Sunday.
The Pumas will face Wales in the last eight in Marseille on Saturday, having finished second in Pool D behind England.
There were eight tries in total in an end-to-end match and none was more outrageous than the one scored by Japan lock Amato Fakatava, who sprinted down the left wing, collected his own kick forward and trundled over the line midway through the first half.
Yet it was Carreras — Argentina’s stocky and powerful left winger — who proved to be the match winner, finishing off a flowing team move for his first try in the 28th and adding two more after halftime to finally see off a plucky Japan team that kept coming for more.
His third try was the clincher and came just when Japan reduced the gap to 29-27 with 15 minutes left. Within three minutes, Carreras received the ball at almost a standing start, pushed away Japan center Ryoto Nakamura with a hand-off, then burst through the middle with stunning acceleration before finishing with a swan dive over the line.
Argentina missed out on the quarterfinals in 2019 but is back at that stage for the fifth time in the last seven World Cups.
Japan was seeking back-to-back quarterfinal appearances after doing so on home soil four years ago but it proved to be the final match under departing coach Jamie Joseph, whose seven years in charge ends after this World Cup.
Nantes delivered another classic pool-stage elimination match, 16 years after Fiji upset Wales 38-34 at the atmospheric Stade de la Beaujoire.
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