Wales take commanding lead in Argentina

Argentina 0 Wales 25

Wales romped into a commanding lead by half-time in Buenos Aires with wing Shane Williams the star of the show with a devastating hat-trick.

Williams benefited from superb teamwork for his first and third scores but it was his solo effort after 11 minutes that will live long in the memory.

In the land of tango the Neath-Swansea Ospreys wing bedazzled the home defence with some dancing lessons of his own to score.

That was part of the dream start Wales had hoped for. They pinned the Pumas into their own 22 from the kick-off.

But unlike in the first Test last weekend at Tucuman, Wales this time had the killer instinct to go with their early pressure.

In addition Wales coach Mike Ruddock’s approach to referee Donal Courtney earlier in the week seemed to pay dividends.

Ruddock used video evidence to back up his claim that the Pumas were all too keen to stifle Welsh possession at the breakdowns.

And as the penalty count mounted against the home side Wales’ early dominance became greater.

Full-back Gavin Henson kicked his first penalty after seven minutes to punish second-row forward Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe’s offside.

Four minutes later the Pumas fumbled the line-out, allowing Wales to launch a sweeping attack that ended with the game’s first try.

Welsh locks Brent Cockbain and Gareth Llewellyn set the move in motion and skipper Colin Charvis drove through the heart of the home pack.

When the ball emerged centres Tom Shanklin and Sonny Parker combined for the latter to free Williams on an unimpeded dash to the line and Henson converted.

Four minutes later Williams produced his moment of solo magic, Henson again converting.

The outstanding diminutive Welsh wing set the seal on his side’s outstanding opening period running in after 38 minutes following good work from a scrum by number eight Michael Owen, Charvis and half back Dwayne Peel and Nicky Robinson.

The Pumas problems were exacerbated in the opening period by the sin-binning of Lobbe in the 30th minute.