Argentina player ratings: Mateo Carreras lights up Rugby World Cup Bronze Final

Following Argentina’s 26-23 defeat to England in the Rugby World Cup Bronze Final, here is how we rated the Los Pumas players in defeat.

15 Juan Cruz Mallia: Completed an excellent offload in the build-up to Tomas Cubelli’s try. He was tested by England’s high spiral bombs and often struggled, but not too much that it was detrimental to his side. 6

14 Emiliano Boffelli: He rarely has a bad game for Argentina, and while a few kicks were a bit off today, he was still great under the high ball and proved to be a real threat whenever he got the ball. 7

13 Lucio Cinti: Got away with his forward pass in the build-up to Cubelli’s try; that was his only pass of the game as he saw precious little ball. He made his tackles and was relatively solid before making way for Matias Moroni in the 47th minute. 6

12 Jeronimo de la Fuente: The veteran centre was resolute on defence and linked well to get the ball to Argentina’s danger men. He has built a career out of doing the basics well and with little fuss, and today was no different. 7

Brilliant Carreras

11 Mateo Carreras: He does not have the size of the late great Jonah Lomu, but that didn’t stop him from dominating England players in contact, getting the better of George Ford, Owen Farrell, Ben Earl and Marcus Smith. He probably should have attempted to step Ford and could have scored a stunning try, but otherwise, the 23-year-old was sublime. 8

10 Santiago Carreras: Erratic performance from the pivot who scored a memorable solo try, tearing the England defence apart. Almost immediately afterwards, he was charged down and conceded a try. A few bad passes and conceded a penalty. 5

9 Tomas Cubelli: Conceded two penalties, took his try well and assisted a try in an overall strong performance in what could well be his last game in the Pumas jersey. 7

8 Facundo Isa: Taken off early in the second half again after another solid shift. Aggressive and abrasive in contact, he did have the one blunder at the back of the scrum, but his front-row was being taught a lesson. 7

7 Marcos Kremer: A record-breaking night for the flanker who has now made more tackles in a single Rugby World Cup than any other player, surpassing Taulupe Faletau’s 83 in 2011, with plenty to spare. A handful of poor handling errors but was outstanding on defence and all other areas of the game. 8

6 Juan Martin Gonzalez: After a relatively quiet tournament, the brilliant Saracens-bound flanker produced a stunning display. Superb at the lineout, powerful and dynamic carries thundering through and speeding past tacklers. The kind of showing that was missing from him throughout the tournament. 8

Tight five

5 Pedro Rubiolo: Threw himself into plenty of battles after coming into the team in place of Tomas Lavanini. He offered himself as a carrier on seven occasions and did well when he did take it to the line. 6

4 Guido Petti: The athletic lock was at his usual high standards in all facets of the game. He ran a smooth lineout, hit plenty of rucks and carried well. A tidy shift from the 28-year-old. 7

3 Francisco Gómez Kodela: Struggled at scrum time as Ellis Genge got the better of him for most of his shift. The 38-year-old was strong around the pitch as he will likely bow out from the international game, too. 5

2 Julian Montoya: Sharp at the lineouts, finding his target with every throw, and was physical on both sides of the ball, making eight tackles and gained 11 metres from his four carries. 6

1 Thomas Gallo: Like his fellow starting prop, he was put under pressure in the scrums and as per usual, was busy around the park. Gallo got his hands on the ball on 10 occasions, with three defenders beaten from eight carries and two passes. 6

Replacements: The scrum was improved when the likes of Agustin Creevy, Joel Sclavi and Eduardo Bello came on while Matias Alemanno and Rodrigo Bruni were excellent. Nicolas Sanchez gave the Pumas more direction but missed a crucial kick. 7

READ MORE: England hang on against Argentina to claim bronze at Rugby World Cup