ARGENTINA PROP THOMAS Gallo scored twice as his team beat France 33-25 in Buenos Aires on Saturday to level the two-Test series.
Replacement Gallo made his contributions in a 10-minute spell during the second half as Los Pumas claimed their first win over Les Bleus since 2016.
Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi handed flanker Pablo Matera his 100th cap for the game at a sold-out Estadio Jose Amalfitani, having lost his first game in charge of the team seven days ago.
Fabien Galthie’s side began sluggishly, lacking possession and territory before Olympics-bound Antoine Dupont’s stand-in Baptiste Serin pounced on an Argentina error to open the scoring after 10 minutes.
The teams were level by the end of the first quarter as prop Eduardo Bello responded for the visitors with Santiago Carreras’ conversion making it 7-7.
Contepomi’s outfit continued to dominate and led 21-10 at the break after the referee awarded the hosts a penalty try after a powerful scrum and fly-half Carreras crashed over after France outside-half Antoine Hastoy kicked a penalty.
Les Bleus returned from the interval better and were back ahead with half an hour remaining as Pau team-mates Emilien Gailleton and Theo Attissogbe scored to make it 25-21.
Argentina’s hopes of a first win over France in five games were handed a boost as Les Bleus prop Georges-Henri Colombes was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on lock Lucas Paulos with 23 minutes to go.
The hosts made Colombes’ absence count as 25-year-old Gallo crossed twice, with Carreras converting one of the tries, to take the score to 33-25 with 13 minutes left.
Colombes’ return to the field failed to inspire a comeback as Argentina prepared for next weekend’s Test in Montevideo against Uruguay and the upcoming Rugby Championship on a positive note.
