Argentina had begun their Pool D campaign with a 27-10 defeat to England on September 9, while Samoa won their opener 43-10 against Chile last Saturday (September 16).

However, Argentina got off their mark with a 19-10 victory, aided by the brilliance of winger Emiliano Boffelli at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard.

Boffelli converted the opening try of the match he had scored, and added two penalties in the first half to put his team in a commanding position.

Christian Leali'ifano mustered the only reply for Samoa with a penalty to make the score 13-3 at the break, the fly-half who formerly represented Australia missing the sticks with his two other three-point attempts.

Boffelli added a further three points for Argentina on 54 minutes, although he missed a kick three minutes later.

A try with five minutes remaining from replacement hooker Sama Malolo, converted by D'Angelo Leuila, gave Samoa hope at 16-10.

However, a long-range penalty in the final minute from Nicolás Sánchez sealed a 19-10 win for Argentina, and denied their opponents what could be an important losing bonus point for a defeat by seven points or fewer.

Argentina remain fourth in Pool D on four points, behind Samoa and Japan who both earned bonus-point wins against Chile and England who triumphed in both of their opening matches.

The Pumas are set to face Chile in Nantes on September 30 in their next match before finishing the pool against Japan on October 8, while Samoa face tests against Japan and England.

The top two sides in each of the four pools advance to the quarter-finals, while the team ranked third earn a qualifying place for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Tomorrow features action in Pool C between Georgia and Portugal in Toulouse, Pool D between England and Chile in Lille, and a much-anticipated Pool B clash between defending champions South Africa and world number one-ranked side Ireland in Paris.