INEVITABLE, REALLY, that Manuel Ardao would create carnage for opponents at this World Cup. From a young age, he was all about the mischief. “I was a brute as a kid. A little devil,” he tells Rugby World.
Against Italy, he was on a rampage and a key reason why los Teros went in at half-time leading 17-7. Forty-five minutes in and Ardao had produced the ultimate pincher’s performance, turning over Italy five times. According to rugby data specialists Oval Insights, Ardao won a whopping nine turnovers across the competition, being a ‘defensive nuisance’ at the ruck 14 times and making ‘effective defensive ruck entries’ 48.6% of the time. So almost half the time he went into a defensive ruck, he was disruptive. A devil indeed.
After that performance, Italy…
