Argentina paid a fitting tribute to prop Marcos Ayerza and enjoyed a nine-try romp in beating Leicester 55-34 in its last Rugby World Cup warmup on Saturday.
The last northern season was Ayerza's ninth and testimonial season at Leicester, for whom he's played 214 games and won four English Premierships, and this was his testimonial match.
He started at loosehead for the Pumas, and finished in the Tigers' front row.
Both sides ran the ball from all parts, and the Pumas' slick handling earned them a 28-13 halftime lead. Leicester closed to within six with 10 minutes to go, but Argentina finished with three more tries for a blowout before facing New Zealand in its Rugby World Cup opener in 15 days at Wembley.
___
Argentina 55 (Horacio Agulla 2, Santiago Cordero, Marcelo Bosch, Juan Imhoff, Nicolas Sanchez, Julian Montoya, Juan Pablo Socino, Manu Manuel Leguizamon tries; Sanchez 4 conversions, Pablo Socino conversion), Leicester 34 (Riccardo Brugnara, Harry Thacker, Freddie Burns, Paolo Udogwu tries; Tommy Bell conversion, 2 penalties, Burns 3 conversions). HT: 28-13.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.