All Blacks: Late tries save blushes against Argentina
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New Zealand battled past a committed Argentina side to eventually ground out a 21-5 Rugby Championship victory at a rain-soaked Westpac Stadium on Saturday.
The world champion All Blacks, number one in the world and undefeated since beating France in the RWC final last year, were hanging on the ropes for three quarters of the match until two quick-fire tries secured a hard-fought win.
It was a bad case of déjà vu for the visitors, who - just like they did in their last meeting with NZ in last year's RWC quarter-final - kept the home side tryless until a five-pointer in the 67th minute from Julian Savea gave the All Blacks some breathing space.
Another touchdown from Cory Jane five minutes later sealed the deal for New Zealand as Argentina simply ran out of gas after trailing 6-5 at half-time.
Difficult conditions meant both sides were never going to produce champagne rugby, but the tourists will take satisfaction from another respectable scoreline. Indeed, the Pumas once again refused to be push-overs and rattled the home side through some courageous defence that forced the All Blacks into making uncharacteristc mistakes.
But as the weather calmed in the second period so did New Zealand as the men in black gained control to claim their third of the tournament, while the Pumas now have two losses and a draw.
The All Blacks made their intentions clear from the start by playing a wide game despite the conditions, however the Pumas well-organised defence kept the hosts at bay. Fly-half Aaron Cruden missed an early penalty attempt, but found his target 10 minutes in to put the hosts 3-0 ahead.
Argentina hit back brilliantly though a try to veteran prop Rodrigo Roncero who powered over from close-range after the Argentinian pack followed up on an earlier knock-on from Ma'a Nonu who lost the ball in contact. Martin Rodriguez's conversion attempt hit the post and bounced wide, but the crowd were stunned to see their beloved All Blacks trailing 3-5.
Nerves were settled slightly when Cruden slotted his second penalty to nudge New Zealand back in front (6-5) in the 25th minute, after a ruck infringement by Roncero.
The All Blacks were denied a chance to open up a significant lead on the stroke of half-time when, with Victor Vito in full flight down the left wing, Marcelo Bosch produced a crucial try-saving tackle and took the flanker into touch.
The severe winds caused a half-time power-cut at Westpac Stadium - a mishap that stretched the normal ten-minute interval to 27. The scrappy Test match continued after the lights came back on, and it didn;t take long for Cruden to stretch his side's lead to four points (9-5).
But the hosts were immediately on the back foot again following the restart, but Rodriguez missed an excellent chance to cut the deficit back to one point after pushing an attempt from bang in front.
New Zealand finally started to click and threatened to score before flank Julio Farias Cabello was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and the writing was on the wall for Pumas who were now forced to battle on with 14 men.
As the game neared its end, the All Blacks finally gave themselves a comfortable position with 13 minutes to go after Conrad Smith drew three defenders before offloading to Nonu who unselfishly gave the glory to Savea in the corner.
And Jane soon dived over for a second try after racing onto a long miss pass from Cruden which was ruled not to be forward. Cruden landed an excellent conversion from far out on the right to seal the deal.
Man of the match: Argentina pivot Juan Martin Hernandez stood out for both his hard tackling and tactical nous, while once again Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe led admirably from the front. All Blacks centre Conrad Smith was the best of the backs and tried his best to create chances. But we're giving this gong to lock Luke Romano who did everything asked of him for 80 minutes, including taking all his line-outs as well as flying up in the air to challenge the Pumas' throws on every occasion while his work in the tight was immense.
Moment of the match: There weren't many. But whilst the two touchdowns by Julian Savea and Cory Jane buried the brave Pumas, it was prop Rodrigo Roncero's try that warned the All Blacks that the visitors meant business and weren't in the windy city to make up the numbers.
Villain of the match: Whilst Julio Farias Cabello saved a certain five-pointer with his deliberate slap-down of the ball, the ensuing yellow card gave the All Blacks a one-man advantage and it was only a matter of time before they scored their first try.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Try: Savea, Jane
Con: Cruden
Pens: Cruden 3
For Argentina:
Try: Roncero
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Victor Vito, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Beauden Barrett, 22 Ben Smith.
Argentina: 15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Leonardo Senatore, 20 Tomás Leonardi, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
By Dave Morris
Comments
Ferdie says...
if hansen had known carter was out fir sure, would he have named this team - there were seven players with six or less test caps, smith having first game back. a good workout for those new players especially - romano in particular 12 runs for 72m gained; but also another good one for (old/past-it etc) mccaw, top= tackler (with romano), 15 runs 69m
a messy win, like the last two, but wins all the same.
Posted 12:08 09th September 2012
heart_of_oak says...
Ruckingkiwi - it was flying from the UK to Singapore and the UK to Honk Kong, then each time working the next day. I find that by about 3 pm local time, I can't stay awake any more. Just can't aclimatise fully until after about 2 weeks. That's just me. Anyway, I am not saying Argentina are the most exciting team to watch. Just that I reckon this competition will help improve their game all round.
Kiwilad - very sporting comments, they do you credit.
Posted 12:07 09th September 2012
Craig says...
Well said Euskadi, agreed.
I also want to defend the ABs backline from a few 'when will they get it together' comments. Excluding halfback, there are six players in a backline. Three - Cruden, Smith, and Savea - haven't played much footy lately. Nonu hasn't played 2nd five in ages. And Jane/Dagg played well. Yep. they were trying too much too soon in that first half and I'm a bit concerned about the dropped balls, but that backline was well short of recent game time and I think they'll fire a hell of a lot better next week.
Agree also ref was too lenient on breakdown. If NZ were giving away so many penalties in one area I'd expect them to stop or get binned. Bit miffed as to why Argies weren't at least warned.
Finally, magnificent having Argies in tournament. They tackled and ran like their lives depended on it, which the Wallabies didn't do two weeks earlier. Their skill level is high, they're big, strong, and have a good kicking game.
Good to see the Wallabies get a win, and nothing agaisnt them, but without Genia and assuming Argentina play as well next week, I'd probably have to say Argentina by 5-10 next week.
Posted 11:54 09th September 2012
Euskadi says...
ARG played well, the conditions really suited their abrasive 10 man style. Huge and spirited defence. The wingers and full back look dangerous so as time goes by hopefully the Pumas will play a more rounded game. They need to develop some nous at the breakdowns and watch their timing and offsides or they will get penalised off the park. Looking forward to their progress as a team capable of toppling the worlds best.
I think the ABs made a mistake with their game plan, they did look very dangerous on attack but due the conditions (handling) and non dominance at ruck/maul (Arg defence) the ball was not clean enough for Smith and Cruden to really light up the backs, they lacked that half second/1 meter advantage, provided by quick & dominant rucks thats needed to really stretch defenses.
I predicted 10-30 point win for the ABs so almost in the middle of the range (OK so I gave myself a wide range!) but in the end a fair reflection of the match. The first half demanded a tight tussle but always the showmen, the ABs tried to light up the pitch, they calmed and tightened up in the second before the Pumas tired which in conjunction with the ABs subs allowed the ABs to pull away in the end.
I still have the feeling that these ABs are going to click and we'll see a cricket score...Dunedins' closed roof next week and a predictable Bok team en route...oh the possibilities!!!
Posted 09:17 09th September 2012
makemehappy says...
jmanngod - you're right about the cynical play by the Argies, but it isn't about which hemisphere the ref is from, in terms of addressing their cheating. It is mainly about Poite. You should have seen him refereeing Wales v Argentina in 2011. Could easily have been 5 reds that day for multiple fouls. Instead there was (guess what) one yellow, if my memory serves me correctly.
Posted 08:19 09th September 2012
cuw3100 says...
EDITOR PR:
wish to know if there is provision in RU LAWS for the officials to delay / postpone a game due to inclement weather conditions.
for example this happened at EURO 2012, when torrential, rain and lightning caused the match between France and Ukraine to be postponed by one hour in Ukraine (was it in June?).
it was clear that the long half time break helped both teams in the second half (maybe a higher power intervened LOL); so cant help but wonder how the match would have turned out had it been delayed by one hour.
but of course in this day and age of TV schedules, ratings, advertising revenue and what not, player comfort and safety not to mention spectator interest takes a back seat!
for a while it looked like mud-wrestling and was seriously concerned someone would get badly hurt. football is considered a contact sport and at least powers that be take a more pragmatic view of player safety.
Posted 07:18 09th September 2012
sandal says...
One of the most irritating aspects of this game was seeing the All Black forwards crowd the midfield. Especially in the first half. But rather than doing so to take out opposing backs, and perhaps offload to a teammate, they indulged in the kind of 2-,3-,4-foot patsy passes that we have seen so often of English forwards in the past 20 years or so as they shuffled the ball across the midfield.
Let's be clear, Romano and Retallick, whatever their merits (and there are many) do not have the ball-playing skills or game sense that their predecessors Chris Jack, Ali Williams and others had. All they did on Saturday night was crowd the midfield and slow the passage of the ball to the outside where more could be expected of Smith, Jane and co. Occasionally they threw hospital passes or passes to people who weren't there.
And too often the first receiver, rather than taking the ball into contact with a teammate on his shoulder, shuffled the ball to that teammate, thereby giving the defence all the more chance to knock the ball carrier back behind the gain line. It was awful. God knows what Steve Hansen had in mind.
Last year, England presumed to wear all black in New Zealand. Last night, the All Black forwards encumbering the midfield looked like they should have been wearing the red rose. Playing like a donkey makes you a donkey, whatever emblem you wear on your breast.
Thank god things improved in the second half, as the AB forwards cleared the breakdown better and teammates were then able to run on to the ball at greater speed. And Piri Weepu did what he is best at: finding runners and varying the play.
Posted 04:29 09th September 2012
sandal says...
Sports journalists should never be allowed to use the word beloved.
Posted 04:08 09th September 2012
abfixit says...
Followed the game. A tough one for both teams and the wet may have suited the grinding Pumas game. A few sore bodies today! Not AC's best outing but he knows that he is work in progress. I think the 10 mantle is still where it best sits. Wellington, please sort out the power supply - a downer on a wet night.
Posted 03:16 09th September 2012
StunTheMullet says...
"The world champion All Blacks, number one in the world and undefeated since beating France in the RWC final last year, were hanging on the ropes for three quarters of the match until two quick-fire tries secured a hard-fought win."
Rubbish.
The Argies were hanging on the ropes of keeping 15 players on the field for first 3 quarters of the match.
Same old same old from the Pumas. Damage limitation of giving penalties away and/or "injury" every time the ABs started to get some momentum.
Shame they were indulged by Poite who also wouldn't know advantage if it slapped him in the face with a cheval.
Oh and given the first half in-stadium tornado no wonder there were so many errors.
Posted 03:10 09th September 2012
Flyman says...
Well played the Argies! Just have to get a bit fitter & stop the penalties. Next week's game against Wobblies is going to be interesting! Won't bother with the ABs vs Boks game, waste of time! Then the Argies have two home games, could be very entertaining :-)
Posted 03:01 09th September 2012
theGadflY says...
@jmanngod- 2 things to tel u.1st dn't moan abt cheatin @ rucks bcoz u hv one of the best cheaters @ rucks,for eg. McCaw.2nd may b the standard ref u r talkin abt is Bryce Lawrence.the whole world knws wht a rubbish load of a ref he is and hw he handled rucks @RWC.is he frm NH? anothr rediculus ref is Steve Walsh.whr is he frm??? dn't b hypocrtic & accept it,AB were outplyd for the most part.pathetic.
Posted 02:10 09th September 2012
Trinats2 says...
"It was a bad case of déjà vu for the visitors"
From my preview:
"Argentina will surprise a lot of people by keeping the score tight, but the ref will hit them with penalty after penalty and NZ will run away with it. (Just like in the WC last year !!!)"
But what I didn't expect was that NZ would turn the lights out for half an hour to disrupt the Arggies who were on a roll. Were the ABs torturing the ref with electric shocks at half time ??? It worked !!!
jmanngod:
"The Argies cynical ruck play was very fortunate to find a NH ref. The ruck properly ref'd by a SH ref would have been vastly different not allowing the continual slowing down of the ball"
I haven't laughed some much in ages thank you, that's hilarious coming from a kiwi !!!
Posted 00:13 09th September 2012
atg77 says...
@Trader2. Actually, the Welsh have already beaten the All Blacks on 3 occasions... 3-0 in 1905, 13-12 in 1935 and 13-8 in 1953. As for Argentina beating them any time soon... I really don't think so.
Posted 23:14 08th September 2012
tweedledee49 says...
@ramage, lol...ok now i feel like an idiot, maybe i shouldve looked at the schedule first huh?
@ruckingkiwi, guess there goes the house lol
Posted 22:34 08th September 2012
KnockOnKing says...
LP more than belong in RC. Can hardly wait for La Plata v AB and Rosario v WB.
But I´m afraid LP will have to come something like 2nd in a RC tourney to force the
IRB to give them top 5 status ... but they will get there.
Posted 22:23 08th September 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
tweedledee49, I thought NZ play South Africa in Dunedin next week and Argentina away 2 weeks later? I still dont quite understand though, you would put your house on it or you don't think it'd happen?
Is Captain Excuses (Carpelone) the South African version of Trinats but less clown and more Hitler kind of way :)
Posted 22:10 08th September 2012
Mace says...
I took my kids to this game and none of us were impressed. Very poor performance from ourAll Blacks. Well done to the Pumas...
Posted 22:07 08th September 2012
jmanngod says...
@Carpelone... mate you seem to not have a clue about rugby at all..... why are you on these pages?
Posted 21:42 08th September 2012
jmanngod says...
Jesus! Really? Clancy and Barnes?? How do these clowns get a chance at this level? Let them stick to the NH game!
Posted 21:40 08th September 2012