Argentina player ratings: ‘Heroic’ forward and ‘class act’ sub lead the way in history-making victory over All Blacks

Lawrence Nolan
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Argentina player ratings v All Blacks

Gonzalo Garcia, left, celebrates his second-half try for Argentina

Here are our Argentina player ratings following their history-making 29-23 round two Rugby Championship win versus New Zealand in Buenos Aires.

Argentina player ratings v All Blacks

15 Juan Cruz Mallia: Played with real fluency, catching, kicking and joining the attacking line promisingly. Will regret tackling too high the try-scoring Fletcher Newell on 26 minutes – going low was the obvious option. But that was only a fleeting slip for a player who shone brightly. It was his pass that tempted Sevu Reece into his yellow-carded deliberate knock on seven minutes from time, the penalty seeing Santiago Carreras kick the Pumas 29-20 ahead. 8

14 Bautista Delguy: Very lively, but his frustrations were evident in missed tackles and the mishap that was knocking-on when clattered from behind by Beauden Barrett with the try line approaching just before the interval. Kept probing, as seen with his excellent kick and catch early in the second half. 7

13 Lucio Cinti: Threatening with the ball in hand, beating defenders and getting an offload away in the opening period. Stayed alert, which was so important in his team defending their second-half lead. Check out his scramble that ended with Reece getting stopped at the touchline 13 minutes from time. 7

12 Santiago Chocobares: Showed he was up for this when blasting his way out of the 22 from the restart that followed Argentina going 3-0 up. His offside soon gave up the equalising points and was then off for a HIA that he passed. Came back and played like a rock on both sides of the ball. 8

11 Mateo Carreras: One of two changes to the starting line-up, with Rodrigo Isgro dropping out, he was electric. It was his chip and chase that left Will Jordan binned for a cynical obstruction, setting in motion the momentum that took Argentina from 6-13 down into a 26-13 lead. Ran well on the ball, scrambled well without it. 7

10 Tomas Albornoz: Following on from Australia’s two no rating early injuries in Cape Town, the Pumas fly-half became another unrated round two player after his painful 12th-minute exit. Had given his side a third-minute lead but then fell victim to a hand injury sustained when a team-mate stood on it at a ruck. Departed after missing with his second penalty kick and then getting penalised along with Chocobares for offside. No rating

9 Gonzalo Garcia: Forget the staid structure of going through the phases. Instead, the scrum-half was forcibly direct on several occasions to keep the All Blacks’ defence on its toes. This massively influenced the frantic tempo that asked serious questions of the visitors. Garcia’s endeavour was ultimately richly rewarded with his 59th-minute score, providing the support line off a scrum ball attack and diving over at the ruck just short of the line. Exited a few minutes later. 9

Planet Rugby player ratings key 10 - Career defining performance 9 - Outright blockbuster effort 8 - Significantly influenced the result of the game 7 - Committed and effective outing 6 - Flashes of brilliance outside of executing fundamentals 5 - Fulfilling the role required by position (base level) 4 - Poor execution of fundamentals 3 - Costly errors and/or discipline in the game 2 - Poor performance that directly impacted the result 1 - Grossly ineffective throughout 0 - Should have carried water instead

The forwards

8 Joaquin Oviedo: The standout Argentinian in last weekend’s 24-41 round one loss, he was subdued here with so many of his teammates upping their effort. A first-half knock-on in the New Zealand 22 was indicative of his lack of oomph on this occasion. Gone on 46 when four forwards were subbed off in one go. 6    

7 Juan Martin Gonzalez: The other XV change, with Marcos Kremer benched, he made a sluggish start. A offside cost momentum; then he went too high when desperately trying to prevent Billy Proctor from scoring. Produced a stirring response, though, reaching out brilliantly to score on 33 minutes and then getting agonisingly held up over the line five minutes later. Continue his important impact across the second half. 8

6 Pablo Matera: Encountered some early demons, such as getting penalised for off feet at a ruck in the lead-up to the Proctor try. He was then helpless trying to stop Newell scoring. But a game-changing flourish then materialised. His illegally knocked-on pass earned Tupou Vaa’i his yellow, and he sent a current through the crowd with the way he sat down Newell with a forceful carry. That was the signpost for what was to come 19 minutes into the second half, his brutal carry off scrum ball creating Garcia’s try. 9   

5 Pedro Rubiolo: Carried on from his defiant tackling effort in Cordoba seven days early with another glue-type performance here. It wasn’t perfect; there were a couple of turnovers. But his engine was exactly what Argentina needed in the engine room. No wonder he hung around for the full 80. 8

4 Franco Molina: Provided a chunk of grunt impetus that got Argentina back into the contest when it threatened to run away from the midway through the first half. He would have felt compelled to do well as his needless in at the side with the scoreline at 6-8 allowed New Zealand to build the pressure that increased their lead. Subbed off for Guido Petti when Argentina decided to change half their pack in one go. 6

3 Pedro Delgado: The Pumas’ most inexperienced starter, as this was just his sixth cap, he would have exhaled a sigh of relief that his team were level at 13-all when he departed six minutes into the second half, as his last act was conceding the holding on penalty to Finlay Christie that Barrett scuffed wide to the target. Played his part in rallying his pack after New Zealand’s two tries in a six-minute first-half spell. 7

2 Julian Montoya: The skipper was heroic across his 76-minute contribution. He made sure his team held its nerve when leaking first-half tries in quick succession, and his leadership was again to the fore when calling for a scrum – rather than go to the corner or for the posts – before their 33rd-minute try. He was human; there was an annoying lineout loss on 70 minutes with the score at 26-20, but that wasn’t costly. 9

1 Mayco Vivas: Having cost his team last week with his dumb first-half yellow, he was well behaved and focused on the nuts and bolts of his role through his 46-minute involvement. 6

Replacements: Santiago Carreras was a class act with his (9/10) performance following his early introduction for Albornoz. His immediate break cut the All Blacks’ defence to ribbons and was a sign of the Puma potency that was to come. Coach Felipe Contepomi then used his bench brilliantly, changing half his pack not long into the second half, and this four-strong bomb squad tactic helped create the 26-13 lead. There was a scrum penalty against them soon after, but it wasn’t a killer. 8

READ MORE: Argentina claim historic win over All Blacks that blows Rugby Championship wide open

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