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All Blacks bounce back to thrash Pumas at Eden Park
By Ned Lester
Rain fell in a steady stream over the All Blacks‘ hallowed turf of Eden Park as the hosts searched for their first win of The Rugby Championship against an energised Argentina, fresh off their second-ever win over the Kiwis on New Zealand soil.
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With a 30-year unbeaten run at the famous venue on the line, the result was all but secured by halftime for Scott Robertson’s men. A 32-point lead at halftime would remain after a quieter second period in Auckland for a full-time score of 42-10.
The weather played its role from the outset with an early knock-on from Argentina allowing Beauden Barrett to make a searching clearance into space in the Pumas backfield.
Play then remained mostly in the Argentinian 22 for the opening five minutes, until the All Blacks’ third lineout in the spell saw a well-executed wrap-around from Ethan Blackadder and Codie Taylor get the team on the front foot. A few phases later, Jordie Barrett dropped a kick over the defensive line from just 10 metres out and it was a race between Damian McKenzie and the dead ball line, which the All Black won, before converting his own try.
Los Pumas made their way into All Blacks territory after play resumed and after more scrappy handling from both sides, it was a no-arms tackle from Tyrel Lomax that handed the visitors their first shot at the posts from the friendly angle.
Another lineout drive from the All Blacks had them knocking on Argentina’s door just minutes later, and who else but Ardie Savea to provide the carry to see them over the line. McKenzie flirted with the shot clock’s expiration but added the extras with just moments to spare.
Down 11, Argentina looked to return the favour with some powerful work up front, but it was the Kiwis who came away with the penalty. The ensuing scrum was dominated by the men in black and a clean exit was accomplished.
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Two consecutive charge-downs in open play from Jordie Barrett sent Argentina’s exit flying backwards towards their own try line, and after an attempt to find the wide channel was run down by Codie Taylor, Tupou Vaa’i won his side a bizarre intercept when Gonzalo Bertranou assumed he was offside.
The hosts sent the ball wide themselves until Caleb Clarke found himself unmarked with a clear path to the try line. McKenzie again left it until the very last moment to convert the effort.
Shortly after, TJ Perenara found a gap down the blindside after another strong New Zealand scrum, threading the needle with an offload to Will Jordan who had the pace to find the line in the corner. The try and conversion made it 28-3 with half an hour played.
McKenzie continued to pull the strings as playmaker, taking a monster hit as he found Beauden Barrett running an immaculate line that carved straight through the defence and led to a try under the posts.
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With a final chance to respond before the half, the Pumas squared up for a lineout on the All Blacks’ 22 line, but more handling errors in the wet saw the half come to an end. Halftime score: 35-3.
Within two minutes of the second period kicking off the All Blacks had added to their tally through Will Jordan. Powerful carries from captain Savea after another surging scrum earned the side momentum and the backline again had the nous to create a gap for one of their speedsters.
The rain had eased but a damp track meant some handling issues persisted for the visitors and contributed to their few attacking opportunities going awry.
10 minutes into the half Argentina finally managed to pull some phase play together, and after consecutive penalties from the hosts Ardie Savea was warned to tidy up his side’s discipline.
The Pumas battered away on the All Blacks line but ultimately could not get the ball onto the chalk, and they quickly found themselves back in their own 22.
The rain returned an hour into the Test when points had become hard to come by. The hosts maintained the upper hand at set piece but execution was lacking.
As the game entered its final 10 minutes, the Pumas found some attacking momentum with physicality in tight carries. Consistently making it over the gain line, the visitors patiently chewed through the meters before Juan Cruz Mallia was put through a gap and scored his team’s first try of the game.
The visitors looked to continue their attacking momentum but struggled to get into the right areas of the field. That was until Asafo Aumua was yellow-carded for a hit on Mateo Carreras which saw the winger head to the bench with an ice pack on his ribs.
With the one-man advantage, Argentina again went to their tight carry game but another handling error ended the attack early. Some frantic play brought the game to a close. Final score: 42-10.
