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All you need to know: How the All Blacks could lose their No 1 world ranking this weekend

Rieko Ioane takes on the Pumas defence. (Photo by Daniel Jayo/Getty Images)

By NZ Herald

Since November 16, 2009, the All Blacks have been the pinnacle of men’s international rugby.

However, their reign could come to an end tomorrow morning should they be tipped up by Argentina in their opening game of the Rugby Championship.

If the Pumas beat the All Blacks by more than 15 points in Buenos Aires, the New Zealand side would lose their No 1 ranking to Wales, who would take over the mantle for the first time in their history, Wales Online reports.

Here’s what else you need to know ahead of the All Blacks’ first test of the year.

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All Blacks v Argentina, Sunday July 21, 6.05am kickoff (NZT)

It certainly isn’t the most experienced All Blacks team you’ll ever see, with five players yet to make their debut included in the match day 23. Sevu Reece starts on the right wing in his debut, while Atu Moli, Braydon Ennor, Josh Ioane and Luke Jacobson are poised to make their mark on the game off the bench.

The Sam Cane-captained side will meet a Pumas outfit extremely familiar with one another, with many of the players fronting from the Jaguares during the Super Rugby season. Of the 23 selected for the game by coach Mario Ledesma, only three do not play for the country’s only Super Rugby franchise, with No 10 Nicolas Sanchez (Stade Francais), tighthead prop Juan Figallo (Montpellier) and reserve halfback Felipe Ezcurra (Leicester) earning a spot in the side.

The All Blacks have won 27 of the 28 previous meetings between the two sides, with a solitary draw in 1985.

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Tom 7 hours ago
Will Bristol's daredevil 'Bears-ball' deliver the trophy they crave?

Also a Bristol fan and echo your sentiments.


I love watching Bristol but their approach will only get them so far I think. Exeter played like this when they first got promoted to the prem and had intermittent success, it wasn't until they wised up and played a more balanced game that they became a consistently top side.


I really want Bristol to continue playing this brand of rugby and I don't mind them running it from under their posts but I don't think they need to do it every single time. They need to be just a little bit more selective about when and where on the pitch they play. Every game they put themselves under so much needless pressure by turning the ball over under their posts trying to do kamikaze moves when it's not required. By all means run it from your goal line if there is a chance for a counter attack, we all want to see Bristol running in 100m tries from under their posts but I think until they learn when to do it and when to be pragmatic, they are unlikely to win the premiership.


Defense has been a real positive from Bristol, they've shown a lot of improvement there... And I will say that I think this kamikaze strategy they employ is a very good one for a struggling side and could be employed by Newcastle. It's seems to have turned around Gloucester's fortunes. The big advantage is even if you don't have the biggest and best players, what you have is cohesion. This is why Scotland keep battering England. England have better individuals but they look muddled as a team, trying to play a mixed strategy under coaches who lack charisma, the team has no identity. Scotland come out and give it full throttle from 1-15 even if they struggle against the top sides, sides like England and Wales who lack that identity drown under the relentless will and synergy of the Scots. If Newcastle did the same they could really surprise some people, I know the weather is bad up there but it hasn't bothered the Scots. Bristol can learn from Scotland too, Pat is on to something when he says the following but Scotland don't play test matches like headless chickens. They still play with the same level of clarity and ambition Bristol do but they are much better at picking their moments. They needed to go back to this mad game to get their cohesion back after a couple of seasons struggling but I hope they get a bit wiser from matches like Leinster and La Rochelle.


“If there’s clarity on what you’re trying to do as a team you can win anything.”

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