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The Pumas simply hung in there long enough to watch the All Blacks implode
I’m not sure that infantilizing All Blacks is actually going to help them.
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Listening to assistant coach Scott Hansen talk on Monday, you could be forgiven for thinking New Zealand sent a bunch of boys out on a man’s errand, against Argentina in Wellington.
To paraphrase Hansen, the players didn’t know how to get out of their own half, were unsure in their overall option taking and unprepared for executing their skills under pressure.
Throwing appears as if it might be an impediment to Asafo Aumua’s progress as a test footballer, otherwise I absolve the forward pack from any observations made by Hansen.
Frankly, if you were a forward in that team, you’d be furious with the fellas behind you.
Fellas who, need anyone be reminded, are far from boys being given their first taste of test rugby.
Beauden Barrett has played, according to his All Blacks bio, 127 tests. TJ Perenara 82, Anton Lienert-Brown 74, Jordie Barrett 61, Damian McKenzie 51.
Cortez Ratima is a rookie, but the other backline subs used on Saturday – Rieko Ioane and Will Jordan – definitely are not.
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So we’re saying that this far into careers, in which losing Test matches has become an all too regular occurrence, that these guys have learned nothing from that?
That from 20-8 up over Argentina, they were unaccustomed to the task of closing the Test match out?
The Pumas, who try very hard but otherwise haven’t got a lot to offer, didn’t unleash an onslaught of champagne rugby en route to an eventual 38-30 victory. They simply hung in there long enough to watch the All Blacks implode.
After the match, head coach Scott Robertson spoke glowingly of some of the brilliant rugby the All Blacks played and expressed confidence that the game management required to be a reputable Test match side would develop over time.
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I’m afraid Robertson isn’t coaching the New Zealand under-20 team anymore and that we’re not dealing with a small sample size of performances among the backline he selected last Saturday.
At some point you have to accept certain players aren’t capable of managing a game in an accurate fashion. That for all the eye-catching things they do, there are too many others that have fans hiding their face behind a cushion.
If you’re confident the good will outweigh the bad more often than not, then I guess you might stick with what you’ve got. If not, then you pick players who won’t let you down when it matters.
But who? Richie Mo’unga isn’t here. Harry Plummer is around the squad, but appears to have been damned for an inability to score length-of-the-field tries..
Honestly, though, who else is there that could do the job this team needs? Where are the players who can actually manage a game?
So, I partly get why Hansen publicly put his arm around Saturday’s team and why he suggested it’s the coaching staff’s job to prepare the players better.
But, at some point, we have to accept – as perhaps Hansen and company are – that this is all they have to work with and that they’ll have to try and make the best of it.
I’d prefer to hear the coaches say Saturday’s performance wasn’t good enough and that they were largely awful against England too. In the long run, I don’t think protecting players from the truth helps them all that much.
My experience of covering this team was that coaches weren’t hard on players behind closed doors either. They preferred to have journalists write the unkind things for fear of saying anything that would hurt their relationship with a player.
I found that sad, but was told it was the reality of coaching the modern athlete.
This All Blacks team will have its days when everything comes up trumps. That day could come as soon as Saturday, in large part because I doubt Argentina can rise to the challenge once again.
But these All Blacks, as they have on a semi-consistent basis for six or seven years now, will also have those days when they can’t stop making errors, can’t get out of their own half and can’t do any of the simple things well.
But just don’t tell me it’s because they haven’t been taught how.
Thanks pc, GM and BJ. I personally don't think that Argentina is ready to beat the AB two times in a road yet, we have an adn problem with consistency. However, I understand the AB journalists because in soccer something similar happens in Argentina (we think we won the games even before playing them) a self esteem problem that took several decades of psychological work to emend. I think rugby is a gentleman's sport (all my coaches always noted that), and soccer, well I don't know. I just ask the ABs journalist to be the bigger guys here and respect countries in development like us. That's it. I love NZ rugby, honestly more than any other, but this type of childish attitude just make me think twice about them. They are fun to watch, and use to be very resilient, always dominating the psychological game. Now, I think is time for them to make a self observation journey and very probably they can the best again. They have the players, the coaches and the know how on how to do it.
Kiwi's are unbelievable when they loose, the lack of recognition to the adversary it's unprecedented. But after you hear people like this bloke, or JK, J.Marshall, or Chip, you get the feeling they all have a scrip in order not to give any credit to the opposition and basically blame it on the players for not sticking up to the challenge. It seems like they prefer to sacrify reality and objectiveness in order to motivate their players.
That's funny BJ - Bidwell always struck me as very conservative, somewhere on the right of Genghis Khan!
Well said, hB - let's hope that if we lose again on Saturday we don't hear Razor bleat that we didn't 'execute the plan'. That's a coach-speak cop-out, not only for their own shortcomings (if the team had executed our plan we would have won, so it's the players' fault) but also a denigration of Argentina (maybe their plan - and their players - were actually superior!).
We shouldn't be too tough on the ABs - after all, how many of their players would make a combined AB/Argentina XV? Certainly none of the AB loose forwards.
I definitely agree with you, GM. We are lucky to have loose forwards in Matera, Gonzalez, and Kremer, who balance the lack of power in our props. We are suffering big time in scrums, which was in our favor in the last contest (Gallo is excellent in the loose but really bad at the scrum). I miss Ayerza (our last dominant prop). NZ had historically the best loose forwards who saved epic games against SA powerhouse props and looks. Jones/McCaw/Brooke were the best I have ever seen. The trio now is almost inexistent in most areas when you compare.
Bidwell is a "Lefty like most journalists throughout the world. They hate "innovation" and when they see a team like Argentina, who worked out where the All Blacks were vulnerable, they will naturally say, "They can't do it again"
That's their nature. 96% of their life is criticising other peoples actions and dealing with negativity. That's the nature of journalists.
Argentina will be harder at Eden Park that at Wellington.
Pablo Matera knows how we think. Can they win? Of course they can. Will they? Who knows?
Well said hB. Argentina thoroughly deserved the win. The A.B.'s were like stunned mullets. There was no Leadership, very poor decision making and the "Basic Skills" were atrocious.
I hope Argentina, have some more surprises at Eden Park.
A great test victory against the All Blacks on their own turf. One they will never forget.
I really hope Razor, drops the players who never turned up, which is quite a few.
The All Blacks were Outplayed, Outsmarted and Overconfident.
Ardie who?
I really don't know what game you watched, dear Hamish! I know how difficult it is to accept that sometimes in life, we are simply "not the best". We Argentinians (at rugby) assume that all the time. We are always the underdogs trying to show the heavy status quo politics that dominate rugby that we " just have something to say." Last weekend, we repeated a message that we already said in 2020 and 2022. So, I ask for some minimal respect for this guys, that are defiant of jet lags and all the challenging situations that NZ and Australia always pose on us just to continue the weak tradition of elite rugby? Please, this game, our forwards just won the game, asphyxiated the NZ pack with passional pressure, and had a decent kick game to follow a strategy that played nicely for us. Again, I am so sorry you are hurt by the truth, but just have some respect for a country that is not part of your status quo (and don't want to be). If not, just ask SA what they think of all of this. Sometimes the truth is the worst enemy of my ego, said Napoleon before dying (he never could accept that his ulcers were out of control). Once you get used to being the best, it is hard to resign don't be it, right?
Plummer, Clarke and Cane need to come in with the latter resuming the captaincy.
And, while deckchairs are being moved on the Titanic, quite a few of the so-called expert coaches should walk the plank. Far too many opinions and voices - no wonder have the team is confused.
Turlough is back. Can you spot him? 🤣
Those must be the hidden comments lol.
I never left.
Anyone notice or wonder what was going on with 13 rushing out of the line, staying there and leaving a gap the size of the Tasman sea. It looked like NZ were bedding in the first link in a more rushed defence.
I dont agree with the author about Argentina not turning up. They learned that lesson in 2022. If NZ are not prepared and lose another fight on Saturday, well...
The days of NZ hammering most teams off the park are over. NZ must find greatness in winning tight games now.
The All Blacks had a "Bad game" Really! It's the reason "why we had a bad game that is the concern. We won by 1 point and BB saved the second Test, against England. That's not weird. That is a fact. A mess up on 1 night?
No leadership. Beaten at the breakdown. No direction from D Mac. Poor decisions by the Captain. A lot of senior players were very ordinary.
Most of all, No Discipline, giving away penalties. That seems to be a bit more than a bad game and they managed to set "another record"
Most points scored against the All Blacks on home soil.
All Blacks had a bad game but also I think its weird to say they cant manage a game. Difficult matches with England saw them manage games in both matches. In both games they worked their way into the lead and managed the finish of both matches to ultimately record two hard fought victories. So it was just a mess up on their part on one night against the Pumas. It will happen especially with a young inexperienced bench
They didn't envisage having to fight or manage this game. Most All Black fans if they are bring honest were expecting a breakthrough statement victory and a bonus point at least. I dont think the NZ team were much different. They were waiting for Argentina to go away and it never happened. England made a major mistake by not keeping width in a lineout deep in NZ 22. England kept grubber kicking to an inspired Barrett. How much was NZ management..how much was Eng mismanagement in scoring positions?
Someone should remember this writer of points scored by Los Pumas en the second half: all originates by actions with their forwards, especially the first try….
Yes. They scored with their backs when NZ were loose in 1st half. Then great kicking etc. and execution in the 2nd by the forwards.
The title of this article is ridiculous.
Why? Its true
Not the only reason - the pumas played very well but the ABs did implode
And doesn’t explain the many shortcomings on the day
But two horror passes by Savea and DMck and the ridiculously errant slap back from Reece led to 14 easy points
Reminded me a little of the errors by France in the quarterfinal
Dropped passes led to three well taken Bok tries
nailed it