The All Blacks upped the gears on their World Cup preparations, taking a step forward in their execution while they continued to develop a high-pace game plan with a 39-18 win over Argentina in Christchurch yesterday.
The victory in the Rugby Championship opener was a massive leap from a scrappy 25-16 win over Samoa last week in Apia, though it indicated that Steve Hansen’s side still have a lot of work to do if they are to defend the World Cup in two months.
Captain Richie McCaw, Ma’a Nonu, Charles Piutau, Kieran Read and debutant Codie Taylor scored tries, while flyhalf Dan Carter, who appeared more confident at challenging the defensive line, slotted 14 points with the boot.
Photo: Reuters
“We went up four or five gears and we needed to, to be honest,” Hansen said in a televised interview. “For most of the game, we were pretty good, but there was a period there for about 10 or 15 minutes when we went to sleep and let them back into it.”
“Overall a pass mark,” he added.
The All Blacks imposed their pace on the game from the beginning and ran the Pumas defense ragged, with Piutau’s try early in the second half a display of their attacking intent and ability to execute it.
The left winger scored after backs and forwards combined to create a wave of runners all offloading in the tackle and changing angles as the Pumas were stretched thin.
Such was the pace of the game during that period that Pumas captain Agustin Creevy was too out of breath to complain to referee Craig Joubert about what he thought had been a forward pass during another All Blacks’ attack.
“For the first game of the tournament, we played well in some moments, but to beat the All Blacks, you need to do everything well,” Creevy said through an interpreter after the game. “We played some parts of the game in good shape, but we need to improve.”
Speed was not the only issue the Pumas faced, with their vaunted scrum dominated throughout to the point where the All Blacks shunted them off the ball to secure a tighthead.
The All Blacks’ aggressive defense also put pressure on the Pumas in their own half, which resulted in Read’s try when he seized on the panic and scooped up a loose pass to cross.
However, Hansen and McCaw were not impressed with allowing Creevy to score twice from rolling mauls following attacking line-outs.
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