The All Blacks travelled to La Plata, Argentina knowing victory would seal the Rugby Championship title and some brilliant conversions from the New Zealanders,
who capitalised big time on several Argentine errors, meant the visitors delivered the goods..
It was not only an emphatic victory for the All Blacks, it was also a historic one as they made it 22 matches without loss, their one blemish in that time being a draw with the Wallabies. Captain Richie McCaw also equaled a 43-year record set by the iconic Colin Meads as he wore the black jersey for the 133rd time.
The game was a collective victory for the All Blacks, but started off with the first-half penalties favouring the home side. Argentina were unable to convert these to points, but were able to make some big hits to halt the All Blacks’ progression across the paddock. The Argentine downfall came from a lack of discipline out on the field.
A try from Ben Smith, helped by Israel Dagg, at the 11th minute secured New Zealand’s lead, assisted by some on-form kicking from Beauden Barrett. The first five, starting his second test in the championship, was keen to remedy his kicking percentages from the last game. And he did just that, not missing a single penalty or conversion throughout the game.
And it just got worse for Argentina before half-time as the right wing side opened up for some beautiful play from Conrad Smith and Ben Smith with Dagg completing the move as he scored his second championship try with a run across the line.
Mistakes from both sides – giving the ball away, high tackles, and missed passes – meant the ball was travelling up and down the field early in the second half. The Pumas were a lot more accurate with the ball than the previous Test between the two teams. But the All Blacks were far more ruthless, doubling Argentina’s defensive tackles and showing superior form in the scrums.
By half-time, the score was 20-6. It looked as though the All Blacks would earn an easy try at the 54th minute with a kick from Beauden Barrett going straight in to Julian Savea’s arms and across the try line. But a review from the TMO showed that Savea was offside and the try was nullified.
Savea was back at it again less than two minutes later, the powerful winger pushing through three tackles for the try line and earning New Zealand their third try.
Argentina spent much of the second half trying to creatively work around the All Blacks defence, but could not convert. The side should be credited for their persistency, but errors prevented Argentina from making the most of their time with the ball.
New Zealand were able to earn their fourth try in the 67th minute when Jerome Kaino sliced through Argentina’s defence to sprint down the field. Kaino then passed to powerhouse Savea, who offloaded to TJ Perenara for the try.
Argentina were finally able to give the crowd something to cheer at the final minute, when some clever passing allowed Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias to slip through to a try for the home side.
Pumas supporters celebrated by flinging their seat cushions into the air in support of their side’s last-minute scoring . But the final score was all black, 34-13 in favour of the New Zealand side.