All Blacks roar back to crush Pumas
Auckland, New Zealand, AFP: New Zealand thumped Argentina 42-10 on Saturday as Will Jordan grabbed two of their six tries in The Rugby Championship to avenge last week’s shock defeat by the Pumas.
Fly-half Damian McKenzie scored 17 points in Auckland as the All Blacks defied wet conditions in a skilled attacking display to maintain their 30-year unbeaten record at Eden Park. It was vast improvement on the 38-30 loss in Wellington last week, with an explosive first-half performance pushing the hosts 35-3 ahead through five converted tries.
It was built on a dominant display from the forwards, who heeded the call for “redemption” issued to them by coach Scott Robertson after they were outplayed a week earlier. Argentina’s scrum was overpowered and they weren’t the same force at the breakdown in a performance punctuated by mistakes.
Their lone try came late in the match to fullback Juan Cruz Mallia, meaning the second half was drawn 7-7, helped by tighter defence from the visitors. It was New Zealand’s best performance under first-year coach Robertson in his fifth match in charge.
Victory continued New Zealand’s remarkable record in Auckland, where they’ve won 50 Tests since their last defeat, against France in 1994. McKenzie landed all his six conversion attempts and his general play was superior to the first Test, mixing an astute long kicking game with some clever chips to counter the Pumas. The playmaker also opened the scoring with a try after pouncing on a chip from Jordie Barrett.
Santiago Carreras responded with a Pumas penalty goal before New Zealand captain Ardie Savea powered over for his 27th Test try — lifting him level with former skipper Richie McCaw for the most by an All Blacks forward. Wingers Caleb Clarke and Jordan were both put into space for tries — the latter capitalising on a blindside break from scrum-half TJ Perenara. McKenzie’s sweetly timed pass put Beauden Barrett across just before the interval.
Jordan continued the rout soon after the break, lifting him to 33 tries in as many Tests in his first starting appearance since last year’s World Cup. The game entered a lull before Mallia’s try and a late yellow card was shown to All Blacks hooker Asafo Aumua for a high tackle.