New Zealand will be looking for redemption when they take on Argentina in their second match of the 2024 Rugby Championship at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday morning.
Los Pumas stunned not just the All Blacks, but most onlookers as well as they claimed a famous 38-30 victory in Wellington last week, which sees them enter week two in second place in the standings.
Match preview
© Imago
If the Springboks' ruthless performance against the Wallabies earlier in the day was seen as impressive, Argentina's display against New Zealand last weekend can only be described as exceptional.
Felipe Contepomi's team, captained by Pablo Matera, who was arguably the standout player in the first round of the 2024 Rugby Championship, delivered a tremendous performance across all facets of the game.
The skipper, on his 103rd appearance for Los Pumas, racked up an impressive 37 metres from his 20 carries and consistently dragged his side over the gain line, while he was also a force in defence, making 11 of his 13 attempted tackles, posting an 84% success rate.
In the final 20 minutes of the match, the hosts appeared to be struggling for ideas, while Argentina seemed like a completely revitalised team compared to their lacklustre performance in Mendoza just over a month ago, where they lost 28-13 to an almost unrecognisable French team.
Of course, the big question now is whether they can manage a similar performance this week. Los Pumas have developed a bit of a reputation of inconsistency as illustrated in 2022 when they beat the All Blacks and followed up by suffering a 50-point shellacking a week later.
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Meanwhile, the defeat for the All Blacks saw their dismal record in Wellington extended, as they have now won only one of their last seven Test matches at the venue and are winless in their last five.
Last weekend's match will be remembered for many reasons, but a notable anomaly that will be difficult to forget was that the first scrum of the match did not occur until the 61st minute, which might have been a significant factor in the All Blacks' defeat.
The loss was Scott Robertson's first since taking up the All Blacks' head coaching role and while it is still much too premature to question his suitability for the role, what was evident was that he has several areas to improve upon as he adjusts from provincial to international Test rugby.
Notably, the hosts seemed to lack ideas in the final quarter of the match and serious consideration needs to be given to the fly-half position, where Damian McKenzie largely failed to link up play effectively to allow the wingers to have much of an impact.
Nevertheless, we know better than to write off the All Blacks after one underwhelming performance, especially as they now return to their spiritual home, Eden Park, where the side are unbeaten in their last 48 Tests dating all the way back to 1994.
New Zealand Rugby Championship form:
- L
New Zealand form (all competitions):
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
Argentina Rugby Championship form:
- W
Argentina form (all competitions):
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
Team News
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Robertson has made a few notable changes for this week's encounter, including three alterations in his backline which sees Mark Telea and Sevu Reece both dropped from the starting 15.
Will Jordan and Caleb Clarke are brought into the starting lineup, while the ever-dependable Beauden Barrett continues in the number 15 jersey, with Rieko Ioane and Jordie Barrett operating in midfield.
Contepomi has also made some alterations for the trip to Eden Park, with the most notable being the return of their first-choice hooker and influential captain Julian Montoya to the front row.
Thomas Gallo and Lucio Sordoni will join their skipper at the front of the pack, with the latter replacing Eduardo Bello, while Marcos Kremer will shift from the flank to lock alongside Pedro Rubiolo.
New Zealand starting lineup: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali'i, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Tupou Vaa'i, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Mark Tele'a
Argentina starting lineup: 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Marcos Kremer, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Tomás Lavanini, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Thomas Albornoz, 23 Bautista Delguy
We say: New Zealand 42-21 Argentina
While Los Pumas will arrive at Eden Park with their tails up, it is difficult to overlook the All Blacks' record here in Auckland, and we feel the hosts will bounce back with a commanding performance this weekend.
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Devesh Jaganath
