‘Sneaky’ Smith nabs a try
For a fleeting moment Aaron Smith was struck by a sense of dread.
The halfback, having darted through Argentina’s defensive wall to score the crucial try that turned the tide in the All Blacks’ 26-16 win, said the movement happened so quickly he wondered if referee Wayne Barnes would find fault with it.
With his side awarded a penalty, All Blacks captain Richie McCaw instructed Dan Carter to kick for touch so his men could launch a play off their attacking lineout in the 57th minute.
The dividends were sweet: Smith snaffled the egg from a ruck and spotted enough daylight to give him the confidence to make the all-important dart past Pumas halfback Tomas Cubelli.
The All Blacks, who had trailed 13-12 at halftime and were struggling to counter the Pumas’ aggression, jumped ahead thanks to Smith and Dan Carter’s goal kicking.
Smith’s try happened in an instant, but he immediately had doubts.
‘‘I sort of bumped into Richie and I thought I might have checked someone and it might not be a try – but there was no-one around,’’ Smith recollected. ‘‘ It was a bit of a blur to be honest. Next thing I was just running back to halfway.’’
On a night when the New Zealanders looked tentative and lacked cohesion in the first half, Smith was their best performers. Lock Brodie Retallick was named the official man of the match but Smith was the one who pulled them out of the pit.
Unlike like several team-mates who played like they were short of a gallop, Smith completed his tick sheet when it came to accuracy, solidity and discipline. Then came the try that put his side ahead.
In the seconds after he dived to the famous Wembley pitch he wore a grin of immense satisfaction as he looked into the stands of the vast arena. He also admitted he didn’t follow his first instinct to throw a pass to Highlanders teammate Ben Smith.
‘‘It was sneaky, it was good. I was just happy to get over the line to be honest. I thought we were going to go all the way with the maul and that didn’t happen. I was actually trying to throw it to Ben Smith on the blind, but their guy rushed up between the pass and I had to sort of carry and I was lucky there was that bit of space there.’’
Smith should have also had a try assist but replacement flanker Sam Cane failed to hold the pass.
Right wing Nehe MilnerSkudder also dropped a peach of a pass by Sonny Bill Williams with the line wide open and No 8 Kieran Read throw a pass forward and out when flanker Richie McCaw was looming down the left flank.
Smith said he wasn’t concerned about the All Blacks losing two men with yellow cards.
‘‘It was one of those things. We knew moments weren’t going to go our way and we lost two guys [McCaw and Conrad Smith]. Once you are a man down they [Argentina] played wide rugby and we couldn’t slow their ball down.’’