Tuipulotu vows to keep cool
If anyone has a dollar to spare, have a flutter on Pablo Matera baiting Patrick Tuipulotu and his All Blacks team-mates in Newcastle on Saturday night.
While Argentina’s captain Matera has always twisted the throttle on the rugby field, his actions during his team’s TriNations matches suggest he’s got a greater desire to provoke opponents on or off the ball.
During last weekend’s 15-15 draw with the Wallabies in Newcastle, Matera yanked opposition hooker Brandon Paenga-amosa’s hair and earlier in the game Argentina’s star first five-eighth Nicolas Sanchez bravely slapped big prop Taniela Tupou on the chin.
When the All Blacks lost 25-15 to Argentina in Sydney on November 14, Matera, a colossus in defence and at the breakdown, marched into a scuffle involving All Blacks No 6 Shannon Frizell and later told referee Angus Gardner: ‘‘I am playing for my country. That is not respect.’’
So, it would be a fair bet to say Matera and his cohorts are gearing-up to needle the All Blacks again, and lock Tuipulotu knows it.
The key, he said, was for the All Blacks not to lose their rags.
‘‘As an All Black, against any squad, there is always going to be that sort of niggle,’’ Tuipulotu said.
‘‘The hardest thing is to walk away but sometimes that is what you have to do’’
Rather than lash out, Tuipulotu said it was best to ‘‘move on to the next job, and think about that to get the result we want’’.
Which sounds easy in theory. When the teams last met, Frizell was penalised for patting an opponent on the head and almost received a whack in the chops in return.
Hooker Dane Coles was also pinged for a similar act, albeit a far more gentle tap, as Gardner tried to maintain control.
Argentina have been happy to play without the ball and as the All Blacks and Wallabies have discovered, it’s madness to give away penalties through ill-discipline when goal kicker Sanchez has been in regal form.
Matera’s team has been criticised for not wanting to score tries, their sole five-pointer was from a Sanchez try against the All Blacks, but it could help them claim the Tri-nations crown. All three teams are locked on six points.
If Tuipulotu, 27, who had a quiet game in Sydney, and his team-mates can increase their intensity levels in all facets they could finally crack the South Americans’ defensive wall.
Having stitched together consecutive losses for the first time since 2011, they were earlier beaten by the Wallabies in Brisbane, the All Blacks have slipped to third on the World Rugby rankings.