With brilliance

the Pumas. Four tries in the first 26 minutes put the result beyond doubt and silenced the passionate locals.

After that, their defence scrambled superbly but, again, the attack was not patient or clinical enough, making for frustrating viewing.

Four yellow cards — two to each team — added to the patchy performance.

This was nowhere near the same quality as the 57-0 thrashing of the Springboks in Albany — a performance which set the bar in 2017. But the All Blacks did enough, with plenty of improvements to come.

Blown off the park early, the Pumas mounted a second half fightback. The All Blacks repelled several rolling mauls and survived two yellow cards — just as they did in the same fixture last year.

This time, the culprits were Matt Todd (a harsh call for pulling down a rolling maul) and captain Read (high shot).

Having led 29-3 at the break, collective execution went backwards fast. The All Blacks scored their only points of the second half in the final play, with a try on debut to Tasman fullback David Havili, who can be proud of his 10 minute cameo.

While the flashy stuff came from Barrett’s flick balls and McKenzie’s incisions, undoubtedly the most pleasing aspect from the All Blacks was the scrum. They demolished the Pumas pack in this area throughout.

Kane Hames answered critics, with the All Blacks earning penalties at crucial times even while one man down.

Luke Romano had some strong carries elsewhere in his best performance in a black jersey but the All Blacks scrum was the star, losing no dominance when they replaced the entire front row.

Wyatt Crockett’s late pressure culminated in Ramiro Herrera copping the Pumas’ second yellow.

But while the big boys can be well satisfied, this is a team game.

On the whole, young or old, the All Blacks will always expect much more accuracy.