All Blacks in second rout of Wallabies

THE All Blacks head into the gap week in the Rugby Championship firmly in control of the southern hemisphere competition and eager to face a resurgent Argentina in Hamilton on September 10.

Steve Hansen’s side avoided getting too sucked into the niggly tactics by the Wallabies in their 29-9 victory at Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday, scoring four tries to none to record their second bonus-point victory.

The world champions have the maximum 10 competition points, with the Pumas and Springboks on five points after they shared the honours in their two clashes, with Daniel Hourcade’s team claiming a 26-24 win in Salta on Saturday.

“It’s going to make our Hamilton game a goodie isn’t it?” Hansen said yesterday.

“They were pretty unlucky last time,” he said, referring to the Pumas’ last-gasp loss to the Springboks in Nelspruit last week. “They were in the hunt until the last few minutes.”

Hansen’s team have never lost to the Pumas, but have been pushed extremely close in their last few encounters, particularly in their opening game at last year’s Rugby World Cup.

Such was the closeness of that result, the All Blacks only won 26-16, that many pundits in Britain started to write off Hansen’s side without giving the Pumas the credit they deserved.

Argentina eventually finished fourth in the tournament as all four southern hemisphere sides made the semifinals.

The Pumas have effectively spent the entire year together since, with the majority of their players turning out for the Jaguares in the expanded Super Rugby competition this year.

Hansen now has the luxury to take a deep breath for the next few days before his side reassemble next Sunday for their clash with the Pumas.

He said there were no injury concerns from their clash with the Wallabies, with hooker Codie Taylor and inside centre Ryan Crotty expected to be available after they suffered head knocks in the 42-8 win in Sydney.

Both could have played the Wellington game, he said, but team management chose to err on the side of caution.

Midfielder George Moala is also expected back in time for the September 17 clash against the Springboks in Christchurch, while winger Waisake Naholo should be fit for their final two games in Buenos Aires on October 1 and in Durban on October 8.

Despite the return of midfielders Crotty and Moala, the performance of debutant Anton Lienert-Brown on Saturday earned plaudits from Hansen and his fellow players.

The 21-year-old’s deft handling set up Israel Dagg’s first try. – Reuters