New Zealand blitz Pumas as Springboks bounce back
THE All Blacks produced their most dominant performance of the season to steamroll Argentina 53-3 in Hamilton yesterday and put their Rugby Championship defence back on track.
After suffering their first-ever home defeat to Argentina in Christchurch a week ago, the All Blacks brought the same starting 15 but a ruthless mindset as they tore the visitors to shreds with seven tries in the bonus-point win at Waikato Stadium.
Ethan De Groot, Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane crossed early as the home side stormed to a 24-3 lead at half-time before Jordie Barrett, Ardie Savea, Brodie Retallick and Beauden Barrett added tries to complete the rout. Fly-half Richie Mo’unga added 14 points off the tee.
All Blacks captain Sam Cane, under huge pressure after struggling in recent tests, came off to a warm ovation from the rain-soaked crowd after helping set up Jordie Barrett’s 61st-minute try.
‘This week we were in the game right from the start and were able to turn that into points so it was a pretty enjoyable night,’ said Cane.
‘I thought our defence was outstanding. We were able to force them into a heck of a lot of errors but on top of that our discipline was really good so we were able to capitalise on that and counter-attack.’
It was a dirty night for Michael Cheika’s Pumas, who racked up handling errors, lost fly-half Santiago Carreras to an apparent thigh injury and had lock Tomas Lavanini yellowcarded all in the opening half.
They were scoreless until Emiliano Boffelli knocked over a penalty in the 33rd minute and then shut out thereafter.
Lavanini dropped a pass deep in defence in the opening minute, paving the way for an early Mo’unga penalty, before prop De Groot thundered over the line from five metres out in the 10th minute.
Ioane sliced through the midfield nine minutes later, dishing off to Clarke, who crossed at the left corner to put the home side 17-0 up.
A Samisoni Taukei’aho try was cancelled on review due to a knockon in the buildup, but the All Blacks had their third five-pointer to Ioane two minutes before the break.
With Lavanini yellow-carded for foul play, Cane opted for a fivemetre scrum and Ioane burst through under the posts after quick hands from fellow centre David Havili.
Argentina battled to hold back the tide of black jerseys after the break until Barrett and Savea slammed the door shut with a twotry burst from the hour-mark.
Retallick marked his comeback from a broken cheekbone by barging over six minutes from the final whistle, before Beauden Barrett completed the statement win with their seventh try a few minutes after the siren.
Meanwhile, Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber was delighted with the turnaround from last week’s loss to Australia, as an experimental side ran in four tries to one to beat the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship yesterday.
The visitors tore into the Aussies from the start and were well worth their 24-8 victory in front of 38,292 fans, a vocal minority supporting the Springboks, at the new Sydney Football Stadium.
‘Last week we created a couple of opportunities and didn’t take them. I thought that was better today,’ he said.
Nienaber had made eight changes to his side, several forced by injury, handing teenage winger Canan Moodie his debut and moving full-back Damian Willemse up into the line at fly-half.
Moodie repaid him with the team’s second try, while Willemse was named Man of the Match after an assured performance in the playmaking role.
‘Very happy and proud of
Canan,’ said Nienaber. ‘We’ve been following him for some time.
‘There were some injuries and he was the fifth or sixth rightwinger. In the last four games in the Rugby Championship, we’ve used 32 players, which is quite tough on the team.
‘Whilst trying to win the Rugby Championship we also need to get some answers on some positions going into the World Cup. The thing you sacrifice is continuity.’
Next up for the Springboks – who are second in the championship on points difference behind New Zealand – are two tests against Argentina.
Nienaber said he would look at who was available after assessing any injuries but did not rule out more experiments, with the World Cup title defence a little more than a year away.
‘I know sometimes that comes with an element of risk but we need some answers,’ he said.