Second-string scrum paves way to victory
If ever the All Blacks pack threatened to reveal vulnerabilities, this was the occasion.
Missing five — six even — of their preferred starting eight, you would expect to find major deficiencies.
No Brodie Retallick, Kieran Read, Liam Squire, Owen Franks and Joe Moody, and with Dane Coles still battling his way back, this was some effort from the supposed next tier.
Look no further than Ardie Savea for evidence of those stepping up. In truth, he’s been doing it all year.
Props Ofa Tuungafasi and Karl Tu’inukuafe, along with third-choice lock Scott Barrett, weren’t far behind either.
Thrown in the deep end somewhat following Luke Whitelock’s late removal from No 8 due to sickness, Savea handled the boot man role with aplomb.
So much so, his tag team combination with the ever-impressive Sam Cane may have given the All Blacks a hint of just what is possible there.
Switching loose forward roles is no easy feat. The back of the scrum demands much different skills from those on the openside but Savea showed few difficulties in this Buenos Aires outing.
His speed off the scrum, presence at the front of the lineout and dynamic ability to consistently break tackles frequently put the All Blacks on the front foot.
In a perfectly balanced one-two punch, Cane nabbed a couple of turnovers and produced his typically relentless punishing defensive performance. And Shannon Frizell, while quiet on attack, made a mountain of tackles.
Other than a couple of wayward Codie Taylor throws, collectively the All Blacks pack laid a brilliant platform.
They did this by contesting everything. From throwing up two jumpers on their own line to annihilating the Pumas’ embarrassing scrum, this was a show of force and the ultimate demonstration of their unrivalled depth.
Barrett continued his outstanding season with another workaholic effort. Told to improve his physicality, he has heeded those instructions to make his presence felt on a regular basis.
The thing that makes the All Blacks so challenging to contain is their range of attacking threats.
One minute, Tuungafasi and Tu’inukuafe are pushing forward with the weight of their teammates behind them. The next, they throw offloads in the midfield and short balls close to the line.
With so many dangers in the backline, the Pumas may have been surprised by the direct nature of the All Blacks at times.
Rieko Ioane and Waisake Naholo, in a return to the All Blacks’ form back three, finished the spoils but those came from the foundations of the big boys up front.
Changes off the bench did little to lessen their dominance. Patrick Tuipulotu in particular added impact.
The Pumas, perhaps feeling the weight of home expectation after wins over the Boks and Wallabies, were underwhelming before a brief late surge.
Their set piece fell apart. Their rolling maul was repeatedly repelled. They fumbled passes, lost the ball in contact, failed to capitalise on a yellow card and struggled with largely static ball.
This was their worst performance of the Rugby Championship.
The highlights reel may not show it but the undoubted star of this match was the All Blacks scrum.
Five metres out from their own line, the pack cranked up the heat to earn a penalty. In the final 10 minutes, with two new props in Angus Ta’avao on debut and Tim Perry, they steamrolled the Pumas once again to set up Anton Lienert-Brown’s try.
In this aspect, it is hard to recall a more crushing display. The purists will have savoured this effort over their Sunday fry-up. And much of the credit must be directed the way scrum guru Mike Cron.
The backs should be toasting the forwards as they celebarte another Rugby Championship title.