Argentina v New Zealand - Teams and Prediction

PREVIEW: The All Blacks have developed a greater respect for Argentina after the South Americans recorded a couple of victories over them in the last few seasons.

New Zealand will be overwhelming favourites for Friday’s World Cup semifinal clash but results in 2020 and 2022 show that anything is possible on game day.

The Pumas ended their losing streak against the All Blacks with a 25-15 victory in Sydney three years ago before they won their first Test against the All Blacks in New Zealand in 2022 with a 25-18 win.

The All Blacks have since recorded comfortable victories over the Pumas, but head coach Ian Foster knows that a World Cup knockout match is a whole new level of rugby.

“The past sets us up beautifully for both teams. We do know each other but we don’t know each other terms of a Rugby World Cup, so at this stage in the tournament it’s new territory for us and as we’ve seen World Cups are very different,” said Foster.

“We have learnt to greatly respect Argentina.

“They have a rich history of overachieving at the World Cup and have done a fantastic job to get here at the same level we are, so it is going to be a heck of a game.”

There has also been no discussion of the ‘favourites tag’ in the All Black camp ahead of the semifinal.

“Firstly, you’ve never heard us say we’re favourites. We know these games are do or die,” Foster explained.

“We’re going to have to improve our performance. The stage gets bigger at this time in the tournament and you’ve got to grow your game. That’s our strong focus.

“The best team on the night wins – Argentina has done that to us.”

The All Blacks are coming off a bruising quarterfinal win against Ireland and they are seeing the clash against Argentina as another ‘Final’.

“We had to play a final last week – every game was like that. It was a fantastic weekend,” said Foster.

“Every team, every game was pushed to the edge. That’s a reflection of where world rugby is at – you have to go bone deep to get to where we’ve got. It’s a matter of treasuring each week – you’ve got to give it everything. There’s no tomorrow – it’s a very simple formula.”

“Argentina are a very different team. We know the breakdown is going to be the same battle as when we’ve played against them in the last three years. They’ve got some backs who want to play and open you up.

“Can we meet this challenge at the standard we want to?”

The preview continues below…

Meanwhile, Argentina head coach Michael Cheika believes his team has what it takes to make some history on Friday.

“New Zealand have been playing for many years, they are the No.1 team in world rugby. We know the challenge they represent. This is the World Cup,” said Cheika.

“The challenge is daily, every week and we’re pleased to be here. We know the challenges are getting harder and harder.

“The history is not in our favour but it is up to us to change that. We have a chance to on Friday and we will be ready. When we arrive on the field we will do what we do best.”

Cheika added: “New Zealand has always been an example in rugby, a benchmark.

“They make you think of high-level skills, a very open game, but there is always a threat in the line-out, scrums, mauls and rucks.

“I think in a World Cup semifinal they are dangerous everywhere.

“The contest in the line-out and the scrums, that is where the greatest challenges will lie.

“We have been training as best we can, we will be ready. We will see what happens.”

Players to watch:

For Argentina: Gonzalo Bertranou gets the nod at scrumhalf this week with Tomás Cubelli dropping out of the matchday 23. Bertranou has a good boot on him and his speed around the fringes could make life difficult for the All Blacks. Wing Emiliano Boffelli is not only a threat out wide, but he also has an accurate boot on him that can keep the scoreboard ticking over if things get tight. No.8 Facundo Isa was a powerhouse against Wales last weekend and he will be called on to get his team over the advantage line again. Lock Tomas Lavanini can’t hold back on the aggression, but he also has to keep that temper in check and not get a card out there. Captain and hooker Julian Montoya put in a huge shift against Wales and his leadership will be vital on Friday.

For New Zealand: Wing Mark Tele’a is back in the starting XV and the Argentinians will need to keep a close eye on him. He can be a hard man to stop with his speed and strength out wide. His teammate on the other wing, Will Jordan, can also be a handful and he showed it against the Irish last weekend. Flyhalf Richie Mo’unga outplayed Johnny Sexton last weekend and if he gets going again, the Argentina defence could be ripped to shreds. Ardie Savea is a colossus with ball in hand and he is a player that has no problem putting his body on the line in the rucks. Captain Sam Cane led by example against the Irish and he will be out to disrupt Argentina’s possession at the breakdowns on Friday.

Key RWC info

• This will be only the second time they have met in the knock-out stages of a World Cup, after their 2011 quarterfinal match at Eden Park.
• Despite an average winning margin of 21 points across all three previous meetings, the first half has been a tight contest, with 5.3 points at the break.
• The All Blacks have outscored Argentina by a combined total of 62-12 in the second half across their three previous World Cup meetings.
• Los Pumas have only led the All Blacks at half-time once at a World Cup, 13-12 in 2015.
• This will be the eighth all-Southern Hemisphere World Cup semifinal.

Prediction

@rugby365com: New Zealand by 16 points.

Teams:

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Emiliano Boffelli, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matias Moroni.

New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (captain), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Dalton Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown.

Date: Friday, October 20
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Kick-off: 21.00 (19.00 GMT, 16.00 ART, 08.00 Saturday, October 21 NZDT)
Expected: Periods of rain with a temperature of around 12°C around kick-off time. It will also be breezy.
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Additional source: @WorldRugby