Clinical All Blacks sink Pumas
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The All Blacks scored four unanswered tries in a clinical 28-9 victory over Argentina in wet conditions in Napier on Saturday.
The hosts scored two tries in each half to bag a full house of log points and extend the Pumas' Rugby Championship losing streak.
The slippery conditions made things tricky for both teams from the start, with the handling issues resulting in a few early scrums.
The visitors made a determined start to the game and took the ball deep into All Black territory as the teams traded early penalties.
The home side showed good patience in the tough conditions and they were eventually rewarded when Julian Savea charged through to claim a grubber from Conrad Smith and score.
Argentina responded with another penalty from Nicolás Sánchez after the All Blacks collapsed a scrum, which saw them breathing down the All Blacks' neck at 8-6 late in the first half.
However, the All Blacks struck again with a crucial try just before the break with Liam Messam cruising over after Barrett had made a break from a tighthead scrum on the half-time hooter.
They extended their lead to 18-6 when Barrett timed his pass perfectly to send Savea steaming through for his second try, but the flyhalf's goalkicking woes continued as he missed his third conversion.
Argentina needed to hit back if they were to have any chance of staying in the game, and should have scored when Leonardo Senatore charged a kick from Ma'a Nonu down, but the referee ruled that it was a knock on.
They had to be happy with the three points from a penalty after the resulting scrum to keep their hopes flickering, but the All Blacks restored their 12-point lead soon afterwards as Colin Slade landed his first kick.
The finishing touch was applied by scrumhalf Aaron Smith who glided over between the poles from a scrum to secure the bonus point.
The visitors fought hard until the final whistle but were left frustrated by the All Blacks defence as the hosts secured a comfortabe victory in the end.
Man of the match: Israel Dagg was impressive on his return and Beauden Barrett ran the show for the All Blacks despite his dodgy goalkicking. For Argentina Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe was immense, but our award goes to Julian Savea for his deadly finishing ability in slippery conditions.
Moment of the match: The tighthead scrum that led to Liam Messam's try on the stroke of half-time.
Villain of the match: Argentina lock Tomás Lavanini for his unnecessary charge on New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw in a ruck.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries: Savea 2, Messam
Pens: Barrett, Slade
For Argentina:
Pens: Sanchez 3
Teams:
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.
Argentina: 15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Lucas González Amorosino, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 6 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (captain), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Matías Cortese, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Báez, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Juan Imhoff.
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garcès (France), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
TMO: Peter Marshall (Australia)
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