Player Ratings: Argentina
OPINION: Argentina completed a third-ever victory over the All Blacks and a second in two seasons in New Zealand, winning 38–30 in Wellington.
In Felipe Contepomi’s first season as head coach, Los Pumas looked like a well-oiled machine, causing the All Blacks’ defence all sorts of problems.
Showing their character and belief, Argentina stuck in the fight despite the All Blacks having several opportunities to cut them open. This doggedness, combined with their willingness to attack from deep, appeared to catch Scott Robertson’s side off guard.
Here is how Los Pumas performed in their monumental victory.
1 Thomas Gallo – 8
Picking up where he left off against France, the dynamic loosehead put in a strong 62-minute shift with 16 tackles. Around the breakdown, his power and ability to get low and drive through players disrupted the All Blacks’ flow whilst in attack. It ensured that Bertranou had a clean platform from which to operate.
2 Ignacio Ruiz – 7.5
Joining his front row partner Gallo in stopping the All Blacks at the gainline with 13 tackles, the hooker was immense for 62 minutes. In attack, he carried five times for some tough yards around the breakdown, which went a long way to setting the platform for his team’s marvellous attacking display.
3 Eduardo Bello – 6
Despite being a very unhappy tighthead given he didn’t get a chance to scrum during his 46 minutes on the pitch! He put in a workmanlike shift without any real noticeable impacts on proceedings.
4 Franco Molina – 6
Powering over for his first Test try to put his team in the lead for the first time in the match early in the second half was the cherry on top of a strong outing for the lock. Having done his work, the lock was replaced four minutes after scoring his try.
5 Pedro Rubiolo – 6
Putting in a serious sixty-minute shift, the lock had a strong outing at line-out time and was rock solid in directing Argentina’s kick-off receipt. On the stat sheet, he had a big defensive outing with 17 tackles, a turnover, and a defensive line-out win.
6 Pablo Matera (captain) – 8.5
Confrontational, snarky and clinical, Los Pumas’ skipper was a constant threat around the breakdown, and whilst he got caught a few times for infringing, his presence ensured the All Blacks over-committed to the ruck at times. On the other side of the ball, his willingness to carry (eight carries for 37 meters) sucked in the All Blacks defence allowing his backline to find mismatches in the wide channels.
7 Marcos Kremer – 9
Seek and destroy was the name of the game for Los Puma’s monstrous back row, who completed 22 tackles (one dominant) whilst repeatedly blowing up the All Blacks ruck.
8 Juan Martin Gonzalez – 8
Saracens’ hard-hitting loose forward put in one heck of a shift as he threw his weight around with some big hits and solid carries. It was line-out time where he had the most impact with his ability to get off the ground quickly, seeing him win six line-outs as the Argentinean’s go-to guy.
9 Gonzalo Bertranou – 7
Argentina’s conductor kept the tempo up as he delivered clean ball to the backline with 62 passes. Keeping the All Blacks defence honest as a sniping threat, Bertranou had a crack around the fringes three times and kicked superbly when needed.
10 Santiago Carreras – 9.5
Yet another performance that makes one think, ‘What are Gloucester up to?’ given his Premiership side routinely plays him at fullback rather than handing him the reins as the chief playmaker. Once again, when pulling the strings for Los Pumas, Carreras was a constant threat at the line, with eight carries for 62 meters. To simply assess him as a running flyhalf would be lazy given his ability to control proceedings with the boot when needed. This being said, his ability to split the defence before finding a teammate makes him the perfect conductor of Felipe Contepomi’s all-court attacking game plan. From the kicking tee, he was superb with four penalties and three conversions, with the final shot sealing the win and denying the All Blacks a losing bonus point.
11 Mateo Carreras – 8
Lethal, in counter-attack, the wing exploited gaps in the All Blacks kick chase defence and completely wrong-footed Damian McKenzie for a well-taken try just before half-time to get his team back into the contest. During the second half, he would continue to be a threat both in attack and defence, even winning an important turnover.
12 Santiago Chocobares – 8
For all the thrills and frills in the Argentine attack, Chocobares was the man to straighten things up, which got his team over the gainline. This willingness to take the ball to the line ensured that the All Blacks couldn’t simply just drift across in defence and when they did he would either break the line or suck in multiple defenders. Defensively, he had a bit of time outing with 18 tackles as he, by and large, got the better of his opposite number, Jordie Barrett.
13 Lucio Cinti – 7.5
Bursting into the line at key points, Cinti’s finishing ability was on full display as he crossed for his team’s first try of the match. Forming a strong combination with Chocobares, Cinti was a key second distributor in the outside channel and was crucial in cutting off the All Blacks’ ability to bring their wingers into the game.
14 Matias Moroni – 7.5
Four carries, two line breaks, and sixty metres made says it all about the winger’s performance. Mirroring the effect of his back three teammates, Moroni scorched the All Blacks kick chase time and again throughout the contest. It was his willingness to come off his wing that caught the eye, however, as he routinely popped up on Carreras’s shoulder to exploit the All Blacks’ inside defenders.
15 Juan Cruz Mallia – 9
Simply fizzing with energy, the Toulouse star posed the All Blacks defence all sorts of questions many of which they didn’t have the answers for. From the boot, his kicking game was pinpoint with a grubber kick down the left-hand touchline early in the second half, dribbling out a meter out from the All Blacks line. Defensively he read the All Blacks kicking game like a book and found plenty of joy when returning fire with mid-length up and unders.
Replacements:
16 Agustin Creevy – 8
Argentina’s most capped player did the business at 39-years-old as he came on for what was only the second try of the contest in the 63rd minute. Featuring at a point in the match where cool heads were needed, he completed his tasks masterfully and barged over for the go-ahead try with ten minutes to play.
17 Mayco Vivas – 7.5
Completely outsmarted Fletcher Newell at scrum time, firstly in the build-up to Creevy’s try and then again three minutes later as he won a pressure-relieving penalty for his team inside their own 22.
18 Joel Sclavi – 7.5
Argentina’s one-man bomb squad has picked up where he left off for La Rochelle as the ultimate impact carrier off the bench. Carrying three times, making five tackles and playing a major role in Argentina’s scrum dominance, the veteran had one of his best outings in Los Pumas colours.
19 Efrain Elias – 6.5
Taking over from try scorer Molina, Elias did the hard yards as he cleared rucks with precision and joined his teammates in the defensive effort with some good shots.
20 Tomas Lavanini – 7.5
Another veteran who brought an impact off the bench, the confrontational lock, got stuck into the All Blacks from the second he entered the fray. Hitting rucks with ferocity and carrying hard around the breakdown, his twenty-minute shift upped the tempo of his side’s attack.
21 Joaquin Oviedo – 6.5
Taking over from Juan Martin Gonzalez, he didn’t drop the ante one iota as he made a few key tackles and had some incisive runs late on in the build-up to Creevy’s try.
22 Lautaro Bazan Velez – N/A
Unused substitution.
23 Tomas Albornoz – 7
Argentina’s only backline substitution came into a melting pot contest and offered another bow to the Argentine quiver. Operating as a second distributor and long-range kicker, Albornoz relieved some pressure on Santiago Carreras and forced the All Blacks to react to another kicking option.
@RugbyPass
