Player ratings: Scrum power
Argentina came, they saw, but they failed to conquer – suffering a 9-28 loss at the hands of New Zealand in their Rugby Championship outing in Napier on Saturday.
Rain came down heavy from the outset and it was expected to favour the forward-orientated. That did not materialise.
There was drama, especially given the errors from the match officials.
When the New Zealand commentators have a go at the referee for his gross mistakes against the Pumas, then you know the match official had a bad day at the office.
But the clueless clown with the whistle is not the reason why Argentina lost. The All Blacks simply had too much skill.
Argentina's most potent weapon remains their scrum, while some of their backs have underutilized skills.
Jan de Koning rates the Argentinean players!
15 Joaquín Tuculet:
Could not fault him for his general play given the conditions, even though he slipped a tackle or two. Did seem to fade in the latter stages.
6/10
14 Horacio Agulla:
Lucky to get away with an early professional foul and also missed some tackles. Workrate was poor.
5/10
13 Marcelo Bosch:
Very quiet game by his standard and reduced mainly to a defensive role.
6/10
12 Juan Martín Hernández:
Showed that he played at flyhalf before, but also had his share of errors and missed tackles.
5/10
11 Lucas González Amorosino:
Was virtually anonymous for most of the game.
4/10
10 Nicolás Sánchez:
Showed his ability to read the game in very testing conditions, but his defensive frailties were exposed.
5/10
9 Martín Landajo:
Was involved in directing mauls and made a few sniping breaks. Argentina's most effective back.
7/10
8 Leonardo Senatore:
Showed some great skills at the back of the scrum, made plenty of tackles and even won a couple of line-outs.
7/10
7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón:
Showed some neat kicking skills and saved his team on more than one occasion. Solid defence.
7/10
6 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe:
Maybe he didn't make many metres with his carries, but flawless on defence and won a good number of line-outs.
7/10
5 Tomás Lavanini:
Worked very hard on defence and won most of his team's line-outs.
6/10
4 Mariano Galarza:
Did the basics – making some tackles and winning a few line-outs. But disappeared at times.
5/10
3 Ramiro Herrera:
Some monster scrums, showed their performances against South Africa were not 'flash-in-the-pan'. Rest of his game could be better.
6/10
2 Agustín Creevy (captain):
His basics were acceptable and he made all his tackles. Steady, rather than spectacular.
6/10
1 Marcos Ayerza:
Showed why he is now rated as arguably the most powerful loosehead prop in the world. Also produced some impressive work on defence.
7/10
Replacements:
16 Matías Cortese (on for Creevy, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
17 Lucas Noguera Paz (on for Ayerza, 65th min):
Hardly noticed him.
4/10
18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (on for Herrera, 66th min):
Made no impact whatsoever.
4/10
19 Matías Alemanno (on for Galarza, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Rodrigo Báez (on for Senatore, 65th min):
Was no factor in the game.
4/10
21 Tomás Cubelli (on for Landajo, 54th min):
Had a few ineffective snipes and made a couple of tackles.
5/10
22 Santiago González Iglesias (on for Sanchez, 73rd min):
Not enough time to be rated.
23 Juan Imhoff (on for Agulla, 65th min):
One run in which he made some metres, made one tackle and conceded a penalty.
4/10
