Rugby Championship all even after Pumas stun All Blacks
The Rugby Championship
Codie Taylor celebrated his 100th Test in style — just not with the victory he would have hoped for. Photo: AFP
Image: AFP
Springbok supporters who were in bed before midnight on Saturday woke up to the surprise news that Argentina had beaten New Zealand 29-23 in Buenos Aires.
It was a shock, mostly because the Kiwis had little trouble disposing of the temperamental Pumas 41-24 the week before. The victory marked the first-ever defeat of the All Blacks on Argentine soil and the fourth occasion in five years that the South Americans have prevailed over New Zealand.
The teams first played each other in 1985, and the Pumas lost 36 games in a row before breaking their duck in a Covid-era match in Australia. The mighty aura of the All Blacks appears well and truly shattered, and the Argentina win has opened up the Rugby Championship, with all four teams having won one game and lost one.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said before the Championship kicked off that it would be the most open competition in years, and he has been proved correct.
The weekend’s results — with the Boks beating the Wallabies in Cape Town and the All Blacks losing — mean the Eden Park clash on September 6 has become even more intriguing, as there is precious little to choose between South Africa and New Zealand.
It will be a long flight home to New Zealand for coach Razor Robertson, who must now contemplate what is going wrong with his team. Robertson — the multiple title-winning Crusaders coach — succeeded Ian Foster 18 months ago, and already five losses have occurred. That might not sound like a lot, but relative to the All Blacks’ history of success, it is significant.
Robertson will be concerned that his team does not appear to be on an upward trajectory after struggling to put away an under-strength France in three matches and then having mixed fortunes in Argentina.
The rugby world is used to the All Blacks being super-skilled and wonderfully clinical, but both France and Argentina have beaten them in the aerial contest. It is uncharacteristic for New Zealand to fumble restarts, but that happened repeatedly in Buenos Aires. The backline did not fire on Saturday night, and, astonishing as it might sound, the All Blacks are short of playmakers.
How Robertson must wish he had Richie Mo’unga back from Japan to run the show.
The All Blacks managed just 177m from their 82 carries, while the fleet-footed Pumas made 535m from 148 carries. New Zealand were forced to do the majority of the tackling, making 187 tackles to Argentina’s 96.
Then there was the discipline, or lack of it. Yellow cards went to Will Jordan, Tupou Vaa’i and Sevu Reece. For seven minutes, the All Blacks were down to 13 men.
The All Blacks will be gutted that they could not mark hooker Codie Taylor’s 100th Test with victory.
“That hurts. That’s tough,” Robertson said, after the final whistle.
“Our execution was not good. I’m not sure I can give the reason why right now. We want to play with a lot more care than that. For Codie … it wasn’t what we wanted. We’re going to have to look deep.”