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'Bitterly disappointed' All Blacks rue execution blunders against Pumas
By Ned Lester
Los Pumas got the dream start to their Rugby Championship campaign on Saturday night, securing a win over the All Blacks on New Zealand soil for just the second time in history.
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It was a high-scoring affair, with a final score of 30-38 registered. The tally was the most the Pumas have ever registered against New Zealand.
But All Blacks midfielder Jordie Barrett insists his team’s problem-solving throughout the game was pointing them in the right direction, with execution to blame for the result.
“We had good solutions throughout that game and our leaders led well but we just didn’t execute when we had those opportunities which is the disappointing thing,” he told media soon after the full-time whistle.
“We’ll go back, get better individually, look in the mirror first and control the way we prepare for these guys next week.
“They’re a good side, you’ve got to respect them and they’re getting better each week”
With some wayward passes getting intercepted and one particular passage even seeing the team go from halfway to their own in-goal purely from consecutive poor passes, Barrett was asked if the team’s confidence took a hit.
“Lack of execution can maybe hurt your confidence a wee bit, but we’re making no excuses, we didn’t execute when we needed to tonight.
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“We had few opportunities, and a lot of that was a lack of opportunity through Argentina’s good play. It’s Test match footy, you don’t get a whole lot of opportunities and I just think we had to apply a bit more pressure when we had those. It’s something we’ll certainly look at.”
The Rugby Championship’s competitiveness has been criticised in recent seasons, but with three wins over serial tournament champions New Zealand since 2020, Los Pumas’ continued growth has made this year’s tournament anyone’s game.
If the All Blacks are to bounce back and claim another title win, it will take a much-improved effort at their stronghold of Eden Park.
“We’ve just got to go back and look at the way we prepared this week, Monday to Friday, and see if, individually, you can get better, what can change going forward this week and we’ll need a little bit of change.
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“Argentina are a good side and we respect them, but, we’re bitterly disappointed with what we put out there tonight.”
Barrett, a Super Rugby centurion with Wellington’s Hurricanes, said while the team didn’t take much notice of their recent record in New Zealand’s capital city, just one win in the past six years was a painful reality.
“It’s disappointing, being in Wellington we want to put on a performance we’re proud of in front of New Zealanders and fans that we care about.
“It’s not something we spoke about, it’s a bit of an inconvenient fact.
“It’s disappointing, we’re proud All Blacks and we want to put a performance out there that New Zealanders can be proud of and we didn’t do that tonight. So, we’ll get better.”
