All Blacks player ratings vs Argentina | 2025 Rugby Championship

All Blacks player ratings: Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Cordoba played host to the second Test match of the 2025 Rugby Championship competition, where the All Blacks have beaten Argentina, 41-24.

There was some rust, some brutal collisions, but the All Blacks managed to get their Rugby Championship campaign off to a winning start against Argentina.

Here’s how Scott Robertson’s All Blacks rated.

1.  Ethan de Groot – 7/10
Scrum was excellent in the first half while he was on the field, and looked busy around the park making six tackles in the first 40 minutes. Off at 49 minutes with ten tackles and only two carries.

2.  Codie Taylor – 7
Lineout ball was clean and effective throughout his shift against Argentina, and got through a ton of work on both sides of the ball. Taylor’s lineout throwing was 100% from his 10 lineout attempts, before leaving the field in the 49th minute.

3.  Fletcher Newell – 7
Newell is one of the elite scrummagers going around at the moment, and the 25-year-old showed his class late in the first half, winning a penalty that resulted in an Ardie Savea try. Off at 49, after some strong carries and a heavy workload in Cordoba.

4.  Scott Barrett – 5
The returning All Blacks captain managed to get through his first game back from injury unscathed, while moving bodies constantly around the field on both sides of the ball. Barrett showed glimpses of the physicality the All Blacks are looking for, making ten tackles in his 55 minute shift.

5.  Fabian Holland – 7
The Dutch-born All Black continued his debut season with another special performance. It’s not the most flashy, barnstorming play style, but his constant work rate around the paddock is exactly what the All Blacks have needed for a while. 12 tackles and five carries against Argentina.

6.  Tupou Vaa’i – 7
Vaa’i was a nuisance at the breakdown throughout the game, winning a couple of important turnovers over the ball. Vaa’i didn’t dominate physically with ball in hand, and gave away a couple of needless penalties pushing the Argentinian halfback at the ruck.

The versatile Chiefs forward went to another level when both Barrett and Holland left the field, taking control of the lineout on both sides of the ball.

7.   Du’Plessis Kirifi – 6.5
It was an important Test match for Du’Plessis Kirifi, who needed to take his opportunity before Wallace Sititi comes back in the coming weeks. Kirifi didn’t manage to win any trademark turnovers at the breakdown, but was everywhere around the park for the All Blacks. Played the full 80 minutes, carrying seven times and making 13 tackles. Questions still remain about his size and physicality for the bigger Test matches.

8.  Ardie Savea – 8
No matter what the stakes are for the All Blacks, you know what you’re going to get from the All Blacks vice-captain.

Savea was inspirational on both sides of the ball, with a couple of important turnovers, one steal being in the middle of an Argentina lineout drive. Savea also found himself at the back of the dominant All Blacks rolling maul, going in to score his 30th Test try for the All Blacks.

9.  Cortez Ratima – 6
The Chiefs halfback had big shoes to fill with Cameron Roigard out with injury, and had a pretty mixed first half against Argentina. Ratima struggled to get quick and clean ball some of the time, but looked dangerous with ball in hand with his snipes off the side of the breakdown.

Ratima, like every good halfback, was there in support to score a try in the first half on the back of an inevitable Will Jordan break.   

10. Beauden Barrett – 6.5
The 136-Test veteran was near perfect off the boot, and his touch finders went deep inside the opposition 22. Barrett, as always, was a safe and steady hand for the All Blacks, without really dominating the game in Cordoba.

11. Rieko Ioane – 4
Very quiet in the first half and when he did get his hands on the ball, Pablo Matera was right there ready to push the ball loose. Couple of sloppy handling errors during the first 40, and then the 83-Test veteran was completely anonymous in the second half.

12. Jordie Barrett – 6
Barrett looked sharp early, putting a nice grubber kick deep inside the Argentina 22. Barrett had a solid first half without really breaking the game open, but contested brilliantly on multiple occasions in the air. The All Blacks No.12 would have liked to have some more opportunities in space during the match in Cordoba, but Argentina’s defence stood strong.

13. Billy Proctor – 4
Proctor failed to really make an impact with ball in hand, often deciding to shift it on to another back behind him. Proctor and Savea left a gaping hole in midfield for Argentina to exploit, before giving away another penalty later on after leaving his feet at a breakdown.

The Hurricanes midfielder then was penalised on the All Blacks line, which referee Pierre Brousset deemed to be a cynical, yellow card offence. Didn’t come back on the field after his ten minutes on the sideline.

14. Sevu Reece – 7
Found himself in acres of space down the right hand touchline after a cutout ball from Will Jordan, going in to score the opening try.

Gave away a penalty coming in from the side of the ruck, and his second half started with a poor pass to no one. Reece’s opportunities were limited, but he showcased his clinical finishing ability, after a couple of difficult passes to get under control before his tries.

15. Will Jordan – 7.5
What can’t the man do. We’re used to seeing Will Jordan cross the line, but it was his passing in the first half that created the first and second try for the All Blacks, for Reece on the right wing, and Ratima through the middle.

With the All Blacks having less opportunities in the second half, Jordan struggled to get his hands of the ball.

Replacements

16. Samisoni Taukei’aho – 8 – Continued the All Blacks’ dominance at lineout time, throwing with 100% accuracy from his five attempts. Taukei’aho was too hard to stop close to the line on two occasions, showcasing the impact he could have going forward off the bench.

17.  Ollie Norris – N/A

18. Pasilio Tosi – N/A

19. Patrick Tuipulotu – 6.5 – Tuipulotu made one crucial tackle on the All Blacks line, stopping Argentina when they were in for all money. Tuipulotu helped continue the All Blacks domination at the rolling maul, before picking off a few Argentina lineouts.

20. Samipeni Finau – N/A

21.  Finlay Christie – 5 – Christie marshalled the troops around the park well for the last 31 minutes, but made one error, box-kicking the ball out of play on the full.

22. Anton Lienert-Brown – 4 – Two errors in his short stint on the field, one in which was deemed a yellow card offence, taking an Argentinian player out without the ball.

23. Damian McKenzie – N/A