'Argentina weren't trying to win': Aaron Smith's take on Pumas gameplan

The All Blacks need more variation in their game given their ball-in-hand “mentality” is being exploited by opposition teams, says halfback Aaron Smith.

With struggling New Zealand trying to avert another Rugby Championship defeat against Argentina in Hamilton on Saturday, Smith said his team needed to be prepared to kick the ball rather than constantly seek to run with it.

“I think variety is key, but the mentality from our boys is to want to be able to hold the ball, build pressure and use our attack,” he told reporters.

“As we see with the north hemisphere teams and the teams so far in the Rugby Championship, they want to give us the ball.

“They don’t really want to play and they’re really attacking our breakdown.

“If you attack with the ball for long periods of time, you’re giving them opportunities and they’re taking them.”

Argentina needed only one try in their 25-18 win over the All Blacks in Christchurch, the visitors’ first win over the hosts in New Zealand, as they built pressure and knocked over penalties.

South Africa, who have long employed a kicking game to great effect, beat New Zealand in the Rugby Championship opener in Mbombela, though lost their next clash at Ellis Park.

Smith said there were honest conversations with flyhalf Richie Mo’unga about being aligned in their game plan.

“Because teams at the moment are going 2-3 phases and just kicking it, because that’s their tactic, and they try to punish us at the breakdown and that’s what the Argies did,” he said.

“Argentina weren’t trying to win the game, they were just trying not to lose it. They used their defence for that and we played into their hands.

“Variation, that was something we looked at hard in the review and we can still use our kicking game, use the ball to pressure teams and obviously turn them around.”