Pumas v All Blacks: Everything you need to know
New Zealand take on Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday knowing that victory will be sufficient to wrap up a second successive Rugby Championship title.
The All Blacks have dominated the competition in 2017, sweeping all before them with four straight victories – only one of which did not include a bonus point.
If Argentina are to stop Steve Hansen’s side from clinching the trophy in South America they will have to do something they have never done before – beat the reigning world champions.
Hansen had intended to use the trip to rest star playmaker Beauden Barrett, but the fly-half was a late call-up following the birth of Lima Sopoaga’s first child.
Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick have been given a break, though, with Scott Barrett and Luke Romano forming a new partnership at lock.
“I think the boys who have stepped into those roles have done a fantastic job and we’ve got a team who’s willing to put everything on the line,” said All Blacks captain Kieran Read.
“Their team is well balanced. They’ve certainly got a team on paper that is aggressive, they’ll attack us from anywhere with their backs.
“We’ve just got to be on our game. They’re physically pretty good up front. If we’re just off or not giving them the respect they deserve we could be in for a long day.”
Argentina have added experience with the return of Juan Manuel Leguizamon – the number eight set to make his 80th Test appearance for the Pumas – and will be keen for a strong response after a 45-20 defeat in Australia last time out.
#PersonalRugbyChampiinship
3 vs 2 y toma de decisión bien ejecutada por @tomaslezana ??#JugamosTodos pic.twitter.com/UlmJhtYNCx— Los Pumas (@lospumas) September 29, 2017
HEAD TO HEAD
Pumas: 0
All Blacks: 25
Draw: 1
KEY PLAYERS
Pumas – Agustin Creevy
The Pumas will need their captain to be at his best in Buenos Aires. The All Blacks are the only side yet to lose a scrum in the 2017 Rugby Championship, winning all 32 they have participated in. Hooker Creevy will be eager to put an end to that.
All Blacks – Rieko Ioane
The wing made his mark for the All Blacks with a double in the opening Test against the British and Irish Lions and has scored four tries in three appearances in the Rugby Championship. He has beaten more defenders (24) and made more breaks (12) than anyone else in this year’s competition.
THE LINE-UPS
Argentina: Joaquin Tuculet, Matias Moroni, Matias Orlando, Jeronimo de la Fuente, Emiliano Boffelli, Nicolas Sanchez, Tomas Cubelli; Lucas Noguera Paz, Agustin Creevy, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Guido Petti, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Tomas Lezana, Juan Manuel Leguizamon.
New Zealand: Damian McKenzie, Waisake Naholo, Anton Lienert-Brown, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Kane Hames, Dane Coles, Nepo Laulala, Luke Romano, Scott Barrett, Vaea Fifita, Matt Todd, Kieran Read.
PRE-MATCH TALK
Daniel Hourcade (Pumas): “Playing the All Blacks always represents a special challenge because it means facing the best team in the world and that motivates you in a very special way.”
Steve Hansen (All Blacks): “They’re growing their game away from just one or two areas. They’re trying to expand how they play and they’re starting to get better at it and I think it’ll be a really physical encounter.”
KEY STATS
– New Zealand are on target to break the record they set last year for points and tries in an edition of the Rugby Championship. They are averaging 6.8 tries and 46.3 points per game, last year’s totals averaged out at 43.7 points and 6.3 tries.
– Beauden Barrett has been involved in nine tries in this tournament already (three tries, six assists), more than any other player and two more than Argentina have managed in total as a team.
– Despite playing only 55 minutes, Kane Hames has conceded more penalties than anyone else in this tournament (6).
– The Pumas have lost nine of their last 10 matches, a solitary win against Georgia the only positive result in this run.
Comments on RugbyPass
Couple of things BS missed: wind was behind the Baby Blacks in the first half. Baby Boks got points from a scrum penalty in the final quarter against this ‘dominant pack’, and left three points on the park after a missed penalty.
8 Go to commentsSensible thoughts on this, Brett. Also worth considering we’ve sold 60k tickets for a game between the Rebels and the Lions next year. Got to be roughly $10m in ticket and game day revenue there.
5 Go to commentsUnsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
4 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
3 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
3 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
4 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
4 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
200 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
8 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
8 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
200 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
200 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
5 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
200 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
5 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
8 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
8 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to comments