'They were off': Former All Black criticises performance against Argentina

All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson will be pleased with the 17-point victory over Argentina in Cordoba on Sunday morning, but won’t be fully satisfied with parts of the game where the All Blacks let the home side back into the game.

The All Blacks sit top of the Rugby Championship standings after the Wallabies beat the Springboks by 16 points at Ellis Park earlier on Sunday.

Former All Black halfback Justin Marshall has criticised the All Blacks’ ability to extend their 21-point halftime lead and not push on to win by more.

“In terms of being clinical and ruthless, I say they were off in that regard; there was a certain amount of rhythm that was missing in terms of some of their block plays, balls going to ground again,” Marshall said on Sport Nation’s Rugby Run.

“Some not great kicking, then that was mixed up with some, some real good, tough stuff.

Marshall explains that for a team that wants to improve and become the best team in the world, he doesn’t think they are there just yet.

“So look, when you’re scoring 40 points in Argentina, and you’ve won comfortably without being really pressured in the last 10 minutes, you’ve got to be happy.

“They’re not there yet, they’re a work in progress, but they’re introducing players. They’ve got guys coming back from injury, more to come back next week, and they’re still figuring out some spots.

“I’m sure that the people out there, the fans, will know that, that there’s still some question marks in certain areas and he hasn’t got his 23 yet.”

The 81-Test former Crusader and All Black mentions the end-of-year tour as a time when Robertson needs to have his best squad sorted, so that they can hit the ground running.

Fixture

Rugby Championship

Argentina

29 - 23

Full-time

New Zealand

All Stats and Data

“You can’t go to play Ireland in Chicago and then button off for Scotland, who will field basically a Lions back line, half back aside. You got Finn Russell, Tuipulotu, Huw Jones, Kinghorn, Duhan van der Merwe, it’s going to be a challenge at Edinburgh.

“Then, bang, you go down to London and play England at Twickenham, and then you can maybe button off a little bit, because Wales aren’t that great at the moment.

“When they’re getting on that plane to go to Chicago, I’m hoping that he’s in a really good headspace of knowing what that 23 looks like, the balance of the reserves, starting 15, the combos, the midfield, and what the back three looks like.

“But there are a few areas that are still asking questions more than giving answers.”