What the All Blacks expect from ‘passionate’ Los Pumas
Assistant coach Jason Ryan is expecting a “passionate” and “aggressive” Los Pumas side when the All Blacks open their Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina this weekend.
Having flown into South America late on Sunday evening, the All Blacks appeared to be in good spirits ahead of their first Test match of 2023.
While there’s plenty of talk within the rugby community about this year’s World Cup, the All Blacks haven’t even given the prestigious event a thought.
As a collective, the New Zealanders are firmly focused on the task at hand – and with good reason.
The All Blacks played Argentina twice in New Zealand last year and split the series with their opponents at one win apiece.
Los Pumas shocked the rugby world with a stunning seven-point win in Christchurch, which was only their second-ever win over the All Blacks – their first was two years earlier in Sydney.
While the All Blacks have long dominated the history of this matchup, which included a 29-Test unbeaten streak, Los Pumas pose a very different threat today.
Under the tutelage of head coach Michael Cheika and defensive mastermind David Kidwell, Los Pumas have taken their game to an all-new level.
“They’re a passionate side,” Jason Ryan told RugbyPass in Mendoza. “I love the way they play and express themselves with lots of emotion and they play with a lot of pride.
“They’re really good in contact, they’re aggressive, they’ve got good variation in their game and their defensive pattern through David Kidwell I think has broken down some teams.
“It should be exciting.
“Everyone’s got to rise up for each Test match and this is no different.”
After playing Argentina this weekend, the All Blacks will return home to New Zealand where they’ll face fierce rivals South Africa in Auckland.
Then, two weeks later, the men in black will finish their Rugby Championship campaign against Eddie Jones’ Wallabies on the hallowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
But the All Blacks are just taking it one game at a time – the group aren’t even talking about the Rugby World Cup yet according to Jason Ryan.
“We’ve just got to start The Rugby Championship well. We’ve got to get a rhythm in our game,” Ryan added.
“Respectfully, we haven’t really even talked about the World Cup this year at all, it’s the first time I’ve heard you say it.
“This is this Test match. We’ve got to get our training right today and go through our systems and make sure that we’re keeping the boys sharp and we build it accordingly.
“This is The Rugby Championship, it’s (a) short, sharp campaign. I’m sure all teams will want to hit the ground running, we’re no different.”
The All Blacks named five uncapped bolters in their initial 36-man squad for The Rugby Championship, with Shaun Stevenson added as injury cover.
Stevenson could potentially make his debut in the black jersey in Mendoza with Will Jordan and Leicester Fainga’anuku both staying in New Zealand.
The other potential debutants include Cam Roigard, Dallas McLeod, Tamaiti Williams, Samipeni Finau and Emoni Narawa.
Hurricanes prop Tevita Mafile’o has also flown with the squad to Argentina.
“It can be quite intimidating coming into the All Blacks as a newbie but I think we’ve made a couple of shifts in here in making sure we’re welcoming the guys in.
“The experienced guys have been outstanding in bringing guys up to speed in their own position and sharing knowledge and understanding what the legacy is about of the All Blacks and the black jersey.
“We’ve seen some good, quality sessions there.
“As well as understanding their role, they’ve just got to appreciate pretty quickly that they’ve just got to do their own job and do it well.
“They’re talented, that’s because they’re here, and the intensity goes up so the quicker they learn off the grass, the easier it’ll be for them.”
The All Blacks take on Los Pumas at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza at 7.10 am NZST on Sunday morning.
Comments on RugbyPass
Hard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
2 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
2 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
237 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to comments