RESULT: New Zealand 26 v Argentina 16
All Black fans would have been anticipating this first pool match of the Rugby World Cup of 2015, and with it being played at the impressive Wembley Stadium, it was a stage set for the players to perform. What we saw was the All Blacks open their account with a rusty performance.
All Blacks open their account with a Rusty performance
Not playing since August 15th, so it was a long-break for the World Champions that did them no favours in the games flow and in that sides early continuity. Not all bad, please don’t get me wrong as the opposition were certainly more passionate and deserved to lead at halftime. Argentina were commanding in the breakdown where they were not afraid to put players on the ground and while they too had issues with ball-retention, they held supremacy until the 56th minute when Aaron Smith made the vital break to bring the advantage back to his side.
The talking points were in discipline, for each side. That began with Argentine loose forward Pablo Matera being issued a yellow card for ‘cynical’ play as Aaron Smith tried to take a quick-tap. From that advantage, the All Blacks chose early points and while they did threaten, their lack of combinations meant they came close but did not cross the line in the first half. The infringing continued, with not only forwards, but backs being called for fouls – Conrad Smith guilty of many indiscretions that stopped the game flow.
A positive I saw, was the All Black wingers coming into play and they looked to want to get hands on the ball. Savea needs to return to his barnstorming best and Nehe Milner-Skudder was a jinking runner but could not escape his opposite Juan Imhoff. Man-on-man, they were more than equal and only Aaron Smiths distribution was clearly superior, but in terms of enthusiasm, no questions the Argentinian’s were much more direct and collected.
What did surprise many was the opening try from Argentina, down one player, their collective spirit meant that they carried the ball to the line and big Lock Guido PettiPagadizavil crossed. A piercing move, he collided heads on the line, and was removed for the remainder of the match, with New Zealand holding a slender lead until Richie McCaw made an unprofessional decision to attempt to trip his opposing Captain – it deserved the resulting Yellow Card. Not a play that this proud All Black will look back on fondly.
He put his own side under pressure, as the penalty saw Argentina lead 9-10 as the calls went the Pumas way. In a ruck near the All Black line, Conrad Smith seemed to be able to interrupt the ball, but referee Wayne Barnes interpreted it differently and sent the world class Centre to the bin. For a period of four minutes, the All Blacks only had 13 players and the pressure was clearly on what they were doing well.
Fortunate for them, they defended stoutly, leaders standing up and the whistle came in the nick of time to end the half at 12-13, clearly with Los Pumas in ascendancy. Words would have been made during the break, with scrum, ruck and contact ball all wanting. The South Americans would have been happy, although points could have been made with the absence of two men, but they had the pressure on and needed to carry on.
After the break, McCaw was re-introduced and with Smith still off the park, Argentina still had the man advantage, and in the passion stakes they still shaded the Men in Black emphatically. They pushed the New Zealand team around, going deep into territory and it was a rattled All Blacks team who could not ring passes together. All too often, a fumble or dropped ball cost them, where at their best they would string moves together easily.
After 46 minutes, early substitutes were introduced, with Sonny Bill Williams replacing a quiet Ma’a Nonu. Wyatt Crockett replaced Tony Woodcock and both new players were active, Sonny Bill entering the line and that threat made a difference (to a degree) They upped the tempo themselves, denying some excursions from the Pumas into All Black territory, withstanding more pressure and then returning up-field to the Argentina line. With that possession increased, it began to tell and with men near the line, the always spirited Aaron Smith took his chance to step his opposite Tomas Cubelli. 19-16
His darting try was a great pressure-relief valve, and even as the strong Pumas team rung their own changes, it seemed to not give them the same impetus. Bruising leader Agustin Creevy had a great game, as did Juan Martin Hernandez in midfield [on defense] The tackling was taking it’s toll, and flankers on each team; Jerome Kaino and Leonardo Senatore, ran themselves ‘out’ and were subbed off. The pace of the game was now seeing changes to the line-up, including Sam Cane coming in to the mix.
He is a dynamo, getting all over the park and when Aaron Smith combined with Sonny Bill, he was only just denied a back-up try by a pass that went to the ground. Not to be denied, he was found ranging out wide and soon enough was rewarded with a try to extend the lead to 26-16
That was the winning of the game, the two tries being the difference and even with Beauden Barrett working hard, and even Charlie Faumuina bringing a few busting runs, full credit to Argentina for not dropping off completely. They held the All Blacks well and will be disappointed obviously, but they should also be very happy with their collective spirit. It will take them far in the tournament, as teams now get into matches two, three and four.
The winning side will only just be satisfied, with many ‘work-ons’ and rust to be cleaned off the World Champions machine. They will need to work on scrummaging, as that was not impressive and they will want to hold the ball more in close contact, bringing players over the ball to remove threats of turn-over ball. I still think they will have room to improve, so it is a 7/10 rating from myself and I gave the Argentina side the moral victory.
All Blacks open their account with a Rusty performance – can they improve? Yes, clearly. Are the next opponents in Namibia going to help them in that? Yes and No, as the pressure applied would not be the same as a Tier One nation, but they need to raise their confidence and I’d be happy if they retained from frontline players (at least for 30 minutes) so that they can have minutes under their belt. That is the best build-up they can expect, Namibia will only bring their best, and the All Blacks were frightened by the Argentinians so will need to up their intensity while rotating some players who have yet to get a run.
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Other Rugby World Cup results:
England 35 Fiji 11
Tonga 10 Georgia 17
Ireland 50 Canada 7
South Africa 32 Japan 34
France 32 Italy 10
Samoa 25 – United States 16
Wales 54 Uruguay 9
The most talked about results, have to be the Japanese stunning win over South Africa; Incredible upset, and the Georgia victory over Tonga. For those two winning sides, it really gives them a huge boost while their opponents need to turn around, lick their wounds and bounce-back (very strange for the Springboks to let in so many points)
Most other results have gone to form, with Samoa denying the USA and Wales and Ireland putting up good scores. Only early days, but this tournament will begin to really pick-up as Australia open their campaign and all teams complete their first or second matches by Thursday.
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NEXT ALL BLACKS POOL GAME: New Zealand v Namibia, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 25th September.
Look for an improved performance, with some changes but with the amount of ‘ring-rust’ from important players we may see a few players backing up. Lessons learned from previous campaigns may mean some good work outs are required for Kieran Read, Ma’a Nonu and Nehe Milner-Skudder, but otherwise the changes will be made and the score should better reflect the teams standings. No predictions, as we cannot see into the future, but the standards must improve.
“Main photo”
