CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Argentina beat
the All Blacks for the first time in New Zealand with a stunning 25–18
Rugby Championship win in Christchurch on Saturday, piling further pressure on coach
Ian Foster.
اضافة اعلان
Playing with passion and physicality, the Pumas won
the battle of the breakdown and benefited with 20 points from the boot of
Emiliano Boffelli to lodge just their second win over the All Blacks.
The home side, who squandered an early 15–6 lead,
have now lost six of their last eight Tests and can expect more severe
criticism after the pressure had eased following their last-start 35–23 defeat
of the Springboks in Johannesburg.
They have lost three successive Tests at home for
the first time following successive defeats against Ireland last month and it
could be four on the trot if they succumb again to the Pumas in Hamilton next
week.
Victory for Argentina followed their record-breaking
48–17 win over Australia in San Juan and extends their lead at the top of the
Rugby Championship standings.
Led by non-stop flankers Pablo Matera and Marcos
Kremer, the latter playing his 50th Test, the Pumas tackled themselves to a
standstill, including over the dramatic final minutes when they repeatedly
denied the desperate hosts.
It was a courageous performance eerily reminiscent
of two years ago, when they stunned New Zealand for the first time 25–15 in
Sydney.
On that occasion fly-half Nicolas Sanchez kicked six
penalties and a conversion, a feat matched by the winger Boffelli, who landed
all seven of his shots at goal.
Matera, who was based in Christchurch this season
with the Canterbury Crusaders, was emotional after the final whistle.
“It’s just too good, it’s a dream come true to come
back with my country and beat the All Blacks for the first time, it’s even more
special (than the Sydney win),” he said.
Captain Julian Montoya hoped big Test wins are
becoming a norm for Argentina.
“We’re starting to believe in what we can do that it
is not just a magic moment, like the first time (Sydney),” he said.
“We just need to keep on working. Now we must enjoy
this but we have another game in seven days. So yeah, I’m very, very proud.
Very, very happy.
“This is for all the people back home who woke up at
4:30am to watch this. I’m very proud, this is a really special moment for us.”
New Zealand Rugby can expect to come under the
blowtorch from its critics after its decision last week to reappoint Foster,
despite the head coach’s dreadful record by All Blacks standards.
A strong finish at
Ellis Park was enough to convince
the New Zealand Rugby board to confirm Foster’s position through to next year’s
World Cup, a decision they insisted wouldn’t be reviewed again.
However, many of the same problems that haunted New
Zealand in last month’s series loss to Ireland and in the subsequent heavy
defeat to the Springboks in Mbombela returned.
They were disjointed on attack and lacked the
necessary physicality in contact against opponents whose confidence grew as the
match proceeded.
Conceding 14 penalties allowed Boffelli to keep the
scoreboard ticking over and created a stop-start game, which played into the
hands of the visitors.
New Zealand captain Sam Cane said his side didn’t
respond well to pressure.
“A lot of credit to go to the Argentinian side for
the way they stuck in it and eventually turned the tables,” he said.
“They ended up putting us under a lot of pressure
that second half, and we didn’t respond the way we wanted. We made a few simple
errors that we don’t really like to make.”
Argentina never looked like scoring a try in the
first half but Boffelli kept them in touch, including two late penalties to
narrow their deficit to 15–12.
Samisoni Taukei’aho’s try came through a lineout
drive while Caleb Clarke’s try was more spectacular, emanating from an
overthrown Pumas lineout on the halfway line before the ball was moved swiftly
through the hands in a rare fluent attack.
A Richie Mo’unga penalty opened the second half for
New Zealand but Argentina hit the front 19–18 through an opportunist try to
flanker Juan Martin Gonzalez, who stormed 30m after New Zealand failed to
secure a kickoff.
The final half hour was dominated by Argentina’s
stout defense.
They continually stymied New Zealand’s attack and played
cleverly in possession, creating two further penalties landed by Boffelli.
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