Sharp All Blacks fend off Pumas in Christchurch
Print Edition
NEW Zealand stepped up its World Cup preparations to secure a bonus-point 39-18 victory over Argentina in their Rugby Championship opener in Christchurch yesterday.
Captain Richie McCaw, Ma’a Nonu, Charles Piutau, Kieran Read and debutante Codie Taylor all scored tries for the All Blacks while Dan Carter slotted 14 points from the boot.
Captain Agustin Creevy gave the Pumas some respectability with two tries from attacking lineouts in the second half while Nicolas Sanchez slotted a conversion and two penalties.
New Zealand, which warmed up for the championship with a close 25-16 win over Samoa last week, plays South Africa in Johannesburg next week, while the Pumas return home to host Australia in Mendoza.
“We played some pretty good rugby at times,” McCaw said pitchside. “All in all it was a step up and most of the guys would be reasonably happy.”
The All Blacks played a high tempo game, but could only secure two Carter penalties to give them a 6-3 lead before they finally sealed a period of dominance when McCaw was driven over from an attacking lineout.
Sanchez then slotted his second penalty in the 33rd minute before the All Blacks pace eventually told in the final minutes of the first half with Nonu barging over, and Carter converting from the sideline to give them an 18-6 lead.
Piutau opened the second half with a superb try after backs and forwards combined to create a wave of runners all offloading in the tackle and changing angles as the Pumas were run ragged.
Their aggressive defense also paid dividend when Read scooped up a loose ball as the Pumas tried to run the ball out of their own territory to grab the bonus-point try with more than 30 minutes left and the home side looking dangerous to run up a massive score.
The Pumas, however, got back into the game with two tries from Creevy to narrow the score to 32-18 with 20 minutes remaining, which earned the All Blacks a tongue lashing from McCaw that sparked them back into action.
Taylor capped his first appearance for the All Blacks when he scored their fifth try that sealed the victory margin.
“We made too many mistakes and you cannot make mistakes against the All Blacks,” Creevy said through an interpreter. “We are not so happy with what we have shown today.
“We know that we will play the All Blacks in the World Cup and we need to improve a lot to beat them in the World Cup.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
