Argentina
16
Match Complete
New Zealand
20
| N. Sanchez |  | 47 | ||
| E. Boffelli |  | 46 | ||
| 39 | | B. Barrett | ||
| 38 | | B. Retallick | ||
| 36 |  | B. Barrett | ||
| 22 | | B. Barrett | ||
| N. Sanchez | | 20 | ||
| 18 | | B. Barrett | ||
| 17 | | N. Laumape | ||
| E. Boffelli | | 6 | ||
| N. Sanchez | | 1 |
| 1 | Tries | 2 | ||
| 1 | Conversions | 2 | ||
| 3 | Penalty Goals | 2 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
Match result:
The All Blacks have beaten Argentina by 20 to 16 in a thrilling game in Buenos Aires that saw the Kiwi side unable to score a single point in the second half as they held out a relentless Puma side.
The Pumas will be bitterly disappointed with this result – they had so much possession and territory in that second half but just couldn’t convert it into the points they needed.
They were 11 points behind at half time but fought back quickly in the second half with a good try but just couldn’t go the whole way.
Both sides struggled with errors and neither really found a proper rhythm for extended periods. But the Pumas showed that their previous poor results should be forgotten and they are going to be a force to reckon with.
Their defence was brutal at times and if they’d backed themselves a bit more with ball in hand they could have won this one.
The All Blacks will have wanted to win by more but they won’t be disappointed. This wasn’t their ideal starting line up but those who came in did well in several points.
It will be frustrating that they weren’t more accurate at times but their defence was impressive and they absorbed a lot of pressure at times.
Arguably both coaches will be happy with their team’s performance here and both the Springboks and the Wallabies will have been watching with some concern.
Initial questions over how well Nicolás Sánchez would slot into this Jaguares team were dispelled and the fly-half played a very good game.
The coach might want him to run more with the ball in hand next week but he’s made this side better without a doubt.
Final score
Argentina 16
All Blacks 20
Match preview:
Argentina will welcome the All Blacks into the cauldron of Jose Amalfitani Stadium in the opening round of The Rugby Championship on Sunday morning as both sides look to get their roads to the World Cup off to good starts.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of what promises to be a thrilling match starting from 4am AEST on Sunday.
There’s a lot of intrigue about both sides in this match with their own compelling storylines. For the Pumas there is the expectation that they can further build on the great season the Jaguares had in Super Rugby this year.
Coach Mario Ledesma has built his side around this success with 13 of the Jags who started the Super Rugby Final against the Crusaders recently.
The only changes see two men from European clubs – Nicolás Sánchez at fly half and Juan Figallo at prop – which means so many of the partnerships and combinations within the team will have had an entire season to develop.
This will be critical if the Pumas hope to get their first win over the All Blacks in their 33 clashes and the home crowd will look to do their part – plenty of visiting teams have found the Jose Amalfitani Stadium to be a tough place to play in and the vocal local support will be out in force on Sunday.
For the All Blacks Steve Hansen has said that he’s comfortable taking some risks on selections. He’s left all of his usual Crusaders back at home to continue to rest after their long, successful season and offered a number of players a chance to state their case for a ticket to Japan.
Don’t mistake the fewer number of caps with a lack of ability though. There is talent all over this All Blacks outfit.
There are some exciting head to heads to keep an eye on especially up front. In broad terms the battle of the packs will be crucial.
The Jags scrum was surprisingly weak in the latter part of the Super Rugby season and the All Blacks will look to dominate from the kick off at the set piece.
More specifically it’s going to be thrilling to see how Pablo Matera goes against the likes of Sam Cane and Vaea Fifita.
Matera was awesome this past season and gave the Jags so much in both defence and attack. For the Pumas to win they need him to win the battle of the breakdown and the advantage line.
Prediction
Rugby fans all over are looking to see if the Pumas can build on the Jaguares success. If they can then they really could put the All Blacks under pressure.
If the crowd then get involved and the Pumas take their chances then who knows? But in the cold light of day, the Kiwis will likely just have too much class and accuracy when it counts.
All Blacks by 12.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of what promises to be a thrilling match starting from 4am AEST on Sunday.
Where: Jose Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires
Date: Sunday 21st July 2019
Kickoff: 4am AEST
TV: Foxsports
Betting: Argentina – $5, New Zealand – $1.17
Argentina
15 Emiliano Boffelli
14 Matías Moroni
13 Matías Orlando
12 Jerónimo de la Fuente
11 Ramiro Moyano
10 Nicolás Sánchez
9 Tomás Cubelli
8 Javier Ortega Desio
7 Marcos Kremer
6 Pablo Matera (c)
5 Tomás Lavanini
4 Guido Petti
3 Juan Figallo
2 Agustín Creevy
1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements
16 Julián Montoya
17 Mayco Vivas
18 Santiago Medrano
19 Matías Alemanno
20 Tomás Lezana
21 Felipe Ezcurra
22 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla
23 Joaquín Tuculet
New Zealand
15 Ben Smith
14 Sevu Reece
13 Anton Lienert-Brown
12 Ngani Laumape
11 Jordie Barrett
10 Beauden Barrett
9 Aaron Smith
8 Ardie Savea
7 Sam Cane (c)
6 Vaea Fifita
5 Patrick Tuipulotu
4 Brodie Retallick
3 Angus Ta’avao
2 Dane Coles
1 Ofa Tuungafasi
Replacements
16 Liam Coltman
17 Atu Moli
18 Nepo Laulala
19 Jackson Hemopo
20 Luke Jacobson
21 Brad Weber
22 Josh Ioane
23 Braydon Ennor
Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace, Alexandre Ruiz
TMO: Graham Hughes
Recent Form (last 5 games)
Argentina – LLLLL
New Zealand – WWWLW
All time
Played 32
New Zealand won 31
Argentina won 0
Drawn 1
Istanbul Wingman
Roar Guru
As much as I'm a fan of the Pumas and admire their rise through the ranks of the game, their first win over the All Blacks is really long overdue now. They've had some great chances over the years - only to choke on each occasion. It could be a long time before they have another chance like the weekend's, but at least they get to play New Zealand twice a year now, so it's got to come eventually - surely . . .
Neel
Roar Guru
Good for the All Blacks that they exposed some of the youngsters. I like the way Braydon Ennor goes about his business.
Neel
Roar Guru
The Argies are seriously good now. Competitive and they just love to play against the All Blacks.
Dinshaw Tangri
Roar Rookie
I’ll take BB over any other 10 playing today
Anibal Pyro
Roar Rookie
Imhoff out. Isa and Cordero I guess will play against Wallabies
Danny
Roar Pro
Agree every single word. I grow more convinced after every game that Jordie has a very narrow window to cement his AB squad spot, injuries notwithstanding. Ennor could easily leapfrog him. Jordie's not maturing his game fast enough.
charly_777
Guest
The Jaguars were never disguised: Argentina wanted to hang, and they demanded "to have a competitive team" in the SR ... there is no money to prevent everyone from going to play in Europe! The only solution was to assure the players of Jaguares a place in the Pumas, those Argentine players lost money to play in the Pumas !! The Sansaar knew it and everyone knew it, you do not have to be hypocrite to just remember it when they are playing well, because when the Jaguars lost all the matches nobody remembered this!
charly_777
Guest
Until the players of Argentina, do not overcome the mental block, to know that we NEVER WIN THE AB'S, silly mistakes will condemn us to lose! We need to beat the ABs only once to break that "mental trauma"!
Andrew Johnson
Guest
Well done Paul whinge about refs, conspiracy theory. I’ll say from the start I’m an all blacks fan and so I’ll admit my view is clouded(you could do the same) but multiple times throughout the game pumas players were lying on the ground handling the ball, pumas players were offside regularly but not pulled up, near the end the allblacks had a two/ three man overlap a deliberate knock down but no card. Things were missed and I didn’t notice the ones that favoured my team but I’m sure they happened but things go both ways pumas had some good decisions go there way, please just be aware that your view is always skewed by who you want to see win or lose.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Hes certainly good, a real talent. I liked how he and Sanchez chimed in together last year, the two need to get their sync back this year and theyre going to be the dread of some defences. Whats up with isa, cordero and imhoff. They going to be involved?
moaman
Roar Guru
Folau who?
taylorman
Roar Guru
Yeah agree with that and your Jordie comments, he makes too many mistakes for my liking. Just shows how tough it is for the seconds. If theres one thing this side will have been desperate to avoid in terms of after match comments is: The ABs were there usual rusty selves for the first test of the season, players from four franchises struggling to get combinations working in order to get continuity and build momentum, and therefore pressure. Yet thats exactly what happened, and exactly what most post match comments were. And thats because it IS tough at this level to step into the shoes of guys like Franks, Sam W, Read, all 100 plus test caps and impress, especially first up. Have to admit it didnt feel like tragedy would befall NZers if Argie scored in that last lineout. They would have deserved a win, and we know the ABs probably wont be worse in a test this year…note the probably… Argie / the Jaguares players are on the verge of doing something big this year, theyve fallen short now twice vs NZ sides when they needed to win but I think thats a positive. Theyre getting the BEST feedback on their game, so thankfully, so far, our sides are not copping it. But someone will, and soon, its just a matter of who.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
No-one is worse than Wayne Barnes, he is the best at being the worst...
Tony
Guest
Il take that everyday - New team which has never played together ( leaves a load of players with hundreds of test Caps at home and wins away against a team which has been together in disguise ( Jaguares ) for months. Go the AB's
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
Argentina-New Zealand was like a typical first international of the year for both teams. It was a little sloppy, plenty of dropped balls by both sides. But each played good defence. The All Blacks played a pretty decent 1st half but were completely shut down by the Puma sin the 2nd. . Yet it needed some excellent defending on the rolling maul in the final seconds of the match to preserve the All Blacks victory. Some of the new men in the front row did a pretty solid job, Ardea Savea was good at #8, Sevu Reece put in a good shift and Beauden Barrett's kicking proved to be the difference. Argentina are a good team and they made it difficult for the All Blacks but even without playing well, NZ found a way to win. Bofelli may be ready to challenge Wales' Liam Williams as the best 15 in the air.
Mia
Roar Rookie
I have to agree with you about Jordie. The belief seems to be that he can play anywhere in the backline. I can’t think of any player in the world who can do that (perhaps others can?). Positions at Test level are centimetres perfect, being at precisely the right place at the right time. He is both too young, too inexperience to adjust to that. A number of times he was (slightly) ahead of a pass. I believe he will never be a great player if he is not assigned a prime position. Is he better than, say, Ben Smith, who only plays fullback (prime) and wing (secondary), and Jordie’s not a winger (against top tier nations).
Fox
Roar Guru
This was the moment Argentina had to beat the AB's for the first time - always rusty first game up - new players or inexperienced players - sloppy as they always are first game of the season - and yet they still found a way to win through fantastic D... the AB's with Read, Iaone, Barrett, Whitelock, Franks, Moody, Crotty, Mo'unga, ánd yes, SBW will be a very different animal.
Mark
Guest
Turn that around and you might have it right Another Aussie with zero clue about the game No wonder the Wannabies are rubbish
Mark
Guest
No wonder the Wallabies are so bad at the game when their best Ref is worse than Wayne Barnes Angus Gardner is absolutely clueless
Anibal Pyro
Roar Rookie
So, it is time for fans all over the world to recognize Bofelli as a world class fullback, with one of the best aereal game of the world, just behind Folau.