Damian McKenzie of the All Blacks celebrates his try with Rieko Ioane. Photo / Photosport
How the Herald rated the All Blacks and the Pumas following their Rugby Championship clash at Eden Park.
Beauden Barrett 7
A starter or better off the bench? Showed this season he can be just as impactful either way. Good tactical kick early. Clean break into space to score 44th test try. A cool head in wet conditions. Last 30 minutes at first-five.
Will Jordan 7
On the wing in a much awaited return in the black jersey. Showed his stunning speed to score in the corner after getting ball on a plate from Perenara. Got involved in the middle of the field. Led the way with three defenders beaten. Second try, from a set piece and again shown any space and he’s gone. Wing or fullback, doesn’t matter. Just as long as he’s on the field.
Rieko Ioane 6
Back in the 13 jersey but didn’t make a huge impact. Made seven short carries but didn’t break the line. Three tackles. Beaten by McKenzie for opening try. Felt hidden away at times on home turf.
Jordie Barrett 7
Ideal kicking game in the wet. Can put in big boot up field but also produced a deft chip that set up opening try, finding space behind the Pumas. Made blocks from Argentina kicks in like a water polo goalie. Assisted Jordan’s second try. Solid 80.
Caleb Clarke 5
Scored in the corner with rare touch. That seemed to kick start his first half as he got more involved. Main effort in second half was a gifted knock-on which led to an easy break before he turned the ball over. Off in 60th.
Damian McKenzie 7
A much better showing at 10. Great chase to score the opening try. Only mistake was an overcooked kick into touch. Perfect off the tee with six from six in a 17-point test. Again didn’t attack the line but wasn’t needed. Off in 50th minute so plenty of time to catch the bus afterwards.
TJ Perenara 8
One of his better games in black jersey. Did well to slide on loose ball inside on 22 to stop Argentina chance. Superb pass to set up Will Jordan try. Showed all his experience in wet conditions. Off in 50th.
Ardie Savea 9
Very physical early which set the tone. Charging run blew over two defenders after chasing and catching a kick. Deserved try in first half from close range. Hanging out wide to put Clarke into corner for try. 18 carries and five defenders beaten along with 13 tackles. Stunning.
Dalton Papali’i 7
Did most of his work on defence and denied the opposition loose forwards the space they enjoyed in Wellington. Not as busy at ruck time as you’d expect from a traditional seven.
Ethan Blackadder 8
Outstanding turnaround from last week. Relentless the entire game, like the Energiser bunny on three cans of Red Bull. Eighteen tackles and a constant threat at the breakdown and at lineout time.
Sam Darry 7
Got stuck in and did the hard work. Solid tackling effort with 11 made and set a platform while nullifying the Pumas’ runners. Already looking comfortable at test level. A great sign.
Tupou Vaa’i 8
Pretty much did everything you’d expect from a lock. Brilliant rugby IQ play to set up ABs third try and spotting ball was out and securing turnover. Team high 19 tackles with an impressive work-rate across the entire 80 minutes.
Tyrel Lomax 7
Part of an impressive scrum and high work-rate around the field. Penalty for no arm tackle. Off in 50th.
Codie Taylor 7
Almost vintage Taylor. Reliable at lineout time and part of a front row that dominated their opponents. Six runs, sevens tackles for a busy day. Off in 50th.
Tamaiti Williams 8
Rock solid and immovable in the scrum. Went close to scoring before the skipper went over next phase. Penalised which gave Pumas kick into corner but made up for it with turnover. Nine tackles with one miss.
RESERVES
Asafo Aumua 5
Ofa Tu’ungafasi 6
Fletcher Newell 6
Josh Lord 6
Sam Cane 6
Cortez Ratima 6
Anton Lienert-Brown 5
Mark Tele’a 5
Juan Cruz Mallia 4
A wet night in Kingsland is a tough setting for any opposition test-match fullback — especially so when the hometown beast is this angry. Kicked long when he could, and hung in there to bag that consolation try.
Matthias Moroni 3
Tough night. Like others, the winger tackled his heart out, but he never saw Beauden Barrett’s magic run for the goal line in the 36th minute.
Lucio Cinti 4
Only got the ball very near the pack, and generally with a couple of All Blacks attached. Was usefully involved in the second-half thrusts.
Santiago Chocobares 3
Spent much of his evening adding weight to the clear-out work going on between the packs.
Matthew Carreras 3
Received the big Don’t-Come-Monday bounce-off from Savea in the opening exchanges. Carted the ball back well after that, before wearing Asafo Aumua’s yellow card bump.
Santiago Carreras 2
Another on Savea’s DCM list; was caught too far off his line when Perenara’s lovely offload put Jordan through to score. Hard to blame a No 10 when the pack is as well thumped as his was, nonetheless Pumas management had seen enough by the 43rd minute and changed out both their halves.
Gonzalo Bertranou 2
Most telling pass of the night was the one that went directly to Tupou Vaa’i who spotted that the Argentine No 9 was wasting time with the ball at his feet. The ref had pinged him for the same thing earlier. Exited with Carreras.
Joaquin Oviedo 2
Ran with a lot of ticker in Wellington, but struggled to make that extra yard here. Lost possession on one useful charge when forcing a pass. Replaced in the 51st minute.
Juan Martin Gonzalez 3
Still going at the end, after a long cold night of toil and little reward.
Pablo Matera 4
He’s been at the the heart of all the Pumas’ recent triumphs against the All Blacks — but found little support around him last night. Disrupted an early All Blacks lineout chance then spent rest of the first half tidying up a backpedalling mess. Not the kind of bloke who steps back from a challenge, he was at the heart of late resurgent moments.
Pedro Rubiolo 2
Little impact as his team were driven — pack first — into that deep first-half hole. If there was a sneaking suspicion that the All Blacks lineout could have been a weak point, he and the other tall timber were unable to exploit it.
Marcos Kremer 3
Ran as a loosie to dramatic effect in Wellington; was harder to spot when he moved into the No 4 jersey at Eden Park. Still, you’d have him in your squad.
Lucio Sordoni 3
Big unit in a beaten front row, pulled back a 39th-minute scrum penalty which takes some doing against this ABs front row.
Julian Montoya 2
Veteran hooker was a little ill-disciplined in defensive tangles.
Thomas Gallo 3
Another who was impressive in Wellington. At 107kg he was 20kg lighter than the man he was shoving against in the scrums. Gave away an early penalty under the ABs sticks, when the visitors really needed a break. After that it was all struggle.
RESERVES
Ignacio Ruiz 3
Mayco Vivas 4
Joel Sclavi 4
Franco Molina 4
Tomas Lavanini 4
Lautaro Bazan Velez 5
Thomas Albornoz 3
Bautista Delguy 3
By Winston Aldworth
As many as four rookies could force their way into Scott Robertson's All Blacks squad.