By Liam Napier in Cordoba
Los Pumas are harnessing influence from another Kiwi coach as they seek to ignite their Rugby Championship campaign by again stunning Scott Robertson’s All Blacks, this time with a first success on home soil.
Former Southland, Bay of Plenty and Highlanders backline utility Kendrick Lynn joined the Pumas mid-last year, giving him a front row seat as the Pumas upset the All Blacks in Wellington.
Argentina’s 38-30 victory, which ultimately confined the All Blacks to a 50% Rugby Championship return, is one of a series of giant-killing results under Felipe Contepomi.
While consistency remains elusive for an inherently passionate nation, the Pumas also knocked over the world champion Springboks, Wallabies and British and Irish Lions in Dublin in the past year.
After transitioning from playing to coaching in Lyon, Lynn returned home to link with the Highlanders in 2023 alongside southern All Blacks Ethan de Groot and Fabian Holland.
Helping plot the All Blacks’ downfall one year later was not on his radar.
“It was amazing to be a part of. That was a huge result,” Lynn recalls of the Pumas’ triumph in Wellington.
“I always thought it would be great to coach internationally but never thought Argentina would be an option. It’s very different, very unique, in that the vast majority of the team play in Europe.
“Felipe has done really well in establishing core values with how we behave. That really helped us have that season last year.
“It’s certainly different being a Kiwi coaching against the All Blacks. It probably felt the most strange in the lead-up to the game but once you’re into it, it’s your role and I’m doing everything I can to help the Pumas win. It felt great.
“It was really good to back the win over the All Blacks up and beat the Springboks and we had a really good performance in Aussie, where we had a record score [67-27] against them but our next level is being able to do it game after game. We had ups and downs. Every time we beat the top guys we lost the next game.”
The Pumas’ struggles for sustained success were, indeed, illustrated by their one-sided loss to the All Blacks at Eden Park - yet their victory the previous week was no aberration.
Three times in the past five years – in Western Sydney, Christchurch and Wellington – the Pumas savoured similar success. Their last frontier, though, is to achieve that feat at home, with the 21-21 draw in 1985 in Buenos Aires against Sir Brian Lochore’s All Blacks the closest in 16 attempts.
One reason the Pumas start heavy outsiders in Cordoba and Buenos Aires in the next two weeks is that they must prove they can cope with a level of expectation and pressure they are not burdened by on the road.
“If we can rise to the occasion at home, it would be huge for the team and the country,” Lynn said. ”Rugby in Argentina is in an interesting spot. There was a rocky period five or six years ago but now it’s moving in a positive direction. Amateur rugby is thriving. The club scene is awesome.
“What we did last year, the style of play we’re trying to bring in, will keep growing that. To beat a team like the All Blacks at home would back up what we did last year and solidify what we’re trying to achieve as we build in the next few years.”
To target the All Blacks and continued improvement in the Rugby Championship, the Pumas rested many of their frontline European-based players from their July series. Results reflected that strategic approach as England, missing many of their incumbents selected for Lions duties, won both tests in Argentina.
“We made the conscious decision as a staff to give those top players a rest in July. With the unique situation of them playing in Europe, they don’t get rested compared to Super Rugby or in Ireland. We don’t have any control of how much the guys are playing.
“We knew it was going to be a tougher series against England but we need to be blooding more depth. Performance-wise it wasn’t great, but long-term it was positive.
“These guys are now going to be coming back fresh – we’ve had 11 guys who had time off, a little mini preseason – and now it’s a matter of getting them up to international footy speed.”
Lynn follows a well-trodden path of Kiwis immersing themselves with the Pumas. Sir Graham Henry and David Kidwell, the latter joining the Highlanders as defence coach next season, are other high-profile New Zealanders to coach against the All Blacks. Before accepting the Pumas attack coach role, Lynn spoke with former head coach Michael Cheika to ensure he would fit in.
“Culturally, the Pumas are used to having a foreign coach. The language is fine because their English is really good. My Spanish is a work on. I got a tip from Michael Cheika to watch Nachos. He reckons that’s how he learned with English subtitles. Because I can speak French I can pop in and out of that if I need to as well.
“Argentina in a lot of ways can be everyone’s second favourite team. They’ve had that underdog status in the past. They’ve been capable of pulling off big performances and they play a style of rugby people enjoy so I wanted to be part of that and see what I can do to keep growing it.
“With a lot of 25, 26, 27-year-olds who have played together a lot, especially for the Jaguares, there’s potential to keep improving.”
Stylistically, the Pumas can hurt any team in multiple ways. Loose forwards Pablo Matera, who won a Super Rugby championship under Robertson at the Crusaders, and Marcus Kremer are among the world’s best breakdown exponents. Defensively, the Pumas have proven difficult to penetrate, too. But it’s their creative, open, attacking intent that appealed to Lynn.
“There’s certainly an element of unstructured play the Argentinians really enjoy which is playing fast, keeping it alive, running into space. It’s harnessing that. We’re really strong on the guys being brave and freeing them up so they can have a crack.
“It’s about giving them the detail they need in the international game to break down defences, understanding how we play and their roles and getting them to that stage where they can look up and play whatever is in front of them to get that Argentinian flair.
“The good thing about the team is they’re capable of emotionally getting up. We’re working on making sure we can get that right balance between being in the right emotional headspace to rip right in but not let it go over where it can lead to ill-discipline or errors.”
Treading that fine line balance could determine whether the Pumas break their last glass ceiling against the All Blacks.
All Blacks v Argentina
9.15am, Sunday
For live commentary join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio. Or catch the ACC commentary on their iHeartRadio stream.
Live updates: nzherald.co.nz.
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of The Rugby Direct podcast.