All Blacks 23
Argentina 29
By Liam Napier in Buenos Aires
History for Los Pumas. Felipe Contepomi’s side broke their glass ceiling by stunning the erratic All Blacks on home soil for the first time.
Argentina had beaten the All Blacks three times in the last five years but never at home in 17 previous attempts dating back to 1976, with the draw in 1985 the closest they had come.
Despite a patchy second-half performance last week in Cordoba, the All Blacks registered a comfortable 41-26 bonus-point victory.
There was no sign of that dominance, though, as the capacity crowd at José Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires chanted, sang and bounced throughout the second half as the Pumas etched their names in history with a 29-23 win.
When the final whistle sounded, the Pumas players embraced on the pitch and the sideline before savouring a victory lap. Every person in the stadium rose to their feet and applauded their team to cherish a moment they will remember for many years to come.
Led by an inspired performance from Pablo Matera, the Pumas upset turns the Rugby Championship on its head with all four teams having one win and one loss, leaving the quest to claim this year’s title wide open.
The first defeat of this season leaves the All Blacks trekking home for successive tests against the world champion Springboks with everything to improve and Eden Park’s 50-match unbeaten status on the line.
After surviving two first-half yellow cards and an error-riddled performance to remain level at halftime, the All Blacks fell 13 points behind after Gonzalo García dotted down following a Matera charge.
While Samisoni Taukei’aho crashed over to bring the All Blacks within striking distance, another yellow card to Sevu Reece killed off hopes of a comeback.
Codie Taylor joining the All Blacks centurion club and Simon Parker’s debut faded into the background as the Pumas and their passionate fans celebrated their triumph.
The All Blacks only have themselves to blame, too, after failing to amend their discipline issues that blighted last week’s victory.
At the finish, the All Blacks were reduced to kicking a penalty to secure a losing bonus point.
Aside from their discipline issues, the All Blacks were widely erratic and disjointed, missing 26 tackles in the first half alone. They failed to cope with the consistent aerial assault, which should shine a further spotlight on the wing selections, and struggled to regain their restarts to deny any form of rhythm.
The All Blacks were forced to defend one or two men short for long periods, making 91 more tackles than the Pumas, missing a staggering 40.
When they had the ball the All Blacks struggled for penetration, too, with the Pumas making 261 more post-contact metres to allow them to control front-foot possession.
Composure was absent from the All Blacks as they chased a comeback, handing over a late lineout after an early lifting mix-up and spilling the ball in a desperate attempt to counterattack.
Even a bench containing Wallace Sititi and Tamaiti Williams’ returns couldn’t reel in the Pumas. Scott Robertson also injected Damian McKenzie for Beauden Barrett with 25 minutes remaining after the latter missed three shots at goal – two of those from the sideline.
After falling behind early, the All Blacks briefly settled by returning to their safe zone - their lineout– which laid the platform for two quick strikes by Billy Proctor and Fletcher Newell.
Any sense of ascendancy rapidly vanished, though, with successive yellow cards throwing the All Blacks into the furnace.
Will Jordan departed after shoulder-checking Pumas wing Mateo Carreras and when Tupou Vaa’i followed for an apparent deliberate knockout as Juan Martín González was adjudged to have cleanly grounded the ball, the All Blacks were under the pump. And that’s where they remained for the entire match.
Although they fell off multiple tackles, scrambling defence saved the All Blacks from conceding at least two more tries before halftime by holding the Pumas up and Barrett then dislodging the ball from Bautista Delguy’s grasp with the line in sight.
The All Blacks were hurt by losing starting halfback Cortez Ratima to injury midway through the first half but the Pumas also lost their starting playmaker Tomás Albornoz.
There are no excuses for the All Blacks – they put themselves in a huge hole and couldn’t find a way to dig themselves out.
After a long trek home they have two weeks to source immediate solutions before confronting the Springboks.
All Blacks 23 (Billy Proctor, Fletcher Newell, Samisoni Taukei’aho tries; Beauden Barrett pen, Damian McKenzie con)
Argentina 29 (Juan Martín González, Gonzalo García tries; Tomás Albornoz pen, Juan Cruz Mallía pen, Santiago Carreras con, pen)
HT: 13-13
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.