By Liam Napier in Buenos Aires
Trekking home from Argentina after their maiden defeat and with the complexion of their season rapidly altered, the All Blacks face a mountain of improvements before confronting the Springboks at Eden Park.
Five yellow cards in two weeks and glaring issues under the high ball will be prominent on the agenda after the All Blacks failed to celebrate Codie Taylor’s 100th test milestone with a win, instead falling to a 29-23 defeat in Buenos Aires.
The Pumas’ first win over the All Blacks in Argentina in 18 attempts since 1976 blows the Rugby Championship wide open, with all four teams registering one win and one loss.
For All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, this defeat will leave deep scars and an anxious two weeks before the first of two tests against the Springboks in New Zealand.
“Test footy is tough when you get three yellow cards, and the aerial game they dominated,” Robertson said after watching his All Blacks self-destruct.
“There’s lots of little areas I could talk about but that’s fundamentally how they got the domination of the game.
“We’ve got really high standards that have been set by other teams and we’ve got to reach them each week. Each test has its own story and we’ve got to write it the best we can through effort and tonight we didn’t show it.”
Last week in Cordoba the All Blacks were largely in control for their 41-26 bonus-point victory before fading in the second half with discipline, including two yellow cards, sparking the Pumas’ comeback.
Three more yellow cards in the Argentine capital – to Will Jordan, Tupou Vaa’i and Sevu Reece – proved costly, leaving the All Blacks defending for long periods and unable to gain composure to mount a sustained comeback.
Regularly reduced to 14 men, the All Blacks missed 40 tackles. Once again their backline attack, with their limited possession, struggled to fire as poor skill execution took toll and they also endured issues regaining restarts.
“If I saw this coming it might have been a little bit different,” Robertson said. “We put a lot into this week to make sure we tied up areas from last week and ensure we got better, but we didn’t execute well enough when we had those opportunities. They did. They were hungry, they won a lot of those scraps and fed off the crowd. They played extremely well and they deserve it.”
The All Blacks are expected to lose halfback Cortez Ratima to a serious chest injury, after he departed midway through the first half, further heightening the need to regain Cam Roigard’s influential presence.
Despite the humbling defeat, Robertson believes the All Blacks can respond against the Springboks at Eden Park to extend their streak of 50 unbeaten matches at the “Fortress”.
“We have to,” Robertson said. “We’ll acknowledge what we need to get better at and own it and move forward quickly.”
When the Pumas mounted their second-half comeback last week, the All Blacks’ forward pack delivered the decisive counterpunches through their set-piece strength and dominant maul.
On this occasion, though, the All Blacks could not impose their game on the Pumas.
“We were under the pump with 40% ball and 40% territory,” All Blacks captain Scott Barrett said. “It’s hard to win a test match when the Pumas get a roll on like that. They were a class act tonight and we didn’t quite front up where we needed to.
“The two parts of the game the Pumas got confidence from last week was through the middle when their forward pack got a roll on that created the fast ball, and the period within the second half.
“From last week’s game they carried that forward. Instead of 20 minutes, it was more like 40 or 50 minutes they pinned us in our own half and pressure turns into points quickly.”
Will Jordan cut a dejected figure, taking the loss to heart after his yellow card and the back three’s battles to cope with the Pumas’ sustained aerial assault.
With the Springboks certain to target the All Blacks under the high ball, the selection of the underperforming wings will be in the spotlight.
“It’s a tough night for the team and myself personally,” Jordan said. “We’re really gutted for Codie in his 100th game. He’s a good mate of mine so disappointed we couldn’t get a result for him. I felt like we were a step off the mark in all areas tonight so credit to the Pumas, there’s a lot of work for us.
“Discipline was an issue and the high ball as well, we had challenges in that space. There’s been a rule change in the last year and teams have really levelled up to compete. We knew it was coming but we didn’t do a good job of nullifying it. We have to find a solution because it’s going to be a challenge for us moving forward.”
All Blacks prop Fletcher Newell acknowledged the limited time to shake off the historic loss and amend vast elements of their performance, but he backed the team to absorb that pressure.
“We’re really gutted with the result, it shows how strong this competition is. We’ve never lost over here before. We’re really hurting at the moment,” Newell said.
“Parts of our game weren’t up to standard tonight. Leaking three yellow cards, our discipline wasn’t where it needed to be. That will definitely be a focus.
“We’ve got a week now to get back home and see our family and then front up for a tough couple of games against [South] Africa, which we’re really excited about. We know what their DNA is. We’re going to have to front up and get better really quickly.”
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.