The statistical standouts from the All Blacks' win

Sonny Bill Williams looks to make one of his 11 offloads against Argentina. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The All Blacks' 26-16 Rugby World Cup opening win over Argentina needed some big impacts from the bench to get the reigning champions over the line.

Sonny Bill Williams' performance had a big impact on the All Blacks' strong second half performance, joining some key All Black starters in having immense statistical performances.

In a fairly even contest, the All Blacks had the edge at the breakdown and defensively, winning eight turnovers at the breakdown to Argentina's three, while Argentina missed 36 tackles to the All Blacks' 18.

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Here are the players who stood out in statistically in the encounter.

Kieran Read

Read was a force in every category, having a storming game against a physical Pumas pack. His attacking input was excellent, gaining 54 metres on 13 carries, beating three defenders, making two clean breaks and throwing six offloads.

The rest of his performance was even stronger, making 10 tackles, winning thee turnovers at the breakdown without giving away a penalty, and being the chief lineout recipient with eight lineouts won.

Sonny Bill Williams

Under pressure to perform, Williams did just that with the third most metres gained despite coming on after halftime. The midfielder had a remarkable 11 offloads in 35 minutes, which was almost double the output of the next best offloader. SBW also added 13 carries and a try assist in an undeniably excellent performance.

Ben Smith makes metres against Argentina. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Ben Smith

Despite not making as many clean breaks and tackle busts as is usually expected from the classy Highlanders fullback, Smith still made a game-high 92 metres, getting involved regularly with 15 carries.

Dane Coles

Coles was extremely accurate at lineout time, with having 16 of his 17 throws successfully completed, with just the solitary steal from the Pumas.

Joaquin Tuculet

Much like his All Blacks counterpart, Argentinian fullback Tuculet was a busy man on attack, making 89 metres on 13 carries. He was the most difficult for the All Blacks defenders to stop, beating four defenders and also adding three offloads.

Mariano Galarza

Called into action after 22 minutes due to the injury to Guido Petti, Galazra was the game's busiest defender, making 14 tackles.