New Zealand yesterday thumped Argentina 42-10 as Will Jordan grabbed two of their six tries in the Rugby Championship to avenge last week’s shock defeat by the Pumas.
Flyhalf Damian McKenzie scored 17 points as the All Blacks defied wet conditions in Auckland in a skilled attacking display to maintain their 30-year unbeaten record at Eden Park.
New Zealand have now won their past 50 Tests in Auckland since their last defeat there against France in 1994.
Photo: AFP
Yesterday’s game was a vast improvement on the 38-30 loss in Wellington last week, with an explosive first-half performance pushing the hosts 35-3 ahead through five converted tries.
It was built on a dominant display from the forwards, who heeded the call for “redemption” by coach Scott Robertson after they were outplayed last week.
“We said all week about looking at ourselves in the mirror. For the All Blacks, we have to bring that every week,” New Zealand captain Ardie Savea said. “We can’t rely on a loss to get that response.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
“It was about playing in the right areas of the field,” Savea said. “I thought Damian and Baz [fullback Beauden Barrett] controlled the game really well and allowed us forwards to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
Argentina’s scrum was overpowered and they were not the same force at the breakdown in a performance punctuated by mistakes.
Their lone try came late in the match to fullback Juan Cruz Mallia, with tighter defense from the visitors leveling the second-half score at 7-7.
Pumas captain Julian Montoya, who missed the first Test through injury, said that his side were outclassed.
“We weren’t good enough this week. We need to try to be consistent, week in, week out and we didn’t do it,” he said. “We made a lot of mistakes, we need to be better. Congratulations to the All Blacks. They were quality today.”
New Zealand’s next two Rugby Championship Tests are against the Springboks, the world champions, in South Africa, while Argentina are to host Australia in two Tests.
In the second game yesterday, South Africa beat Australia 30-12 in Perth to stay unbeaten after their opening win against the same side.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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