A storming try two minutes into injury time by No 8 Scott Robertson allowed the All Blacks to preserve their unbeaten record against the Pumas in an error-ridden international played before a massive crowd at the River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires. New Zealand won 24-20.
Two calamitous defensive blunders that gifted Argentina two converted tries meant the All Blacks were almost always coming from behind in their final outing for 2001.
They trailed 3-7 after 20 minutes, were behind 8-10 at halftime and conceded Argentina a 17-20 start going into the final 10 minutes.
Argentina had the opportunity to stretch that advantage close to injury time but goal kicker Felipe Contepomi missed a penalty attempt from point-blank range.
And so John Mitchell's All Blacks, who would have had only themselves to blame if they'd lost, because of their handling mistakes, remained in contention.
Enterprising winger Doug Howlett created the opportunity with a bold counter-attacking run that took the All Blacks right to the Pumas' goal-line.
Under pressure, Contepomi sliced his clearing kick which provided the All Blacks with the Heaven-sent opportunity they needed.
Young fullback Ben Blair, who'd started nervously but became a key player in the second half, burst through the Pumas' first line of defence, then threw a beautiful long pass to No 8 Robertson who finished off wide out.
To the All Blacks' enormous relief, Andrew Mehrtens, who'd brought up 800 test points during the game, slotted the wide-angle conversion, to give his side a four-point buffer.
The All Blacks had had to play their get-out-jail card which allowed them to complete their five-match tour undefeated.
They were a far more creative team than the Pumas, who, except when Agustin Pichot was sniping from halfback, preferred to pressure the enemy through kicks.
These tactics produced two unexpected tries.
On the first occasion, it seemed skipper Lisandro Arbizu had wasted quality ruck ball when he chipped a kick into the All Blacks' in-goal zone.
But, inexplicably, halfback Mark Robinson, starting in a test for the first time, let the ball slip through his arms, back towards Arbizu who couldn't believe his good fortune as he pounced on it for a gift five-pointer.
That was bad enough for the All Blacks. Worse followed 15 minutes into the second half, immediately after Mehrtens had put the tourists ahead 14-10 with a superb 50-metre penalty goal.
Poised to take control of the match, the All Blacks initiated a bold counter-attack from the restart. But skipper Anton Oliver got in the way of a pass destined for Lomu in midfield and the ball deflected back towards the posts.
Howlett was there to retrieve but instead of playing safe, he tried to slip a pass to Robertson who wasn't expecting it. The ball spewed free and Arbizu was all happiness as he pounced for another bonus try.
Suddenly, the Pumas were in front 17-14.
Matching penalty goals by Mehrtens and Contepomi made it 20-17 which is how it remained for 15 tense minutes, until Robertson's match winner in the second (of six) minutes of injury time.
While it won't be recorded as an epic All Black victory, because of the alarmingly high error rate, the tourists nonetheless demonstrated character and skill to uncork a winning try in a desperate situation.
And beating a fired-up Pumas team in Buenos Aires is no easy assignment, as the Wallabies and the Springboks have proven in recent times.
The All Blacks missed dynamic halfback Byron Kelleher, who had returned home concussed. His replacement, Robinson, who had ongoing problems with his contact lens, gave a laboured service and made costly mistakes.
Blair also had a nervous opening 30 minutes while Howlett finished about all square in terms of attacking brilliance and general blunders.
The one individual who didn't make any mistakes and who was a constant menace to Argentina was Jonah Lomu.
His try in the 25th minute represented All Black rugby at its best, combining the sizzling speed of Howlett with the brilliant link work of the new loose forward star Richard McCaw with the awesome finishing off Lomu, who swotted aside four defenders before dotting down.
Mehrtens directed operations sweetly from first-five and goal-kicked beautifully but Aaron Mauger and Tana Umaga were frustrated for opportunities in midfield.
Best of the All Black forwards were loosies McCaw and Robertson and lineout ace Norm Maxwell.
There was much talk about the might of the Pumas scrum in the shakedown to the game but in the event the All Black scrum held solid.
Argentina's star was its captain Arbizu for claiming those two opportunist tries that so nearly brought an historic victory.
Loose forwards Rolando Martin and Gonzalo Longo were mightily effective, Martin cutting Blair down from behind to save a try, and Pichot was always dangerous.
But the Pumas were guilty of kicking too much possession away and, at the death, pressure told on Contepomi, who missed a sitter of a penalty goal and sliced a clearing kick that created the opportunity for New Zealand's winning try.
Man of the match: It came as no surprise that the individual who made the greatest impact was Jonah Lomu. His try, in which he swotted away four determined defenders, was a classic and he repeatedly made territory for the All Blacks.
Moment of the Match: Two minutes into injury time, Felipe Contepomi missed touch, allowing the All Blacks to launch into attack. Ben Blair slipped fullback Ignacio Corleto and put Scott Robertson across for the match winner.
Villain of the Match: Pumas halfback Agustin Pichot who copped 10 minutes in the sin bin for a head-butt. All Black prop Kees Meeuws also received a yellow card for trampling an opponent in a ruck.
The Teams:
New Zealand: 1 David Hewett, 2 Anton Oliver (c), 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne, 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Mark Robinson, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Jonah Lomu, 15 Ben Blair
Reserves: Greg Somerville, Dion Waller
Unused: Marty Holah, Jason Spice, Tom Willis, Pita Alatini, Caleb Ralph
Argentina: 1 Omar Hasan Jalil, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Mauricio Reggiardo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (c), 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Gonzalo Camardon, 15 Ignacio Corletto
Reserves: Martin Durand, Roberto Grau, Mario Ledesma Arocena, Gonzalo Quesada, Bernardo Stortoni
Unused: Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Pedro Sporleder
Attendance: 59000
Referee: Young s.
Points Scorers:
New Zealand
Tries: Lomu J.T. 1, Robertson S.M. 1
Conv: Mehrtens A.P. 1, Umaga J.F. 1
Pen K.: Mehrtens A.P. 4
Argentina
Tries: Arbizu L. 2
Conv: Contepomi F. 2
Pen K.: Contepomi F. 2
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