All Blacks win Rugby Championship

New Zealand secured a third straight Rugby Championship title on Saturday as they out-classed Argentina 34-13 with a try bonus-point in La Plata.

At times it was a joy to watch from the All Blacks as they scored the four tries required to become champions after the Boks won well at Newlands.

They will now travel to Johannesburg for their final fixture while the Pumas continue their wait for the Championship win.  The Wallabies will be wary.

Despite the prospect of silverware in the back of their mind, the Kiwis played with all the freedom of a dead rubber as they cut loose against Argentina at times in the first-half, with tries from Ben Smith and Israel Dagg sending them in 20-6 ahead.

Beauden Barrett had opened the scoring on four minutes with a penalty after Brodie Retallick was taken out at line-out time before he added another three-pointer five minutes later.  That Pumas ruck offence came after a now customary Julian Savea chip which found space in the opposition 22.

New Zealand were now showing an excellent balance of riding the physical home defence before making them bemused when they found mesmerising skills of the likes of Dagg and wing Smith, the former's run down the right seeing him switch late with the latter for 13-0.

Argentina needed something, anything, to keep their crowd cheering and Nicolás Sánchez's penalty after Dagg was pinged for blocking gave them adequate relief from the onslaught.  Had he landed a further shot instead of hitting the post seven minutes later, hope maybe?

As it was the game was instead treated to something special from the world champions as Malakai Fekitoa's pass to Ben Smith on the right wing saw him give a no-look pass to Dagg who went over for a try of his own.  The favour had been returned by the devastating duo.

New Zealand now knew they were halfway from claiming the Rugby Championship trophy in La Plata, a week earlier than last season.  But with the scoreline at 20-6 following a Sánchez penalty after Richie McCaw had swung around a ruck illegally, the result wasn't yet sealed.

The second-half would prove though that the All Blacks were confident the tries would come as they turned down shots in favour of those five-pointers.  However, their gamble would not pay off in the opening twelve minutes of the half as Argentina stood firm close to their line.

Julian Savea came closest to breaking the mini-deadlock on 55 minutes when he collected Barrett's intelligent chip over in the opposition 22.  But, for the second time, he was denied due to being marginally offside.  One sensed though the Pumas weren't out of the woods.

And that would prove to be the case as Aaron Smith's long, flat pass to the left found the powerful finisher who saw off three defenders for what was their third try.  Barrett's simple extras made it 27-6 with just over 20 minutes left at Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata.

Steve Hansen still wanted one final try though and after a period of defending in their own 22, his men attacked through Jerome Kaino showing searing pace before Savea combined with TJ Perenara as the replacement scrum-half dived over for the tournament-sealing try.

But the Pumas would have the final say as a lovely counter attack led to Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe offloading to another substitute, Horacio Agulla, for their only try.

Man of the match:  Early on it was the Israel Dagg and Ben Smith show but for his all round performance, Jerome Kaino gets this gong.  What a specimen.  Malakai Fekitoa also shone.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Agulla
Con:  Gonzalez Iglesias
Pen:  Sánchez 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B Smith, Dagg, Savea, Perenara
Con:  Barrett 4
Pen:  Barrett 2

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Benjamin Macome, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Báez, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Cory Jane.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Deon van Blommestein (South Africa)

Springbok late show downs Wallabies

South Africa were forced to come from behind to seal a 28-10 Rugby Championship victory over Australia in Cape Town on Saturday.

Trailing by two points with ten minutes to play, the home side scored three tries and a drop-goal in the dying minutes to secure the bonus-point win.

Skipper Jean de Villiers touched down twice to add to tries from Marcel Coetzee and Pat Lambie as South Africa outscored Australia four tries to one.

The Springboks were unable to put a glut of possession and territory to good use in the first half, allowing Australia to take a 10-5 lead into the interval.

Poor kicking, basic handling errors and the failure to simply pass the ball when facing clear overlaps repeatedly cut the Boks momentum, wasting a plethora of front-foot ball.

What had been a frustrating evening for the Newlands faithful turned to pure joy however as the Boks' bench came to the rescue and the men in green finally executed in the closing stages.

The hosts dominated the early exchanges and were first to cross the whitewash via a rolling maul, but seldom threatened to break through the Wallaby defence through any other method.

Australia needed just four minutes to score their ten points, including a try from deep inside their own half scored by wing Adam Ashley-Cooper.

The hosts showed their intent to keep ball in hand right from the start, taking it through 17 phases in the opening salvo but the ease with which Australia were able to defend the predictable attacking lines would have been a concern for Bok coach Heyneke Meyer.

After Willie le Roux and Cornal Henrdricks combined to get the hosts into the Aussie 22, South Africa were rewarded for turning down a kickable penalty in favour of a line-out as they set up a textbook maul to crash over after 13 minutes, Coetzee the man with his hands on the ball.

Australia got on the board via a penalty against Adriaan Strauss for taking out a man without the ball as Bernard Foley made amends for an earlier miss.

The visitors took the lead with try against the run of play as Tevita Kuridrani — who looked dangerous whenever he touched the ball — bust through the double tackle of Byran Habana and Handre Pollard to race clear before offloading to Ashley-Cooper, who finished in the corner.

Foley added the extras from the touchline to put the Wallabies up 10-5 just before the half-hour mark.

That's how the scores would stay as the Boks again turned down an easy penalty in favour of an attacking line-out.  The gamble didn't pay off the second time as the ball was lost at the back of the maul.

Pollard score the first points of the second half for the Boks after a ruck offence from the visitors, cutting the deficit to two points.

Pat Lambie should have given the Boks the lead with a penalty from dead in front but sliced his kick to leave his team trailing with 15 minutes to play.

After his team-mates had twice wasted overlaps on the outside, Lambie finally put the hosts in front with a drop-goal in the 71st minute.

Hendricks looked to have fluffed another golden chance after Jan Serfontein's break but De Villiers collected Bismarck du Plessis's pop pass to score the corner and give South Africa some breathing room.  Lambie missed the conversion though, meaning at 16-10, Australia were still within striking distance.

But the the last nine minutes saw one-way traffic as the Wallaby defence fell apart.

First Lambie stepped his way over for try number three before De Villiers rubbed salt into the Wallaby wounds with the fourth in the final minute off Victor Matfield's pass after Cobus Reinach broke clear.

Man of the match:  Although on the losing side, Tevita Kuridrani deserves this gong for an impressive carrying performance at outside centre.  Jean de Villiers and Duane Vermeulen deserve mentions but the Wallaby back was a cut above at Newlands.

Moment of the match:  The Wallabies looked set to pinch another result until De Villiers' first try opened the flood gates.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Coetzee, De Villiers 2, Lambie
Conversion:  Lambie
Penalty:  Pollard
Drop Goals:  Lambie

For Australia:
Try:  Ashley-Cooper
Conversion:  Foley
Penalty:  Foley

The teams:

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handrè Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Tebo Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nic White, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Rob Horne.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Springboks fall short in Wellington

New Zealand overturned a half-time deficit to claim a 14-10 victory over South Africa in a thrilling Rugby Championship Test at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.

Only two tries were scored — one apiece — but the clash between the two best sides in the world lived up to its billing as the All Blacks were forced to hang on in a nail-biting finish to an outstanding contest.

No complaints about the officials this week, only kudos to all those who contributed to a classic clash between old foes.

The result extends South Africa's five-year drought against the All Blacks on Kiwi soil and leaves New Zealand clear at the top of the tournament standings.

Like John Smit and Bryan Habana before him, Jean de Villiers' 100th Test ended in a narrow defeat, but it was almost a very different story as the Boks produced their best performance of the year.

New Zealand dominated the territory (over 70 percent) and possession statistics in the first half but it was the Springboks who led 7-6 at the interval thanks to a try from wing Cornal Hendricks.

The hosts had uncharacteristically made a handful of errors in the opposition 22 and would have been frustrated by their lack of return from opportunities against an excellent green and gold defence.

Richie McCaw's third try of the tournament put New Zealand back in front after the break but a Handré Pollard drop-goal set up a grandstand finish as they teams entered the final quarter neck and neck.

Crucially, the South African set-piece, traditionally such an important part of the Bok game, was functioning in top gear.  The line-out that had misfired in the opening weeks was rock solid with Victor Matfield and Eben Etzebeth untouchable in the air in the first hour.

A good early scrum from South Africa offered encouragement to the visitors, but it was the All Blacks' ability to keep ball in hand that meant New Zealand enjoyed the lion's share of field position and possession in the opening stages.  Aaron Cruden got the scoreboard ticking after Habana was penalised on the deck.

However the Springboks were first to get over the whitewash as Pollard provided the platform for Hendricks to score his fifth try in seven starts.  It was the young fly-half's excellent kick into the corner that put the Boks into the red zone and it was his inside pass to put Hendricks clear in midfield that saw South Africa take the lead.  Pollard added the extras to make it 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

McCaw was held up over the line shortly afterwards but Cruden's second penalty — against Ruan Pienaar for being offside — reduced the deficit to a single point.

Another potential score went a-begging for the New Zealand as Aaron Smith couldn't collect Kieran Read's offload with half time looming.  Cruden sent a penalty after the hooter wide, leaving the world champs trailing at half time.

South Africa lost Ruan Pienaar to a knee injury just before the break and Ma'a Nonu did not return from the changing rooms, meaning both backlines started the second half with a different look and feel.

The All Blacks moved back in front when Cruden's cross-field kick out wide found Read, who offloaded to his skipper to touch down in the corner.  Cruden's conversion effort was off target, leaving New Zealand leading 11-7.

A series of lost line-outs had the Boks on the back foot and only Willie le Roux's pace saved his team a try as he beat Aaron Smith in a footrace to dot down.

Pollard slotted a cheeky drop-goal under pressure to bring South Africa to within a point as they cashed in on a rare opportunity to attack inside the Kiwi half.

Pollard put a long-range penalty attempt just wide but Beauden Barrett made no such mistake after Tendai Mtawarira didn't roll away giving New Zealand a four-point lead heading into the final ten minutes.

Those final minutes were dominated by the visitors as De Villiers twice chose to go for a winning try over a penalty.  But the hosts resisted wave after wave of pressure to hold on to a hard-earned victory.

Man of the match:  Firstly a mention for Handré Pollard, who had a blinder, and underlined his status as South Africa's best 10.  Likewise, a mention for Victor Matfield who tackled his heart out a ruled the line-outs.  But we'll go for Richie McCaw, who scored the winning try and topped the Kiwi tackle count.

Moment of the match:  It went down to the wire, but the New Zealand's defence in the final minute was brilliant.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  McCaw
Pens:  Cruden 2, Barrett

For South Africa:
Try:  Hendricks
Cons:  Pollard
Drops:  Pollard

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Cory Jane.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Damian de Allende.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcí¨s (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzí¨re (France), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
TMO:  Peter Marshall (Australia)

Pumas pain on Gold Coast

Australia secured their second win of the Rugby Championship campaign on Saturday as they held out Argentina 32-25 at the Cbus Super Stadium.

It wasn't pretty as a slippery ball did not help the basics of the sides, with fumbles and stoppages a regular occurrence at the Gold Coast fixture.

However, the Wallabies got the job done against a side they also struggled against on home soil last year so they will be pleased to escape with a win.

Influential captain Michael Hooper scored two of their tries — coming either side of the break — while wing Peter Betham also crossed before a late Pumas onslaught left the home side sweating.

But they held on with a put-in delay from scrum-half Tomás Cubelli five metres out ultimately ending Argentina's hopes of their first victory.

The game started in ideal fashion for Australia when captain Hooper sliced through a hole in midfield before reaching out for an unconverted score.  That was his second try of the Rugby Championship as his speed in back play makes him a lethal running threat game after game.

Argentina hit back five minutes later though and in real style when Manuel Montero raced down the left touchline for a long-range score that saw him slip the attempted tackles of Betham, Hooper and Bernard Foley.  His stock consequently shot up in the Australians' eyes.

Unlike Foley before him, Sanchez landed his conversion to hand the Pumas a narrow lead.

Australia should have moved back in a poor first-half when Foley's break saw him dummy instead of passing to Rob Horne, who had a clean route to the line from five metres out.  From that breakdown, Nick Phipps had a score chalked off as Hooper held Juan Imhoff.

Foley though would build some bridges with his Wallaby team-mates before the break with two penalties that handed the home side a 14-7 advantage going into the interval.

Unfortunately for the watching public on the Gold Coast, the opening quarter of the second stanza did not improve in terms of entertainment, despite Hooper's second try being scored in the 43rd minute.  That score came from a Montero mistake as he failed to gather a chip.

Opposing fly-halves Sanchez and Foley would then trade penalties before the hour mark but when wing Betham slid over on 60 minutes to make it 29-13, the game seemed gone.

But then came a Pumas comeback as tries from Marcelo Bosch and Joaquín Tuculet in the 63rd and 70th minute respectively made it 29-25 with ten minutes left on the clock.  Had Sanchez landed the second touchline conversion, hopes of an upset would have increased.

As it was, three points from Foley soon after the restart gave the Wallabies a seven-point buffer before Argentina missed a gilt-edged chance with four minutes to go, with Sanchez doing a Foley earlier as he failed to pass to his wing, Imhoff, who was under the uprights.

The Pumas would have one more opportunity to claim a draw when they packed down for a scrum five metres out, but then came Cubelli's error as the Wallabies held on for the points

Man of the match:  Two tries from the captain make Michael Hooper our pick.  Another tireless performance from the openside as he continues to lead the Wallabies by example.

Moment of the match:  The try from Manuel Montero was something special as the Puma's finisher showed just what he can do, brushing off three tacklers en route to scoring.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Hooper 2, Betham
Con:  Foley
Pen:  Foley 5

For Argentina:
Tries:  Montero, Bosch, Tuculet
Con:  Sanchez 2
Pen:  Sanchez 2

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Matt Hodgson, 22 Nic White, 23 Kurtley Beale.

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Benjamin Macome, 20 Rodrigo Báez, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Jerónimo De la Fuente, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.

Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Donal Courtney

Horne late show sinks Springboks

A late converted try from Rob Horne saw the Wallabies score their first win of the Rugby Championship as they came from behind to beat South Africa 24-23 at Patersons Stadium in Perth.

It went right down to the wire as the Boks, who had led for 38 minutes of the second-half were left to lick their wounds ahead of facing New Zealand.

Horne's try had to be converted by Bernard Foley however, and he made no mistake late on as the Wallabies bounce back from that Auckland loss.

The Wallabies came out of the blocks with real intent as they immediately reclaimed the kick-off via Folau's impressive leap, which ultimately led to Matt Toomua drawing a defender in a resulting play to send over the full-back for the opening try.  Recalled fly-half Foley missed the conversion.

South Africa had to wake up and fast and fortunately for them they did as number eight Duane Vermeulen pounced at the breakdown to earn Morne Steyn the chance to land three points.  Steyn, in for Handre Pollard, made no mistake as the Boks cut the deficit to two points on six minutes.

More encouragement for Heyneke Meyer came six minutes later when Cornal Hendricks finished off quick hands down the line to push South Africa into the lead.  But like Foley earlier, Steyn could not add the extra two as the visitors now had a 5-8 advantage.

Foley levelled matters soon after when centurion Bryan Habana was pinged at the breakdown as the absorbing Test match unfolded with a nip and tuck feel.

South Africa's physical presence was beginning to tell though and when two further Steyn penalties — the latter coming after good running from Habana — meant that with a Foley shot twelve minutes from the interval, the scoreline was 11-14 to the Boks as the teams went in.

The tight affair continued after the turnaround as Foley's three points a minute into the half for Willie le Roux's side entry was followed up by Steyn pushing his men back in front after a Wallaby scrum offence.  One sensed the pattern would continue right until the end in Perth.

14-17 would soon become 14-20 at Patersons Stadium on 49 minutes when the Springbok scrum continued to banish the horrible memories of Salta, with Steyn again on target.

For the next ten minutes the visitors were determined to win the territorial battle and they did just that as Folau twice sliced his responses with just five metres gained.  Ewen McKenzie would have been wary of the clock ticking down while his team was stuck in their own 22.

Further worries arrived when replacement James Horwill failed to roll away, thus handing Steyn a shot for a third straight three point effort.

Momentum would swing once again just after the hour mark, however, when Habana was shown a yellow card by George Clancy for an adjudged high tackle on Adam Ashley-Cooper.  And from that card, the Wallabies would go close to scoring as replacement Pek Cowan thought he had scored only for obstruction being called.

Fortunately for the Wallabies they would soon get the consolation of three points which made it a one-score game once again at 17-23 in Perth.

And with time running out and Habana now back on the field, it would take replacement Kurtley Beale, centre Tevita Kuridrani and that man Folau to combine before Horne did the rest, stepping Steyn to allow Foley the kick for victory.

Man of the match:  When he gets the ball things happen.  Israel Folau scored one and had a big hand in the match-winner for Horne.  Simply too good at times.

Moment of the match:  The yellow card for Bryan Habana gave the Wallabies extra momentum but it was their impressive bench that proved the difference, with Kurtley Beale, Scott Higginbotham, Pek Cowan and Matt Hodgson impressing.

Villain of the match:  Test match rugby is won on small margins and had Morne Steyn not missed touch late on, the Boks probably would have won this game.  He won't be happy on the flight to New Zealand.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Folau, Horne
Con:  Foley
Pen:  Foley 4

For South Africa:
Try:  Hendricks
Pen:  Steyn 6

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 James Hanson, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Matt Hodgson, 22 Nic White, 23 Kurtley Beale.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (capt), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Damian de Allende.

Venue:  Patersons Stadium, Perth
Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Andrew Cole

Savea stars in classy All Blacks win

New Zealand were eventually convincing winners against Argentina in Napier, picking up a try bonus point in a 28-9 victory.

Julian Savea scored twice, taking his absurd record in Test rugby to 26 tries in 25 games.

At times this was closer to a chip and grubber exhibition than a Test match as both sides, forwards and backs, had their turn to try and put the opposition into a tangle.

Eventually though New Zealand broke free, as ever.  The fact that Beauden Barrett is a third-choice fly-half is bordering on a practical joke.

It was a psychological battle initially as much as a physical one.  When Sam Whitelock is forced to depart, that's all you need to know.

Napier didn't quite supply the biblical conditions that made Round One of this year's tournament such a dire spectacle, but it wasn't far off initially.  Good on the fans for toughing it out in what looked like miserable pre-match weather.

Whatever the skies supplied, the odds of Argentina achieving a first ever win over New Zealand after 22 failures felt minutely slim pre-kick-off.

It was not a night for the officials, missing a blatant pull-back on Savea in the opening minutes and then denying Leonardo Senatore a try for a nonsense knock-on.

Adjusting to the All Blacks' tempo is never easy and although Argentina's tactics were spot on, the visitors were turned inside out by Barrett's chip over the top with Horacio Agulla putting in a blatant early tackle on Savea but escaping any punishment.

Barrett couldn't find his range with his first strike for goal, nor could Sínchez's with his drop-goal attempt, but Argentina were their now customary bright selves when working in New Zealand's 22.

Pascal Gauzí¨re's scrum interpretation was met with frustration from Marcos Ayerza but it paved the way for Barrett to score the first points after 15 minutes, landing a penalty from out wide.

Argentina's maul was as effective as ever, producing a first penalty chance for Sínchez to level things up.

Errors count for double when the heavens are open and boy there were enough here, from Wyatt Crockett's charge-down on Juan Martín Herníndez to Israel Dagg hoofing the ball out on the full after great recovery work in his 22.

Appropriately it was a subtle kick that created the opening try, Conrad Smith the architect as Savea patiently waited to dot down his deflected grubber.  Retallick's ball skills in the build-up defied belief.

Sínchez struck a second penalty to maintain the tension, New Zealand taking an 8-6 lead into the break — at least that what the script said.

The unthinkable occurred.  Winning the scrum against the head, Barrett broke free up the middle and had Messam on his inside to add the second score.  Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n's shocked expression said it all.

We say it time and time again.  Against the All Blacks, never switch off.

The assault continued with Savea's second try, latching onto Barrett's perfectly weighted pass, Hurricanes intuition too smart for Argentina's midfield defence.

Not that New Zealand are perfect.  Dagg blew a wide open chance to give Ben Smith a try when his pass looped out of control into touch with the line beckoning, but the result already felt settled.

Scandalously a poor decision from the officials robbed Senatore of a try when his charge-down was interpreted as a knock-on.

Sínchez and Colin Slade traded penalties before Aaron Smith added the gloss late on with his tenth Test try, Argentina's scrum five metres out from their own line well-contained and too slow to react to Read's quick thinking.

More importantly it notched up a try bonus-point, invaluable before the All Blacks take on the Springboks.

Argentina in the end were well adrift but should take pride from their efforts as ever.  The conclusion was far from revelatory — New Zealand were just too good.

Man of the Match:  The man-mountain Brodie Retallick. Outstanding yet again.

Moment of the Match:  Has to be Liam Messam's try.  All Argentina's good work keeping the game tight instantly unravelled after the hooter.

Villain of the Match:  Really not a good night for the officials was it?  Senatore's disallowed try was a shambles.  Use the TMO.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea 2, Messam, Smith
Con:  Slade
Pens:  Barrett, Slade

For Argentina:
Pen:  Sínchez 3

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Herníndez, 11 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino, 10 Nicolís Sínchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n, 5 Tomís Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Luca Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bíez, 21 Tomís Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonzílez Iglesias, 23 Juan Imhoff.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzí¨re (France)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcí¨s (France), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
TMO:  Peter Marshall (Australia)