Tri Nations: Argentina makes history and beats the All Blacks

An extraordinary team performance by the Pumas is worth their first success against New Zealand, brought down at the end of a nightmare 80 minutes

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Argentina beats New Zealand for the first time in history (ph. Sebastiano Pessina)

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The third day of the Tri Nations 2020 sees the seasonal debut of Argentina, without rugby for 13 months, immediately against the toughest exam, that is New Zealand with a top formation. All Blacks who field practically all their best to immediately raise their heads after the defeat against Australia a week ago, Pumas who include seven players who play in the European leagues in the initial XV, and have at least some rugby played in the legs. For the others, those who played with the Jaguares until March, there are only many weeks of a rally that started in Buenos Aires in July and leads to today’s game.

After the haka led by Aaron Smith we start, and the first opportunity is immediately Pumas with a slightly wrong drop from Sanchez. In the fourth minute, a slap by Frizell on the midfield cost the New Zealanders a free kick, and the first points of the match bagged from the pitch by Sanchez himself. The All Blacks react, and put up a long abrasive action but collided with an Argentine defense that appeared very solid from the start and, after a touchdown in the 22, they had to settle for Mo’unga’s equalizer in the eleventh. In the following minutes the blacks try to accelerate, but in front of them they find a literally impassable wall that gives practically nothing, in a match that remains nervous and full of close clashes. In the middle of the fraction then the Pumas pass at the first opportunity: after a touchdown won in attack, an action that arrives in the 22 and with the advantage in favor Sanchez raises a soft football that is not collected by the defense. It is the same number 10 to attack the oval and dive all the way to the goal for the 3 to 10. New Zealand is anything but lucid, indeed, and it is indiscipline that reigns supreme: between the 22nd and the 24th Sanchez he has two possibilities from the pitch, he manages to score the second showing enormous coldness from distance. The plot does not change, and the All Blacks succeeds little or nothing in attack, while the Pumas control the opposing outbursts by not making (literally) any wrong tackle. At half an hour there are already seven fouls whistled against Cane and his teammates, an enormous amount, and the Argentines touch on the restart what would seem the knockout blow, with a counterattack stopped one step away from the goal and Matera held high in the following phase. The result is a scrum that decrees another New Zealand foul, and three more points arrive for Sanchez and Argentina who flies on 3 to 16. The messes of all blacks do not end until the break, and even Mo’unga almost on the siren sends in in-goal an oval intended in touch after a free kick. At the end of unreal 40 minutes, on both sides, Argentina leads with full merit by 13 points in Sydney.

The second half opens on notes already seen, and in the first six minutes there are already three fouls committed by New Zealand. The last of these costs a new Sanchez placing from the 10-meter line, and so the South Americans can even fly beyond the double break at 3 to 19. From the restart, however, the pacific players start a long action that leads to a touchdown on 5 a favor, ball won and advancing drive closed by Captain Cane for the first goal of his team, transformed by Mo’unga for 10 to 19. Match reopened? The first sensations say no, because a few minutes pass and a new New Zealand offside puts Sanchez on the pitch again for the easy kick of 10 to 22 to the 56th. Shortly after a touchdown in favor of the 22 Argentines is brutally lost by the New Zealanders, who literally cannot do anything against an Argentina that has an impressive mental clarity, from a large consolidated team and not from a formation that has not played for over a calendar year. Testimony of this is the long All Blacks action around the 68th, with many phases close to the 22 faced by a perfect defense, then Mo’unga looks for the solution to the foot but Chocobares finds the oval in his hand and controls, making one more fade turn the chances of blacks. You enter the last ten minutes and the festival of New Zealand mistakes continues, against a Pumas defense that suffers, spends a few foul when necessary, but literally never sinks. Proof of this is the ball snatched by Matera in the 74th, which is worth a whistle in favor and the removal of the pressure, as well as the growing feeling of making history. With three to go, Sanchez puts an end to every speech, finding the goal posts for 10-25, an irrecoverable chasm especially for the All Blacks as bad as those seen in this Italian morning. Clarke’s first international goal is of little use in the red time trial, also because we are crying on the pitch and around the pitch: Argentina has just made history, after 30 head-to-head clashes New Zealand is overtaken at the end of a simply legendary team proof.

The scoreboard of New Zealand-Argentina 15–25, third day of the Tri Nations 2020:

New Zeland: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Jordie Barrett, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Jack Goodhue, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Available: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Hoskins Sotutu, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Rieko Ioane, 23 Damian McKenzie

New Zealand scorers:

Destinations: Cane (52 ‘), Clarke (81’)

Transformations: Mo’unga (53 ‘)

Set piece: Mo’unga (11 ‘)

Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti , 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Available: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Lucio Cinti, 23 Santiago Cordero

Argentina scorers:

Meta: Sanchez (19’)

Transformation: Sanchez (20 ‘)

Set pieces: Sanchez (5 ‘, 25’, 32 ‘, 48’, 56 ‘, 77’)

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