Smith ensures bonus point win for All Blacks

Smith ensures bonus point win for All Blacks

A last minute try to wing Ben Smith gave the All Blacks a 33-15 win over Argentina in their Investec Rugby Championship Test at La Plata on Sunday (NZT).

New Zealand had to overcome some determined home defensive resistance before getting the vital bonus point try which allows them to go to Ellis Park next week with a five point cushion in the Championship.

Awarded a penalty on the Argentina 22m line, New Zealand kicked for the corner, controlled the lineout ball and replacement halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow delayed a pass momentarily for Smith to charge into the line and beat the tackles of Felipe Contemponi and Nicolas Sanchez to score under the posts.

Taking control in the second half, the All Blacks controlled the tempo of the game and when they lifted the speed Argentina struggled to cope. The breakthrough came after a sustained period of continuity play in the Argentinian 22m area.

After played ranged across field and back, with some powerful driving, the ball emerged on the flank where flanker Sam Cane went over wide out for the try. It was just reward for Cane who showed during the game how much his game has advanced.

Moments later, in the 55th minute, a superb play from a short lineout saw second five-eighths Ma'a Nonu do a double pump with the ball, resulting in a short pass being taken by wing Ben Smith and after he stepped fullback Juan Martin Hernandez he had the speed to make the line which, with the conversion, took New Zealand to a 26-12 lead.

New Zealand went looking for the bonus point try but met stern resistance from the home side who also landed their fifth penalty goal, the fourth of the game to first five-eighths Nicolas Sanchez.

It was a bruising first half with little chance for a dominance to be achieved. Argentina's set piece play was vastly improved on that seen in Hamilton earlier in the competition with the lineout tidier and the scrum as powerful as ever.

Argentina's failure to control a high mid-field kick saw the ball knocked on and wing Julian Savea picked up the ball, beat the tackle attempt of lock Juan Cabello, and cleared out on a 60m burst to score.

Play was held up interminably while the TMO was consulted on two points, and then when the try was awarded Aaron Cruden was given a second attempt after an early charge by Argentina. There was also laser interference from the crowd as he prepared for the kick.

No such problems for home kicker, first five-eighths Nicolas Sanchez who landed three penalty goals. Then, after winning a penalty from a scrum on halfway when their re-start kick went too long, centre Marcello Bosch landed the goal from 51 metres.

The lead was momentary as Argentina infringed in a maul and Cruden landed his third penalty goal.

Scorers:
Argentina 15 (Nicolas Sanchez 4 pen, Marcello Bosch pen ) New Zealand 33 (Julian Savea, Sam Cane, Ben Smith 2 tries; Aaron Cruden 2 con, 3 pen ). HT: 9-11

first big congrats to the All Blacks for a well deserved bonus point win, meke effort boys way to do NZ proud, again, :o)

and also big congrats to the pumas who were just freocious that first 50 mins, there was not a speck of giving up from the pumas to be seen anywhere and the south americans can hold their head up high big time IMO, they really challenged the All Blacks and for the first 50 mins the contest was a real even affair.
the two quick tries in the 50-55 min mark to cane and smith was the defining moment of the game. it didnt finish the pumas of, but it gave the All Blacks a firm grip on the reins of the games and we all know how that usually turns out.

the most important thing though is the pumas while lacking the consistency that the SANZAR teams have, they are on the right path to becoming a legitimate super rugby nation, thier inclusion to the TriNats should of happened long long ago.

as for the game itself, All Blacks kicking game wasnt it usual sharp self, the 1st half especially felt like the All Blacks were finding their feet the whole time and thats something they should adjust to more quickly.

i didnt like how our forwards were complaining to the ref about the pumas infringing and effectively shutting down aaron smith, who gives a fuck??? i dont want them to bitch and moan like some girly man fans do with their facebook pages, i want them to get in there and protect the freaking ball.
i alos dont think there was anything wrong with the pumas, every time i looked they were behind the last foot (will double and triple check though), but their speed of the mark was just perfectly timed and it clearly got under the All Blacks skin.
i hope shag and co work the boys butts off this week to fix that problem.

i also wasnt a big fan of the lack of pick and drives the All Blacks were doing, u dont have to overdo it like the Boks do who pick drive and kick 99% of thier existence, but u do need to do it.
i saw the All Blacks too many time just shuffle the ball out wide only for the awesome pumas defence to easily read it and snuff it out. then the All Blacks would in the very next phase rinse and repeat, i mean WTF is that all about??? o_O
instead of doing the smae with which was yielding very little results, they should of been sending a couple of forwards around the fringes to help draw in some of the pumas numbers or getting the forwards to do some pick and drives.

i dont mind forwards in the backs, the All Blacks are the best in the world at utilizing good synergised passages of plays between forwards and backs, but what i dont like is seeing forwards in the back line when the forwards are barely gaining parity.
if the pumas had not start to run out of a little steam towards the end, the lack of forwards being forwards could of really hurt us, especially if the game was closer.

but other then that i got no real beef and its hard to be critical when the All Blacks win with another 4 try bonus point, lolz.

aaron smith was poor, should of been subbed of earlier as he tries to do too much when things dont go his way and that usually adds to his error count.

nonu was freaking awesome again, were going to need his composure to help negate JDV who is in some wicked form at the moment.

julian savea was awesome too, its good knowing that his beating skills isnt just reserved for his missus.

and crudz need s to sharpen up his boot, cos right now the smarty money suggests that in a morne vs cruden kicking duel, morne would be the clear winner.

and congrats to the newbies again for stepping up and making the most with what time they had to play with, sam cane is making it very hard for todd and others to stamp their claim, cos cane keeps getting better and better.

congrast again boys, cant wait for next weeks big match, :o)

 What really amazes me out of both games is that Cooper made 17 tackles !!!!!!

 hey Sasu and JW!
Sasu, I think we must also keep in  mind Sir GH positive influence on the Pumas.