The All Blacks have crashed to their first defeat to Argentina at home, the Pumas coming from behind in Christchurch for a 25-18 triumph that will inevitably pour more pressure on head coach Ian Foster.
The week may have begun with good vibes for Foster and company after he was publicly backed until the World Cup by his employers, but it ended in something approaching disaster – a muddled second-half effort in which the All Blacks didn’t fire an attacking shot.
And despite their halftime lead – which was well deserved – there was a sense of inevitability to this defeat; a sense that not a lot has been developed since the Ireland series defeat.
This All Blacks team – without the sinbinned Shannon Frizell for the final 10 minutes – remain brittle and vulnerable to pressure.
For all of their comeback heroics a fortnight ago against the Boks at Ellis Park, this still appears to be a team with few clues about how to break down determined and set defences.
The Wallabies, who beat the Boks 25-17 at Adelaide Oval earlier, will fancy their chances in the Bledisloe Cup.
And for former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, now in charge of Argentina, this will be very enjoyable indeed.
Foster now has the dubious honour of being the first All Blacks head coach to lose to the Pumas – in Australia in 2020 – and at home.
In the end, the All Blacks, who did well to retain the ball in the final minutes and put sustained pressure on the Pumas, saw it go down the drain when Codie Taylor’s throw to an attacking lineout was adjudged to be not straight.
The All Blacks struck a perfect storm of a rookie referee in Nika Amashukeli who was determined to make his mark by blowing his whistle at every opportunity and a Pumas team who didn’t miss a kick at goal, tackled reasonably well, and were alert to their only try-scoring opportunity.
They were also able to play the game at their own pace; which was a slow one, and the near constant whistle helped considerably.
This isn’t to excuse what for the All Blacks was a jittery second-half performance which was heavy on mistakes and light on clarity and leadership, merely to add some context to a result which will inevitably pour more scrutiny on New Zealand Rugby's decision to back Foster. The three missed kicks at goal were costly too.
The home side weren't perfect in the first half but they were certainly in control – with two tries and the Pumas not going close to threatening the line.
But no sooner had the All Blacks stretched their lead to 18-12 at the start of the second half with a Richie Mo’unga penalty, the Pumas struck back with a try from the re-start; Scott Barrett coughing it up and Aaron Smith falling off Juan Martin Gonzalez.
Emiliano Boffelli’s sideline conversion was good, and so were his two penalties which compounded the scoreboard pressure and at 25-18 with a little more than 14 minutes remaining, the All Blacks appeared short of ideas.
It wasn’t a capitulation, but it may as well have been because the All Blacks had every advantage in the first half. Like in their last win in Johannesburg, they again started reasonably well, had an edge in the set piece, and have a driving maul vastly superior to what it was before Jason Ryan came on board.
And yet, they failed to capitalise, and once they conceded the lead didn’t look likely at all. A yellow card for Frizell with 10 minutes remaining only increased the confusion levels, if not frustrations.
Their first-half tries for hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, from a lineout drive, and Caleb Clarke, from a wonky Pumas lineout and beautiful running line outside Rieko Ioane by Jordie Barrett were no more than the All Blacks deserved.
They had played all the attacking rugby, the Pumas merely clinging on defensively and scoreboard-wise through the boot of Emiliano Boffelli.
And yet, for all of the All Blacks’ high-tempo, high-intensity efforts to stretch the Argentines, they found it difficult to consistently do so because of the overly-officious refereeing of Georgian official Amashukeli, and the visitors’ ability to slow the game down to something a little more manageable.
It was something the Springboks were keen to do in South Africa recently; they were able to in the first Test at Mbombele Stadium but not during their defeat at Ellis Park due to the All Blacks’ ability to play at pace in the second half, an ability helped by referee Luke Pearce’s eagerness to see the game keep flowing.
Given this is Amashukeli’s first year in the big time it was perhaps understandable that he wanted to referee the game to the letter of the law but it contributed to a stop-start affair frustrating to All Blacks and their supporters alike.
But for all of his watchfulness at the breakdown, it was odd to see him miss obvious forward passes or Pumas defenders standing metres offside.
It was a curious performance but it shouldn't take away from Argentina's triumph or the All Blacks' failure.
Argentina 25 (Juan Martin Gonzalez; Emiliano Boffelli 6 pens, con)
All Blacks 18 (Samisoni Taukei’aho, Caleb Clarke tries; Richie Mo’unga 2 pens, con)
Halftime: 15-12
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