The All Blacks have suffered their first loss of the Scott Robertson era, losing 38-30 to Argentina in Wellington, a place that has become increasingly cursed for the home side.
They were in control at 20-15 up at halftime, but imploded in the second half against a Pumas side that fully deserved their victory — their third over the All Blacks.
The visitors defended with heart and attacked with intelligence — despite being out-muscled in the first half by an All Blacks side that had a physical edge up front, an edge that strangely disappeared after the break.
There will be questions aplenty about where it went wrong for the All Blacks, who have to pick themselves up to defend their Eden Park fortress against the same opposition next Saturday.
in front of a swathe of empty seats and only minutes after the Springboks blew past the Wallabies 33-7 in Brisbane, the All Blacks lacked cohesion and accuracy, after their series win over England and blowout victory over Fiji in San Diego recently.
They missed injured skipper Scott Barrett and fellow lock Patrick Tuipulotu, and halfback TJ Perenara, who had two kicks charged down in succession, couldn't provide a spark. It's probably fair to say that Damian McKenzie didn't provide the required direction either.
If anything highlighted their inaccuracy, it was the moments leading up to the Pumas’ match-winning try with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Ethan Blackadder did well to steal a lineout, but from the ruck, an Ardie Savea pass went straight past McKenzie and into the backfield, with McKenzie recovering the ball, only to send it behind the tryline in another brain explosion. Veteran Agustin Creevy scored the converted try from the resulting scrum, which put the Pumas ahead 35-30.
A penalty from Santiago Carreras put the game beyond reach and denied the All Blacks a losing bonus point.
It all means that the All Blacks haven’t won in Wellington since 2018 — a win over France. It is a stunning return to earth for Robertson and company, after Ian Foster, Robertson’s predecessor, made history by coaching the All Blacks to their first loss to the Argentines in 2020.
It was a bizarre turnaround after the home side appeared in charge in the opening quarter, with the Pumas conceding six penalties in the first 11 minutes.
The All Blacks, who turned down two kickable penalties, were over via impressive lock Sam Darry, after a McKenzie chip and chase, and Beauden Barrett crosskick, only for Lucio Cinti to reply for the visitors.
The All Blacks went ahead again via Anton Lienert-Brown, only for Mateo Carreras to reply for the Pumas.
Making the Test more unusual was the fact the first scrum was not set until the 62nd minute.
Again, the All Blacks appeared to have an edge there, but the Pumas finished on top.
Still, the All Blacks took a 20-15 lead to the break and were in charge, but the Argentines wouldn’t go away and took the lead for the first time, when lock Franco Molina won an attacking lineout and was pushed over a little too easily for the All Blacks’ liking.
The lead was swapped again, as McKenzie and Carreras traded penalties, before a Mark Tele’a try allowed the All Blacks to go in front.
Carreras narrowed the gap to 30-28 with a penalty, before McKenzie missed one off the tee. The No.10 then crossed the line, but the try was ruled out for a forward pass to Will Jordan, who replaced the quiet Sevu Reece.
Creevy’s try was always going to be difficult to reply to and, again, the All Blacks made it hard for themselves, when replacement hooker Asafo Aumua missed his mark in a key lineout and loose forward Wallace Sititi was penalised for not releasing a tackled player.
The resulting penalty added insult to injury.
Robertson said he wanted attacking accuracy in this match. It didn’t happen.
Worse, they were bullied physically by the finish and that’s a worry indeed with two Tests against the Boks in South Africa just around the corner.
"We weren't good enough, really," Robertson said afterwards.
Argentina 38 (Lucio Cinti, Mateo Carreras, Franco Molina, Agustin Creevy tries; Santiago Carreras 4 pens, 3 cons)
All Blacks 30 (Sam Darry, Anton Lienert-Brown, Mark Tele’a, tries; Damian McKenzie 3 cons, 3 pens)
Halftime: All Blacks 20-15
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