For Scott Robertson and the All Blacks, the Garden of Eden, as the head coach likes to call it, was close to paradise last night as his side defended their remarkable record there.
Last night the previous weekend’s woes in Wellington were washed away in a deluge of rain and points in the 42-10 victory which was all but sealed at halftime.
They were a pleased and proud group afterwards, and well they should because another defeat would have ruined a 30-year undefeated streak which now stands at 50 Tests. It would also have cast a dark pall ahead of their two Tests in South Africa.
And yet, there was still the smallest of regrets from the man known as Razor that the All Blacks couldn’t cut the Pumas to shreds after leading 35-3 at halftime.
“We wanted to bury them in the Garden,” Robertson said. “We wanted to make sure we finished them off. Sometimes that happens – the great thing is we got Beauden [Barrett] to 10 and Rieko [Ioane] to left wing, we got Anton [Lienert-Brown] on.
Watch Scotty Stevenson and Pat McKendry break down the game on TVNZ+.
“We played the whole squad, we just lost a bit of rhythm doing it. When we got down there to the 22 we just didn’t finish a couple off which would have made it a bit sweeter. But the efforts were there.”
They certainly were. The pack demolished the Argentine scrum, the previously troublesome lineout was almost perfect, Damian McKenzie and his backs kicked intelligently and generally made the right choices, the defence was far more ferocious than anything we’ve seen this year, and, ultimately, we finally saw something of the vision that Robertson is trying to build.
“I’m happy because we owned the situation… we talked about having a response and we did tonight – especially the first 40, it was sort of the wetter the better really wasn’t it.
“I’m proud we showed what we’re all about.
“Everything we had planned the week before we did this week. It was a really great mindsight. Ardie [Savea] led it really well. We all bought in. We owned the position we were in and we just wanted to honour what Eden Park is all about.”
Savea, oddly quiet in Wellington, was back to his rambunctious best at Eden Park after some soul-searching this week.
“I’m tired… I put all of my energy out there tonight,” he said. “When the team is against the wall it brings the best out of people. A good challenge is not relying on a loss to get a response and bring that edge every week as an All Black.”
Asked whether it took words or actions during the week to inspire the response, Savea said: “It’s a combination of both. It starts with myself as leader and the rest of us leaders. We need to step forward and lead and let the boys follow us.”
Halfback TJ Perenara finally found his spark and McKenzie’s game management was vastly improved. Tupou Vaa’i showed he is in fact at Test quality lock, flanker Ethan Blackadder was relentless, and Ioane, back after being dropped to the bench the previous week, never stopped working.
Jordan, with two tries to take his tally to 33 from 33 Tests, didn’t miss a beat in his second Test of the year.
Another boost was Robertson’s confirmation that regular skipper Scott Barrett should be available for the first Test against the Boks in Johannesburg on September 1.
Savea said: “When we’re physical, direct and urgent I think that’s when we look our best. I’m very proud of the guys tonight.
“Damian and Baz [Beauden Barrett] put us in the right end of the field and allowed us forwards to get around the corner and get physical. We probably didn’t do that last week. We struggled to get out of our half. For us to get into those positions… really helped us.”
Robertson, who said he didn’t realise the All Blacks were on the brink of 50 undefeated Tests at Eden Park until afterwards, added: “The defence was exceptional. There were some great efforts off the ball and some kick-chase, some charge downs, some hard balls on the ground – that’s what we’re all about.”
Argentina coach Felipe Contempomi said: “It’s more than disappointing. There’s frustration because we knew what was coming. We knew they were going to be direct, strong, physical and that the collisions were going to be there and we couldn’t stop it.”
Watch Scotty Stevenson and Pat McKendry break down the game on TVNZ+.
SHARE ME