Two tries: Julian Savea
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New Zealand clinched the inaugural Rugby Championship title with a round to spare on Saturday with a 54-15 win over Argentina in La Plata.
The All Blacks produced their best performance of the year to demolish los Pumas, scoring seven tries including a hat-trick for Cory Jane and two for his fellow wing Julian Savea.
Centre Ma'a Nonu and scrum-half Aaron Smith also got their names on the scorecard to complete the rout.
The result sees the All Blacks extend their winning streak to 15 games ahead of next weekend's showdown with the Springboks in Johannesburg.
The world champions were given a scare early on as the hosts started in the best possible fashion by taking a 5-0 lead thanks to a wonderful try from scrum-half Martin Landajo.
But it didn't take long for New Zealand to strike back and once the visitors had found their rhythm, it was one-way traffic for the rest of the game and the men in black raced to a 32-8 lead by half-time.
Argentina were not allowed to get away with their customary spoiling tactics at the breakdown by referee Jaco Peyper, and with quick ball at their disposal, the All Black backs were at their devastating best.
The hosts tried to adopt a much more open style than we've seen in the past but while they produced two very good tries, they were unable to match the Kiwis at what they do best - moving the ball into space at pace.
The locals were looking good after Landajo's opening score from a well-worked first-phase backline move that saw full-back Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino burst through on halfway.
But the Argentine defence was nowhere to be seen when Nonu escaped from the fringe of a ruck to put Smith over in the 17th minute.
A few minutes later Read strolled through to set up Jane in the corner, Savea chased down his own chip ahead for his first try and then bagged another on the stroke of half-time.
Although Gonzalo Camacho shrugged off Andrew Hore to score after the interval, the All Blacks killed the game off as Savea manhandled two defenders to set up Jane's second.
Dan Carter kicked five from seven before being taken off along with Richie McCaw on the hour mark. But it didn't stop the points from flowing as replacement Aaron Cruden broke the line with his first touch and set up Nonu for an easy try.
Jane clinched his hat-trick with a 50m intercept with the last play of the game.
Man of the Match It's hard not to give the gong to one of the backs since they scored all the points. Richie McCaw deserves a mention but Kieran Read was phenomenal and had a direct hand in creating at least two of the tries for the flash boys out wide.
Moment of the match: There were a number of excellent tries - with Landajo's score a highlight - but Cory Jane's first try, thanks to a brilliant offload from Read, was out of the top drawer. It put the All Blacks 10 points up and they never looked back.
Villian of the match: No bad guys to be seen.
The scorers:
For Argentina:
Tries: Landajo, Camacho
Con: Hernandez
Pens: Hernandez
For New Zealand:
Tries: A. Smith, Jane 3, Savea 2, Nonu
Cons: Carter 3, Cruden 2
Pens: Carter 2, Cruden
Argentina: 15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Tomas Vallejos, 19 Tomas Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Martin Rodriguez, 22 Juan Imhoff.
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.
Venue: Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official: Francisco Pastrana
Comments
Toulousain says...
@sandal, your post is so offensive, i will just leave you with the guilt of having written such appalling things.
Posted 09:06 01st October 2012
Toulousain says...
@kiwidiver. pls come to stadium municipal or ernest wallon for a nice atmosphere. we will even cook you lunch and have wine after the game :-)
you say i have no credentials to speak about rugby, but then you proclaim: "Fact is, France didn't deserve to be at the final - the crowd was simply expressing what the rest of the world already knew."
...and you are able to speak for the world, on what basis? simply because you are a NZer, so we all have to accept what you say??
please
Posted 09:05 01st October 2012
Toulousain says...
@hellovanite. i seem to remember beating your beloved ABs a few times in rwc knock-out games, no? and we've beaten you a few times here at stadium municipal too?
what is your point? does my national team need to "thrash" some-one before i can have an educated opinion. or, by the same logic, since you have a mighty team, does it follow that all NZ are PHDs in rugby?
Posted 08:59 01st October 2012
Toulousain says...
@BillyMutt2: so you are a philosopher? your opinion is about my opinion. and then you bemoan the descent of this site away from rugby matters.
what's your opinion on the rugby matters i have listed?
Posted 08:55 01st October 2012
Toulousain says...
@ NZ posters. you make me laugh. not a single relevant post. not one. just the usual "if anyone says anything about ABs they must be a hater" type generalisations. and some "France deserved to be hated" type of stuff too for good measure. along with a kind of a pathetic history lesson. and some amateur psycho-analysis. clearly, if i generalise, i know nothing about rugby. and if i am specific with the tape and factual incidents, i am some kind of crazy person who needs medication. really? that's your approach??
get a grip. your team is magnificent. but your supporters (if the collection of posters here is in anyway representative) are like a bizarre cult.
seriously. not one of you can explain how NZ get 7 minutes of killing the ball with no warning, and pumas get less than 1? that's a simple enough stat/question isn't it? with your collective superiority in all things rugby-related, i'm really dying to hear the answer.
i think we now understand hansen's pre-match comments. very smart.
for the record, my husband is argentine. (yes, that's right - i am a woman, so presumably can't really know anything, right?). i am in my late fifties. my son played professional rugby for toulouse and france and i have been involved in the club for almost 20 years. during which time i have had the pleasure of mixing with many different players of many different nations (NZ, Aus, SA, Arg etc).
your collective arrogance is really something.
(for the record, mccaw is a great player, and i'm not sure exactly how i made reference to him killing jews? some of you here are frankly sick. or maybe you need to live beyond your teenage years and/or your obsessions with the ABs as a reflection of your inner self-worth. try having a child or two. try caring about something other than your opinions!!)
Posted 08:40 01st October 2012
Nahpoowee says...
Nice effort Toulousain, I think Tvaddict wins though.... Trinuts would have to be dead last, much to bitter lol... try NRL for a change, I'm sure an aussie team could win there.
Posted 07:46 01st October 2012
hellovanite says...
Toulousain.... Get your French head out of your Froggy behind! Why is it that people like you continue to count every indiscretion, every missed forward pass and every perceived illegality imparted by the Abs without any desire to review the opposing team? As if that¿s not enough then proceed to lambast the ref as being someone looking for an NZ passport. Did you bother to count the number of times the Argentina forwards had their hands in the ruck slowing down the ball or the knock-ons not picked up by the ref??? or do your eyes only see green with envy... sad little man who needs therapy to get over the RWC 2011. We may have done it tough in the final but we spanked your behinds in the pool play? When was the last time France thrashed anyone? Just give credit where credit is due and stop with the pathetic cheating calls. Every team benefits from the refs inability to correctly assess all situations not just the Abs. The only difference is that in a lot of cases only the Abs are capable of capitalising on it. Which for cretins like you is fuel for the green fire that lurks within¿ Just grow up why don¿t you!
Posted 06:39 01st October 2012
sandal says...
@Toulousain
What are you saying? A fairer score would have been Argentina 50, NZ nil?
Argentina were thwarted, thwarted, thwarted.
NZ cheated, cheated, cheated.
Toulousain, you're an idiot. Here's some news: Richie McCaw didn't assassinate JFK, he didn't fly either of those airplanes into the World Trade Centre, he didn't drop the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, he didn't murder hundreds of thousands in Rwanda, he didn't murder the Jews, he didn't purge the Chinese intelligentsia ...
Do I need to go on?
Really, some of the people writing below the line here are more obsessively screwy than I had thought possible. What causes it?
Posted 05:35 01st October 2012
pony_ says...
Missionary says..."Love to read some comments by that idiot Stephen Jones who rates Hernandez as better than Carter."
That one made me laugh Missionary. Hernandez is a fine player but if that's what Jones has actually written I'm not surprised. I stopped bothering with him a while back when The Times started making me pay to read his twaddle, but he was usually worth a good chuckle. Among the last few things I read of his included his belief that NZ rugby was in decline, that Conrad Smith and Corey Jane were barely of international standard, a few patronising (or worse) comments about Maori culture etc etc. Oh, and his utter bewilderment that Eng's 10-man game that won them the WC hasn't lead to international dominance over the following decade. The man is, as you say, an idiot.
Posted 02:13 01st October 2012
sandal says...
@bk47
You say: ""Yeah even listening to the Nz commentating of Justin Marshall thought a few of the calls were a bit iffy against Argentina.""
Even Justin Marshall? Even? Was this your introduction to Marshall? The All Blacks have rarely been awarded a penalty during Marshall's time in the box without him opining that they were "lucky to win that". Marshall's attempts to offer the "other" point of view almost always take this form and constitute no authority on anything.
Myself, I thought Peyper demonstrated some of the most "creative" refereeing seen outside the British Isles. At times he applied laws in situations totally unrelated to their purpose, and Nonu and Romano were certainly not wearing Argenine shirts when they became victims of wholly inappropriate and pointless rulings.
I am sure you would agree, however, that Peyper¿s performance had no bearing on the result.
Posted 01:49 01st October 2012
BillyMutt2 says...
Really hard to grasp that there are still idiots posting here about the All Blacks cheating, the ref helping them win, and such assorted drivel. Just read the utter cr@p from Toulousian and you'll understand what I mean.
Unfortunately, what was once a fine rugby forum for fans to express their opinion has degenerated into a childish mud-slinging circus, dominated by a handful of serial morons and sore losers who do nothing more but display their vast ignorance about rugby.
Unfortunately I don't know what the solution is to rid the site of these people, other than to go elsewhere for rugby news.
Posted 01:18 01st October 2012
Trader2 says...
whizz52 - goodone
I tend to skip over his dribble now and must of missed that one. Ha ha he really is a dropkick.
Posted 00:06 01st October 2012
porridge_time says...
TVaddick...
So how can you account for NZ being penalised more than Argentina? Stop kidding yourself that you are impartial because you simply are not. The main difference between previous match and the one in Argentina was simple... the official did not blow the hell out of his whistle he... he allowed the game to flow.
I watch the match between Har v Sar in the English PL... apart from substandard skill set from supposed top professional players the most defining thing about the match was the manner in which the referee continually stopped the game. The SA referee allowed the game to flow and the better team on the night got to express themselves with seven wonderful tries.
Posted 23:57 30th September 2012
dropkick says...
ABs finally put in a performance to match their ambition. Key thing was the ABs brains trust have come up with a new page on attack. Theme for this year to date has been the defensively driven teams (SA and Pumas) making attacking teams look ordinary with drift defence and superb spot tackling. This only works if you can set your defence and pick up the ball runner early. Result: a series of pretty turgid games as defences set up early and force mistakes and isolate runners.
Not much of a stratefy for great rugby but when effective it can gloss over a complete lack of ideas on attack. SA have seen the writing on the wall and finally ditched Steyn and discovered fortune favours the brave.
ABs multiple points of attack and forward and back interplay simply fried a very good Argie defence. If the Boks bring a running game next week and the ABs can back up it will be a game to savour. And crucially one worth watching.
Big raps to Nonu who showed what a world class player he has become. Can be a bit moody at times but in Argentina he showed that unique blend of creativity and destruction that makes him impossible to stop and a brute on defence.
Finally a word of praise for the Pumas. They came to play and showed some enterprise on attack. Game after this weekend looking better than it has for a while as all teams moved the ball. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
Posted 22:40 30th September 2012
turboboy says...
Absolutely disgusted to see that people in the crowd were using laser pointers/markers on Aaron Cruden when taking a shot at goal. This is a stupid and potentially dangerous antic that has come over from the round ball game. Argentinian officials need to clamp down on this - we can always go back to the Tri-Nations until you sort your fans out!!
PS - I think Cruden was asked to take the shot at goal purely to get some practice kicking in test match situations and give the forwards 5 minutes break - good captaincy from Read in my opinion.
Posted 21:59 30th September 2012
Kiwidiver says...
@ Toulousain - I think if you check your arithmetic, you'll see that the ABs won by 39, not 54. Perhaps this is indicative of the credibility of your post-match footage review. Of course it would be much easier to see the detail if you were using both of your eyes!
If we were to even entertain the idea of taking you seriously, what are your credentials? Jaco Peyper is at the top of his field - where are you and your cronies? Somewhere in the middle of a less-than-average group of armchair critics.
Why do you and your ilk have to piss and moan when a team other than the one you support enjoys a moment of glory?!?
Poor/good refereeing does not just affect one side. Time for you bleeding hearts to find some other platform to blame the results from your average teams.
As for the atmosphere of the relative stadiums from around the world - can't deny that there was a feeling of ill-will toward the French at the RWC final. As one who was there, and who contributed to the din - I guess it's a case of you reap what you sow. The French have done my country no favours over the past 30 years, and they made a farce of the pool matches - why would anyone cheer on a team that didn't give it 100% everytime they take the field?!? Once again, NZ is singled out from the numerous countries where "poor sportsmanship" from the viewing audience is rampant. See if you can find a different atmosphere at Twickenham, Suncorp, or Loftus. At least there are no bottles thrown at Eden Park (Loftus), or post match violence (Twickers). Fact is, France didn't deserve to be at the final - the crowd was simply expressing what the rest of the world already knew.
Posted 20:44 30th September 2012
lalby says...
My man of the match was Hansen. With his prematch whinge he managed to get the ref to stop Pumas slowing the ball and from there Carter executed the plan.
Posted 19:35 30th September 2012
Polyboy says...
@Toulousain enjoy your commiseratory spoilt wine, cause you obviously like sour grapes. You take being anal retentive to a whole other pucker up level. Well pucker up and enjoy the 54 pt hiding the AB's dished up.
Posted 19:14 30th September 2012
kennyisgay says...
Toulousain... you need to get a life buddy.
Posted 19:07 30th September 2012
Kiwikev says...
All you lads slagging the ref have likely never played any rugby at a high level or you would know how fast the game moves. Either that or you are perfect and should post the link for your Level1 credentials.
As for looking at video and dissecting it, that is, as they say, hindsight and is quite easy to do but is not comparable to refereeing a game of footy so to suggest that it somehow is relevant is display one's ignorance of the game...
Posted 18:46 30th September 2012