All Blacks squad: 12 Chiefs players named in team, including two new faces
This makes the Chiefs the most represented
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NZ Herald
30 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
All Blacks v Argentina: Scott Robertson's team top World Rugby rankings with set-piece strength
This was the byproduct of their attempts to deliver the ultra-fast, highly skilled attacking blueprint Robertson has identified as the best way for his team to use their natural athleticism and individual raw power. This obvious gulf between the coaching vision and the team's ability to produce it leaves the All Blacks in a fascinating quandary about whether to pull back from this notion that they can run opponents off their feet and to lean more heavily into slowing things down and playing around their set-piece strength. There was, to be blunt, little to no evidence in the first 80 minutes of their Rugby Championship campaign to suggest the All Blacks have the cohesion, skill levels or natural instincts to execute accurately and effectively when they tried to play at their desired, fast tempo. All Blacks No 8 Ardie Savea gets caught in the heart of a heavy maul in Argentina. Photo / Photosport Much of their work in the first half was marred by confusion and basic errors – they loaded the backline with runners coming around the corner to play off Jordie Barrett. But it was busy-busy without ever giving a firm sense that everyone knew what was supposed to be happening. The timing was off, the movement never quite sharp enough – and the one time the All Blacks did open up the Pumas, it was entirely down to Will Jordan's individual brilliance. Too often, passes went flying behind the intended target and the ball was dropped or lost in contact as carriers found themselves trying to simultaneously gather possession and ride the tackle. Rieko Ioane looked particularly lost in the whole business of bringing him in off his wing to probe for space in the midfield, and Billy Proctor is finding it harder than many predicted to play his natural game at this level. The overriding theme from the All Blacks in the first 40 minutes was a lack of cohesion and accuracy, and yet they found themselves 31-7 ahead – which was due to the moments of dominance they enjoyed when they won scrum penalties, kicked deep to the touchline and then worked their driving maul from the lineout. And it was a similar story in the final 12 minutes of the game when the All Blacks put a prolonged wobbly period behind them by reverting to the scrum-penalty-lineout formula to enable Samisoni Taukei'aho to score two driving-maul tries. There was some astute captaincy from Ardie Savea woven into that last 12 minutes, as, having taken over the leadership when Scott Barrett departed after 55 minutes, he had the natural instincts to sense that Argentina had no means to resist the lineout drive. As unimaginable, or even unpalatable as it is, the All Blacks have to consider giving up on their goal of being the world's great entertainers and accept that their pack has the core skills, size and technically proficiency to crush the life out of opponents. The idea may be anathema, but the prospect of the All Blacks playing a more patient, controlled, conservative brand of rugby executed at a more sedate pace is one that will have their opponents more fearful than the grand vision of trying to pull off 100-mile-an-hour rugby that ups the aerobic content. In the coming weeks, the All Blacks will welcome back Tyrel Lomax and Tamaiti Williams to dramatically increase the scrummaging horsepower, while the all-round contributions in Cordoba of the four-strong locking contingent of Fabian Holland, Scott Barrett, Patrick Tuipulotu and Tupou Vaa'i were enough to be confident they can sustain compelling set-piece, breakdown and ball-carrying efforts for the full 80 minutes. Wallace Sititi is expected to be available this week too and if the All Blacks are prepared to embrace their inner roundhead and build their game more extensively around the forwards and the kicking game of the Barrett brothers, it would increase the likelihood of them retaining the number one spot. This is who they are – old-school scrummagers and breakdown bullies, qualities they shouldn't be afraid to embrace and celebrate. Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand's most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
All Blacks victorious in Argentina: what we learned
Analysis: The more things change, the more they stay the same - at least for the Pumas and their attempts to beat the All Blacks on home soil. This morning's test, won 41-24 by Scott Robertson's side, followed a now well-established script for those played between the two sides in Argentina and ticked off every box along the way. The All Blacks shot out to a big halftime lead, then fell asleep at the start of the second half, just long enough for the Pumas to get themselves back in the match. A second-half All Blacks yellow card even gave the hosts a sniff of victory, with Billy Proctor now joining the South American sin-bin inmate club started by Joe Moody and Liam Squire in 2016, then subsequently adding Matt Todd, Kieran Read and Sonny Bill Williams. Anton Lienert-Brown punched his ticket too, just for good measure, but his yellow for a head clash with moments to play was meaningless in the wash-up. Not meaningless was the importance of this result. Yes, the All Blacks established that lead, but the way they finished was more impressive, given how clinical and crowd-killing Samisoni Taukei'aho's powerful efforts were. The All Blacks seemed to flick a switch, something we'd become perhaps too accustomed to during the 2010's, and one of some pretty notable good points. . Samisoni Taukei'aho scores against the Pumas. Photo: ActionPress Halfback Cortez Ratima was under the microscope and stepped up very well, the scrum again earned plenty of key field position and Robertson's stripped back Plan B proved to be very effective. The All Blacks leaned on their forward dominance and Beauden Barrett's boot when they needed to, and it worked, with Ardie Savea's decision-making at the end empowered to go for tries, rather than shots at goal. Importantly, this time last year, the All Blacks' biggest issue was their inability to score at the backend of games, something now in the rearview mirror through this season's first four tests. Not that they probably knew it at the time, but it also sent a serious and ironic message out in regard to what had transpired a few hours earlier in Johannesburg. South Africa had racked up a 22-0 lead after only 20 minutes against a sorry-looking Wallabies side, who somehow got hold of Asterix's magic potion and piled on 38 unanswered points for a famous victory . The Springboks seemed to forget who they were, trying to run it from everywhere, without setting a platform. Cortez Ratima stepped up at halfback against Argentina. Photo: ActionPress For a while there, the All Blacks seemed likely to do the same thing, especially after Tomas Albernoz stepped past some very confused defence close to the All Black line to draw the Pumas within a converted try. Where the Springboks faltered, uncharacteristically letting the occasion get to them and losing their heads, the All Blacks screwed theirs back on. All it took was one penalty, one chance in the 22 and, suddenly, Taukei'aho's first try solidly gut-punched the resurgent Pumas. His second was the left hook follow-up that knocked the hosts out, pushing the score to a far more comfortable and familiar looking one. While the cold-as-ice ending should rightfully be lauded, plenty of things remain to work on, before the sides meet again next weekend in Buenos Aires. At times, the backline looked like they'd just met each other before kickoff, heading backwards with possession and bringing back horrific memories of the turning point in last year's loss to the Pumas in Wellington. The aforementioned lack of discipline was concerning, especially since Proctor's yellow came after a frenetically unhinged period of defence, and Ratima's early subbing was a headscratcher, but the impact of Taukei'aho and especially Patrick Tuipulotu off the bench was extremely heartening. Tuipulotu's shift was about enough to gain a man-of-the-match award, with a couple of huge tackles and vital lineout intelligence at the right time. Most of all, coach Robertson will be pleased with the fact that he brought on the right amount of experience to manufacture that clinical finish. Along with the Wallabies win, the result sends the All Blacks back to the No.1 ranking in the world - for whatever that's worth. There were patches in Cordoba where they certainly played like a team befitting that title, but with plenty more to work on, if they want to hang onto it and eventually win back the Rugby Championship. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
All Blacks v Argentina: World media react to Rugby Championship opening victory
The All Blacks went into No 1 on the world rankings earlier on Sunday courtesy of the Wallabies' shock win over South Africa that sent the Springboks below Ireland into third on the rankings. And the Kiwis avoided the surprise comeback that brought down South Africa in Johannesburg, by recovering their composure with two tries from replacement Samisoni Taukei'aho. Winger Sevu Reece was also on form with a try double while Cortez Ratima continued to shine at No 9 before being replaced by Finlay Christie. Ardie Savea was in imperious form and was in charge down the stretch as the visitors brought home the victory. 'Dominant but cluttered' Lynn McConnell, Action Press Dominant on the scoreboard but cluttered during the third quarter, the All Blacks opened their Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship campaign with a 41-24 win over Argentina in Cordoba on Sunday (NZT). Out by 31-10 at halftime, the All Blacks struggled as Argentina battled back to [31-24] as loose forwards Pablo Matera and Marcos Kremer and hooker Julian Montoya pushed the All Blacks hard, while first five-eighths Tomas Albornoz controlled their performance and scored a superb try. But once they cleared their mistakes, the All Blacks looked the dominant side, especially in lineouts, where loose forward Tupou Vaa'i, lock Fabian Holland and replacement Patrick Tuipulotu took charge. All Blacks first five-eighths Beauden Barrett looks on as the scrum hits. Photo / SmartFrame In the loose, Ardie Savea was in his element and Vaa'i continued his growth on the blindside flank. Consistency and fluidity across the game were still elusive for the All Blacks, but they showed that when they were able to gain control, they had too much skill for the Argentinians to contain. 'Superiority showed' Mark Gleeson, Reuters Winger Sevu Reece and substitute hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho scored two tries each as New Zealand saw off an Argentina resurgence to open their Rugby Championship campaign with a 41-24 win in Cordoba ... Cortez Ratima and Ardie Savea also scored tries for New Zealand while Rodrigo Isgro, Tomas Albornoz and Joaquin Oviedo went over for the home team. Beauden Barrett kicked a penalty and four conversions while Albornoz slotted over a penalty and three conversions for a personal tally of 14 points. The All Blacks' superiority showed through, although they had to see off a second-half surge from Argentina who were 31-10 down at the break but fought back to trail 31-24 before New Zealand closed out the match. 'Argentina's ambition shattered' Lawrence Nolan, PlanetRugby Argentina's ambition to start the new Rugby Championship season with a first-ever home win over the All Blacks was shattered in Cordoba as the six-try visitors bagged a deserved 41-24 round-one win. The hosts had hoped to overcome the disjointedness of their recent series loss to England, but the plethora of errors that cost them in that [2-0] loss weren't eradicated. They fought back admirably in the second half to cut a 10-31 deficit to seven points, but they could have no complaints about their eventual 17-point demise, confirmed by a pair of late maul tries from Samisoni Taukei'aho. There was a 77th-minute yellow card for Anton Lienert-Brown following his head contact with [Santiago] Chocobares, but that second sin-binning wasn't going to spoil the New Zealand party. They will now go to Buenos Aires confident of securing a repeat win next weekend in round two. 'Patchy performance' Liam Napier, NZ Herald The theme of patchy performance continues for the All Blacks, but in their bid to reclaim the Rugby Championship crown, they bagged a valuable bonus-point victory against the Pumas in Argentina and will seek to amend another second-half fade. Two late tries from replacement hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho pushed New Zealand clear after the Pumas threatened to pull off a spirited second-half comeback. The All Blacks, playing their first test in Cordoba, were greeted by a festival atmosphere. The buoyant 55,725 crowd at Estadio Mario Kempes bounced and sang before kickoff but were soon silenced as the All Blacks scored three first-half tries – one of those after Pumas prop Mayco Vivas copped a yellow card – to fashion a commanding 31-10 lead. Last year's frequent and frustrating second-half fades threatened to return with a vengeance but just as the Pumas dared to dream of their maiden home victory over the All Blacks, Taukei'aho powered over from the back of the maul to re-establish some breathing space. Ardie Savea and the All Blacks pack take on Los Pumas. Photo / Photosport Missing influential halfback Cam Roigard and with starting forwards Wallace Sititi and Tamaiti Williams set to return from their injury layoffs for the rematch in Buenos Aires next week, the All Blacks will regain firepower and, therefore, should improve. While the composure to finish the job was evident, the spotlight will shine on their impact from the bench and their second-half performance that compromised their previous dominance and undermined the potential to make an early Rugby Championship statement. All Blacks withstand Argentina Ben Smith, RugbyPass The All Blacks have withstood a fierce Argentinian comeback in the second half to come away with a 41-24 win at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba. The visitors went to their rolling maul regularly and profited with three tries directly from it, including two in the final quarter to Samisoni Taukei'aho, which lifted the All Blacks after a strong fightback. Having led the home side 31-10 at halftime, a resurgent period by Los Pumas saw the gap close to 31-24 before the All Blacks got away. After the Wallabies secured a famous 38-22 win over the Springboks, the All Blacks move to top spot on the Rugby Championship ladder with a points differential of +17.
