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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Argentina v New Zealand: Lineups and latest Rugby Championship updates
The opening round of the 2025 Rugby Championship concludes in Cordoba as Argentina host New Zealand at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes. Argentina, who finished third in the Rugby Championship last year, lost both Tests against England earlier this summer but did beat Uruguay 52-17 in their most recent match. New Zealand, who finished second in last year's edition, claimed a 3-0 series victory against an under-strength France last month. Before South Africa won the Rugby Championship last year, New Zealand were victors in the previous three editions. Speaking ahead of the game, their head coach Scott Robertson is looking forward to the challenge of playing on Argentinian soil. 'We have had a great week of training in Buenos Aires, and the group is ready to go out and perform,' Robertson said. 'Scott [Barrett] and our leaders have led from the front, and there is a lot of focus and motivation in the group for the start of the campaign. We know the Pumas identity is a fast and physical game, and we have selected a team that will embrace the occasion. It has been 30 years since the All Blacks played in Córdoba, and we are looking forward to the passion and energy of the home crowd. 'We have got a balanced and experienced squad. Obviously, we used the three Tests against the French to play our whole squad, and now we are focusing in on a very, very good Argentinian team; they have picked a strong squad. There is a lot of experience in their team too, so it is going to be a great game. We like playing fast; they play fast and skilled rugby. So, it is on.' New Zealand beat Argentina 42-10 at home in the Rugby Championship last year but lost 30-38 at home. Earlier today Australia pulled off a sensational shock win in South Africa, coming from 22-0 down to win 22-38. Kick-off from Cordoba is at 10.10pm BST.
RNZ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
All Blacks v Argentina: what you need to know
Pumas v All Blacks Kick-off: 9:10am Sunday 17 August Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba Live blog updates on RNZ The All Blacks open their Rugby Championship campaign in Argentina, facing Los Pumas in Córdoba. Scott Robertson's side comes in unbeaten after a 3-0 series win over France, while the Pumas have had a mixed build up. Felipe Contepomi's team scored a famous victory over the British & Irish Lions in Dublin but then dropped a series against an understrength England side at home. All Blacks coach Scott Robertson takes a selfie with fans. Photo: Brett Phibbs / Pumas: 1. Mayco Vivas, 2. Julian Montoya, 3. Pedro Delgado, 4. Franco Molina, 5. Pedro Rubiolo, 6. Pablo Matera, 7. Marcos Kremer, 8. Joaquin Oviedo, 9. Gonzalo Garcia, 10. Tomas Albornoz, 11. Bautista Delguy, 12. Santiago Chocobares, 13. Lucio Cinti, 14. Rodrigo Isgro, 15. Juan Cruz Mallia Bench: 16. Ignacio Ruiz, 17. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18. Joel Sclavi, 19. Guido Petti, 20. Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21. Simon Benítez Cruz, 22. Santiago Carreras, 23. Justo Piccardo All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Fabian Holland, 6. Tupou Vaa'i, 7. Du'Plessis Kirifi, 8. Ardie Savea, 9. Cortez Ratima, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Billy Proctor, 14. Sevu Reece, 15. Will Jordan Bench: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. Ollie Norris, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Samipeni Finau, 21. Finlay Christie, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Damian McKenzie Tomas Albornoz of Argentina is challenged by Maro Itoje of British & Irish Lions. Photo:This is a very strong Pumas team, with their main weapons in the loose forwards. Pablo Matera will be fired up for another win over the All Blacks, while Joaquin Oviedo was outstanding in the win over the Lions. Tomas Albornoz comes back in after missing the England series, he is shaping up as a long term first five for the Pumas. Will Jordan celebrates his try with Cortez Ratima. Photo: Brett Phibbs / Scott Robertson has made nine changes to the team that played France but none are a surprise, with Cortez Ratima getting the nod at halfback and Finlay Christie backing him up off the bench. Tupou Vaa'i starts at blindside and Samipeni Finau covers the loose forwards, while Scott Barrett comes back in at lock and leads the side. Argentina players celebrate their Rugby Championship win over the All Blacks at Sky Stadium in Wellington. Photo: Photosport The All Blacks have won 35 of their 39 tests against Argentina, they are unbeaten against Los Pumas in Argentina (W13 D1). The All Blacks have won nine of their last 10 tests including a 3-0 series sweep of France and have held their opponent to exactly one try in five of those last 10 games. Argentina's next win in tests will be their 250th, and they've won six games in the last three editions of The Rugby Championship which is as many as they had won across all previous editions of the tournament. "We know the Pumas identity is a fast and physical game, and we've selected a team that will embrace the occasion." - All Black coach Scott Robertson. "Over the last few years, they've challenged us, particularly in the first game. We've lost a couple of those, so the first 20 minutes can be important," - All Black fullback Will Jordan. All Blacks 42 - 10 Pumas The backlash that hit the Pumas after their shock win in Wellington was a vintage wounded All Black performance, with six tries to one scored at Eden Park. Damian McKenzie got one for himself and converted all of them in rainy conditions, with Beauden Barrett lining up at fullback and Will Jordan grabbing a double on the wing. This shapes as a massive game for both teams, as they look to challenge the Springboks for The Rugby Championship. Jordan's comment about the first 20 minutes is spot on, almost every time the All Blacks have played in Argentina they've managed to snuff out the crowd and Pumas' desire in the early stages of the game. Expect Beauden Barrett to kick often but smartly, as the Pumas have some serious threats on the counter attack. The back end of the game will be interesting if it's still close, as the All Black bench certainly proved its worth in the last test against France to come out with an ultimately comfortable win.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
All Blacks: The full strength issue Scott Robertson now faces
Pumas v All Blacks Kick-off: 9:10am Sunday 17 August Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba Live blog updates on RNZ Analysis - Nine changes but not really any surprises. That's the takeaway from the All Black team naming out of Córdoba this morning, but there's a fair chance that we'll be saying the same thing for the rest of the season. On the surface, a strong All Black team should be expected - but the draw the All Blacks face from here on out shows that there's little room for experimentation. The next two tests are against a Pumas team that beat them last year and then the All Blacks face their biggest challenge of the year against the Springboks. Then there's the Bledisloe Cup and a Grand Slam tour, with the only fixture that would usually stick out as a gimme test being against Scotland. Except that Scotland ran the All Blacks very close the last time they were in Edinburgh and provided some of the key players for the recent British & Irish Lions side. And that Robertson has made it very clear that he doesn't want to take any chances, with last year's arguably overly cautious selection approach against lowly Italy the best example of that. So the argument is very much there that Robertson will have to pick his best side for every remaining match in 2025. Which is fine in theory, but can his squad absorb the inevitable injury toll? It's something that will get put to the test this Saturday, as Cortez Ratima finds himself in charge of a very makeshift halfback corps. "Obviously it's unfortunate that two guys (Cam Roigard and Noah Hotham) can't be here," said Ratima. "I guess for me trying to help them (Finlay Christie and Kyle Preston) out, with any details. If I don't know the answer, I'll go ask the coaches…as nines we always pick off each other's ideas." Du'Plessis Kirifi. Photo: ActionPress Flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi stressed that the team had been impressed at how the new look halfbacks had got into their work. "Just like any other unit in our group, we're always pushing each other to be better. Only two people can play on the weekend, but during the week, we're right there…it's been pretty awesome to see these guys operate in pretty unique circumstances." The key now is to almost view this circumstance as not so unique, though. Robertson has been clear that he wants four players deep in every position over the next four years, but the trick now is to actually give his new players enough game time to make that a reality - something that is kind of at odds with the way he's picking the team right now. Then there's the number of minutes that the key men are playing. Robertson rightfully pointed out that Ardie Savea has just had three weeks off and will be fresh for this weekend, but it will be his 16th game of the year after his mammoth workload with Moana Pasifika. Ardie Savea. Photo: ActionPress Savea is a special player so therefore can be treated with special rules, but it's likely he will play every test this season and rack up potentially 25 games. Savea generally doesn't get subbed, so he's looking at a potentially record-breaking amount of work this season. As per usual, the All Blacks will only publicly focus on one week at a time, however there will some serious work going on behind the scenes to make sure that the likes of Savea are kept as healthy as possible long term. Pumas: 1. Mayco Vivas, 2. Julian Montoya, 3. Pedro Delgado, 4. Franco Molina, 5. Pedro Rubiolo, 6. Pablo Matera, 7. Marcos Kremer, 8. Joaquin Oviedo, 9. Gonzalo Garcia, 10. Tomas Albornoz, 11. Bautista Delguy, 12. Santiago Chocobares, 13. Lucio Cinti, 14. Rodrigo Isgro, 15. Juan Cruz Mallia Bench: 16. Ignacio Ruiz, 17. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18. Joel Sclavi, 19. Guido Petti, 20. Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21. Simon Benítez Cruz, 22. Santiago Carreras, 23. Justo Piccardo All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Fabian Holland, 6. Tupou Vaa'i, 7. Du'Plessis Kirifi, 8. Ardie Savea, 9. Cortez Ratima, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Billy Proctor, 14. Sevu Reece, 15. Will Jordan Bench: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17. Ollie Norris, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Samipeni Finau, 21. Finlay Christie, 22. Anton Lienert-Brown, 23. Damian McKenzie
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Live: All Blacks team for Rugby Championship opener against Argentina named
The All Blacks perform the haka against France. Photo: ActionPress Pumas v All Blacks Kick-off: 9:10am Sunday 17 August Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba Live blog updates on RNZ
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Can the Pumas derail this All Black season before it even really starts?
Pumas v All Blacks Kick-off: 9:10am Sunday 17 August Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba Live blog updates on RNZ Analysis - Just what's at stake this weekend in Córdoba? When this season's All Blacks draw came out, all attention focused on the monster test with the Springboks at Eden Park, as well as the Grand Slam tour at the end of the year. But the next two games are arguably just as huge. Scott Robertson's side faces a Pumas team that only has to look back 12 months for success and has a squad of players now used to beating the previously invincible All Blacks, plus is coming off a massive run of results since. "They create a lot, they're a team with a lot of experience. A lot of them play in Europe, they're well coached and play with passion," said Robertson this week. All Black Damian McKenzie in action against Argentina in the Rugby Championship match in Mendoza. Photo: gaspafotos / PhotoSport "They've got speed to finish, so they're threatening. It's test footy and among the top eight anyone can beat anyone on the night. You've got to be at your best in every game." Pretty standard stuff from the All Blacks, with all three players made available to media this week also noting the 'passion' the Argentineans will bring. Given that most of the Pumas players ply their trade in the Top 14, there admittedly isn't a lot to go on other than the times the All Blacks actually played against them - but that's something that will undoubtedly be sticking in their minds like a bad dream. "Over the last few years, they've challenged us, particularly in the first game. We've lost a couple of those, so the first 20 minutes can be important," said Will Jordan . Last year's shock 38-30 win by the Pumas in Wellington was notable for a couple of reasons, firstly because they rattled the All Blacks into one of the most embarrassing plays of their history when a regulation ruck on halfway ended up being fumbled all the way back to be forced dead over their own goal line. Secondly, it should've really been more and this was clearly on the mind of coach Felipe Contepomi post-match, who took every opportunity to reinforce that this was a Pumas side that is not only confident of beating the All Blacks, but now expects it. "It's how you win, sticking to your plan. That's what we're looking for and it wasn't the perfect game, there's lots of things to improve," he said after the win last year. However, some old habits die hard. The Pumas have never been able to strong two decent performances together against the All Blacks and last year was no exception, as they were flogged 41-10 the following week at Eden Park. New Zealand's Josh Lord and Argentina's Tomás Lavanini struggle during the Rugby Championship 2023 first round match between the Pumas and the All Blacks at the Malvinas Argentinas stadium in Mendoza, Argentina. Photo: Andres Larrovere / AFP) It is likely we will know just whether it will be a regulation All Black victory after that opening period Jordan mentioned. But it's almost certain that two losses in a row has the potential to throw this season into disarray for Robertson, whose side has otherwise been building nicely towards the Rugby Championship. But now the challenge for Contepomi's men is to get those results at home. History suggests Córdoba will be the best chance, given that all three of their victories have come in the first game of their Rugby Championship meetings, but history also implicitly states that Argentina is one place where the All Blacks may well be the most comfortable playing. Aside from one test in 2019 that finished 20-16, the average winning margin over the Pumas in Argentina has been very handy. Will this change due the fact that they now come in having fashioned a record only the Pumas can over the last year? Or will the weight of expectation once again crush their spirit?
