Rugby World Cup Quarter Final Match Report: New Zealand 33 - Argentina 10
The final game of the weekend saw hosts New Zealand take on the snarling Pumas as they looked to progress to the semi-final in their attempt to win the cup for the first time since 1987.
They say we live in a P.C. world but in Auckland this morning, P.C. stood for Post Carter, with all the talk about the loss of their talismanic fly half. With Richie McCaw fighting through the pain to win his 101st cap despite having a niggly foot, the loss of Dan Carter had sent the host nation into a spiral of pessimism; such was the perceived influence of the highest international point scorer. Young fly half Colin Slade had big boots to fill. Argentina too were without a couple of their stand out players. Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Martin Hernandez being the big name misses. Even with a full strength team though, the Pumas were always going to be underdogs in this clash. The pomp of the occasion began with Mils Muliana being given a standing ovation in recognition of this, his 100th cap. Before the haka signalled it was time to get started. With the class of New Zealands backline unquestionable, it was the forwards that had the first challenge with a scrum. The front row battle is the lair of the Pumas and would no doubt be an area they target, as always. After a reset, Argentina won a penalty but failed to capitalise on the improved field position. New Zealands first real chance came moments later as Slade took his eye off the ball, the dropped ball kicked through before Conrad Smith managed to scramble back to recover possession, his team mates eventually clearing the danger. With the pace of Corey Jane looking dangerous, a cheap penalty from a lineout for offside at a kick gave Weepu the chance to open the scoring which he did without issue. By kicking rather than Colin Slade we can only assume was an attempt to remove some of the pressure on the young fly half. With the All Blacks dominating the early possession, the Argentinians seemed happy to scrap at each and every ruck. Uncharacteristically slow ball suddenly spread to the other wing, Kieran Read denied a try in the corner by his big toe grazing the touchline on the way to the line. After twenty minutes the All Blacks did not look like they had hit top gear at any time, thanks in part to the vicious contest at every tackle by the Pumas. A clever cross kick, catch, kick by the All Blacks had the Argentinians desperately trying to get away from their own line, the pass back to the kicker flying over Martin Rodriguezs head leading to a scrum that Argentina buckled at. Weepu kicked the resultant penalty. To the surprise of the Auckland crowd, Argentina got the first try of the game. Senatore breaking from a scrum, Contepomi offloading with one hand to Rodriguez to get within a few metres of the line and Julio Farias Cabello diving over for his first international try while the defence was still regrouping. To sweeten the deal Contepomi hit the conversion. With New Zealand behind it was P.C. man Colin Slade who had to leave the field to be replaced by another young fly half, Aaron Cruden after being unable to shake off a knock. Indiscipline in defence gave the impressing Weepu the chance to retake the lead which he did with aplomb, a sequence that was replicated just moments later as the All Blacks started to put distance between the two sides going into the break. When the sides returned the All Blacks looked to be putting more pace on the ball to try and prevent the Pumas from dictating the speed of the game as they are normally keen to do. Eyebrows were raised when Argentina pointed to the posts when awarded a penalty just inside their own half. But the eyebrows were replaced by gaping mouths as Marcelo Bosch slammed an absolute monster of a penalty barely over the cross bar. The five point gap was restored quickly by another Weepu penalty, the scrum half kicking with an accuracy far and above many of his peers at this tournament. With the All Blacks looking increasingly dangerous, their running lines were becoming more incisive with the Argentinians scrambling to deny the passes. Cruden almost scored from a clever cross kick by Weepu but ran out of space and was pushed into touch and the corner flag. As the crowd became more frantic the Pumas just could not get near the ball, New Zealand patiently battered at the line, with Richie McCaw diving for the base of the front of the post protector, which according to the law book would have counted as a try. A stray boot meant the ball was held up but New Zealand still had an easy penalty, Weepu again converting, and scrum half Juan Figallo was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes for his part in the infringement. With Argentina a man down, an 8 point lead and twenty minutes to go New Zealand looked to be taking control of the game, the intensity of the defence starting to take its toll on the white and blues. But the hosts couldnt find the fluid play they are capable of, Argentina simply failing to give up. Kieran Read made amends for his stray toe, finishing off a blindside move with full back Rodriguez inches from an interception that would have left him with 95 metres to go. Weepu at last missed a kick to take the score to 23-10, surely a margin too far now. 38 year old Mario Ledesma left the field with 11 minutes to go, bringing to an illustrious career taking in four World Cups, the pain of disappointment written all over his face that it couldnt have ended a week or two later. Weepu kicked another penalty as the exhausted Argentinian defence began to realise the result was now inevitable. This was to be his last action of the game, being replaced by Jimmy Cowan to a standing ovation. Brad Thorn capitalised on good work by Corey Jane to prevent the ball going into touch, needing none of his experience as he simply had to saunter over the line to score, Cruden adding the extras to take the score to 33-10 and book New Zealands place at the next stage of their party. This game was always going to be the most predictable result of the quarter=finals, but full credit has to go to Argentina for fighting for everything for the whole 80 minutes. Only when it seems unrealistic margin to recover did they slightly take their foot off the pedal. Considering their squad includes a number of amateurs who play in the homeland, this was an impressive performance for a team that plays a smattering of matches in the years between World Cups. Their inclusion in the Four Nations will only benefit them, much in the way that Italys inclusion in the Six Nations has seen them come on leaps and bounds. Argentina will be starting from further ahead than the Italians though, due in part to so many of their key players playing in the top flight in France. They never seem to take a backwards step, demonstrating a real unity and determination that will make them a credit to the rugby game the more they are allowed to play together. New Zealand will be disappointed; the score line despite being credible is not being a fair reflection on how hard this game was for them. They lacked a rhythm to their game not for the first time this tournament, with all their tries coming from the forwards rather than their much vaunted backline. The loss of another fly half will be tempered by the display of Weepu, who made a mockery of the fact he was not even considered first choice coming into the World Cup. The scrum was a fascinating battle which the All Blacks edged, providing a good base even if it wasnt finished off by one of the set moves. As a performance it could be said to be good, not great. They are still to declare on the pitch they are the team to beat, but you still feel it is theirs to lose. Australia will provide a more familiar opponent with the battle of the Sevens one to watch, especially with McCaw not 100% due to a questionable metatarsal. The defences will no doubt be prevalent as is so typical in knock out rugby so the form of Weepu could be more crucial than they realise, especially with the fallible kicking of OConner and Cooper to contest with. With that, we saw the last of the ridiculously early starts for this World Cup, the remaining games at 8:30am. Naturally Im sure you are all devastated at this realisation, but despair not, we are almost there, and this time on just two weeks we will know just who will be the new world champion.