New Zealand took to the field all in black for their 26-16 victory over Argentina at Wembley Stadium, right down to their black rugby boots.
For the first 56 minutes of last night’s Pool C encounter in front of a record crowd, though, the All Blacks displayed a soft, white underbelly.
New Zealand are rarely put under intense pressure, but Argentina had enough panache and verve to take the world’s No 1-ranked side out of their comfort zone and harass them at every turn.
It was only their own ill-discipline that prevented them from opening up a bigger lead than the 16-12 advantage they took in to the break. Argentina had never beaten the All Blacks, and as time wore on the Argentines were worn out.
New Zealand were also ill-disciplined, however, and none more so than flanker Richie McCaw, who spent 10 minutes in the sin bin during the latter stages of the first half for a cynical trip of Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe.
“It was one of those things that as soon as that happens, you wish you hadn’t,” the All Blacks captain said after the match. “I knew straight away (it was yellow). It was a reflex thing.”
Conrad Smith, who with 88 caps should know better, was also shown a yellow card by referee Wayne Barnes for handling in a ruck. Dan Carter, who kicked 16 points, was hardly blameless, either.
In the 21st minute, he allowed lock Guido Petti Pagadizaval to become the youngest Argentine to score at a World Cup,due to his poor defensive positioning.
While McCaw was cooling off, it was alarming that a team boasting more than 1,000 caps – the most in Rugby World Cup history – proved ponderous in defence. It was only early in the second half, when coach Steve Hansen made a raft of changes, that his side increased their tempo.
McCaw and Carter became the first All Blacks to appear in four World Cups, but South Africa showed on Saturday in Brighton, when they lost against Japan, that experience does not always mean that players lack nervousness.
Hansen will need both of his leading players to sharpen up, and quickly, if New Zealand are to become the first team to defend their crown.
“The two yellow cards were pretty dumb,” Hansen said. “Sometimes in the heat of the moment you have a wee brain explosion.”
On why most of the record 89,019 crowd booed McCaw as he trudged off to the bin, Hansen said: “It’s a mark of respect towards a great player. You don’t get booed unless you are any good.”
New Zealand have the luxury of being able to regroup during the next few days, safe in the knowledge that only the mismatch against Namibia looms on Thursday.
As with any win, there were some positives.
Sonny Bill Williams made an important contribution when coming on as a substitute for Ma’a Nonu in the centre channel. His continuous offloading in the tackle eventually broke down Argentina.
In all, the 30-year-old code switcher offloaded five times, one of which gifted fellow substitute Sam Cane his first tournament try in the 67th minute.
New Zealand made 10 clean breaks and 23 offloads, which against most defensive lines in this tournament would prove to be unstoppable.
Aaron Smith was a constant menace around the fringes, and the scrum-half was rewarded with a try when he skipped through what was left of the Argentina defence in the 57th minute after his forwards had torn through the opposition pack with a rolling maul.
The back three looked hungry at Wembley. Julian Savea and Nehe Milner-Skudder, who unfortunately dropped a pass from Williams with the try line in sight, both coming off their wings looking for work, while Ben Smith put in the mileage while making countless runs from full-back.
It was not the best start to the tournament, but, as Argentina coach Daniel Hourcade said, “today they showed why they are the best in the world”.
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