Ill discipline has cost the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship this morning as Argentina have created history with a 29-23 win in Buenos Aires, claiming their first ever win over New Zealand at home.
Three yellow cards to the All Blacks and a host of discipline problems led to momentum to the Pumas.
A key try to halfback Gonzalo Garcia proved to be a telling blow.
Tomas Albornoz opened the scoring in Beunos Aires with a penalty goal after three minutes.
The All Blacks were able to win back-to-back penalties to relieve the early pressure and Beauden Barrett was able to level the scores 3-all, but another offside penalty gave Argentina the lead back at 6-3.
Centre Billy Proctor claimed the first try shortly after when a wide play stretched the Pumas to the left side.
Rieko Ioane was pulled down on the line and a flat pass from Christie found Proctor to finish from the next phase. Barrett pushed the conversion wide for an 8-6 lead.
After putting Argentina into the corner, from a scrum multiple phases going left found a rampaging Fletcher Newell who punched through the line to score through three Pumas defenders.
A double kick play from a scrum led to a yellow card for fullback Will Jordan who was deemed to be blocking the runner, from which the Pumas opted for a scrum from 10 metres out.
With a one man advantage, the Pumas buried their way over with Juan Martin Gonzalez scoring from close range.
Another break by Argentina had Bautista Delguy in the clear but a last ditch tackle from Beauden Barrett forced the ball free for a knock on.
Argentina gained the lead 16-13 through the boot of Santiago Carreras and another long range three pushed the lead out to 19-13.
From a midfield scrum play, Matera peeled off the back and stormed down inside the five. Halfback Gonzalo Garcia sniped over. With 20 minutes to play, Argentina held a 26-13 lead.
After a period of sustained attack inside Argentina’s 22, the All Blacks were able to strike through the rolling maul with Samisoni Taukei’aho. Damian McKenzie’s conversion closed the gap to 26-20.
A failed intercept attempt by Sevu Reece resulted in a penalty for Argentina and Carreras put it through for his fifth kick of the night to lead 29-20 with six minutes remaining.
The All Blacks tried to claw back the game in the final stages but couldn’t muster enough to score with time remaining, instead settling for a penalty goal for a 29-23 with the final play.
The Wallabies host Los Pumas at 4.30pm on September 6th at Queensland Country Bank Stadium while the All Blacks play the Springboks at 7.05pm at Eden Park while
Source: Rugbypass
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