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A brave Argentina stunned the All the black people 25-15 on Saturday for one of rugby’s biggest upsets, consigning an embarrassed New Zealand to its first consecutive losses in nearly a decade.
Flyhalf Nicolás Sánchez scored all the points for the Pumas to give them their first victory over the power of rugby in the 30 tests they have played.
Mario Ledesma’s team had virtually no chance ahead of the Three Nations game in Sydney after the coronavirus hampered their preparations for just two low-key practice games.
But in their first test since the World Cup last year, they achieved a miracle.
“It is surreal what happened, not only the result but the game, to enter the field after everything that has happened this year,” Argentine coach Mario Ledesma said.
“Some of the kids haven’t seen their families for four months, but they’ve all been positive … they’ve been amazing.
“I think we will remember this for a long time, not just because of the match, but because of the special situation,” he added.
It was a humiliating loss for New Zealand, who were upset 24-22 by the Wallabies in Brisbane last week and have now lost consecutive events for the first time since 2011 when they crashed against South Africa and Australia.
Coach Ian Foster fired 10 players and named what many consider to be the best All Blacks team after last week’s game, but they were no match for a Pumas team aided by former Australian coach Michael Cheika.
“Obviously, from an All Black point of view, we are bitterly disappointed with the result, with the way we played,” Foster said.
“But what I think we saw was a team that despite the disadvantage of not playing much rugby … they have come here with enormous energy and a desire to show something to their country that has gone through a very difficult time.” .
“I want to congratulate them on the result, it is a somewhat historic day for them.”
Unlike Australia and New Zealand, Argentina did not have a Super Rugby competition to help them prepare. But after months of quarantine, they were nibbling a bit and took out their frustrations with a sloppy All Blacks in a dominant first half.
With New Zealand struggling to create chances with poor kicking, poor discipline and too many mistakes, he unbelievably went 16-3 at the break up front.
New Zealand staged a comeback in the second half, but with their eyes on a huge surprise, Argentina severely resisted the intense pressure to post their best result.
Argentina secured the first points on the scoreboard in the fifth minute with Sánchez nailing a penalty from the midfield line after a push instigated by New Zealander Shannon Frizell.
Richie Mo’unga was quick to equalize the scores, but Argentina were playing well, chaining many phases.
His pressure culminated in Sanchez’s dangerous cross for the game’s first attempt, reaching the end of his own chip kick to land under the posts.
He converted to give his team an unlikely lead that was extended to 13-3 when Sanchez took another penalty, with Jordie Barrett as the offender.
Just one tackle from Aaron Smith to save the try kept the Pumas from advancing further to the front after Tomas Cubelli broke free, but more poor discipline from the All Blacks gave them another penalty that Sanchez, like a laser, scored again.
He sent them into halftime with a comfortable lead, leaving New Zealand with an important task to save their blushes.
That only got tougher when the irrepressible Sanchez start earned Argentina another three points shortly after the restart.
With their reputation on the line, New Zealand finally woke up and captain Sam Cane crashed for his first try in 52 minutes after a well-worked rolling maul from a lineout.
Mo’unga converted just for Sánchez to move the Pumas to a 12-point lead with another successful penalty.
New Zealand began to apply a lot of pressure and Caleb Clarke scored a late try, but the Argentine defense had done enough to secure a famous victory.
