All Blacks vs Argentina: surpassed and surpassed: Foster’s men humiliated by Pumas

OPINION: Long live Argentina. Arguably the best moment in its rugby history has come just when we had the least right to expect it.

Celebrations should break out, not just in this soccer-crazy South American nation, but across the rugby world after their epic 25-15 Tri-Nations victory over New Zealand in western Sydney. They have beaten the mighty All Blacks for the first time in history, and it came like a bolt out of nowhere in this year 2020 that has served some of them.

And for once, the All Blacks are not the story here. Not even remotely. Mario Ledesma’s Pumas completed one of the biggest upsets in game history at Bankwest Stadium in the back of one of the great defensive displays. Just when they had no right to.

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They crushed the All Blacks over and over again on one wonderful afternoon and unhinged them to such an extent that this front-line Ian Foster lineup simply had no answers. The All Blacks were heavy, predictable, and poor in execution. They were just horrible.

But the Pumas, who hadn’t played a test game in 13 months, were absolutely wonderful. They had all the excuses in the world to bow to another defeat at the hands of the All Blacks, but they just weren’t interested. Now they are kind of a chance to win this Tri-Nations.

After a wonderful first 40 minutes, in which they took the game from the neck, the South Americans did the difficult part splendidly. They buckled up and completed the job, regardless of their tired legs, regardless of their lack of recent test rugby, regardless of the desperation of their opponents.

Right at a time when Argentine rugby has been pushed into a world of unknowns with the Covid-inspired dissolution of Super Rugby as we know it, here we have its prime as a test nation.

They cannot be forgotten. They cannot be ignored.

This performance alone proved that all the efforts made over the last decade to establish them as the rugby nation we all knew they could be were worth it. But it must continue.

Argentina’s first 40 minutes, all things considered, were sensational as they took a 16-3 lead in the sheds and clearly had an All Blacks team out of place.

The New Zealanders were simply horrible during the first half at Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta, their discipline was shocking, their possession and retention game was almost non-existent and their ability to get out of tight places worryingly absent.

But what about those Pumas? They had not played a test match since October 9 last year when they retired from the World Cup with a 19-5 victory over the United States. That’s 13 months since they kicked a ball in anger.

Since then, they have had to battle a world of setbacks brought on by the pandemic, including the virus that made its way through their squad while they were in their first training camp. It’s been a long, tough and pretty isolated run up to this point, although you wouldn’t have known it from the way they came out and played like a well-oiled machine.

Sometimes character, will, aggression, and commitment can overcome what seem like insurmountable circumstances. The All Blacks just played four consecutive Bledisloe tests against the Wallabies; the Cougars had a pair of hits on suburban terrain against a zero Aussie A lineup.

But he wouldn’t have known it in his early 40s in West Sydney as they brought all the energy, intensity and productivity into an excellent half of rugby. It was the Argentines who controlled the rhythm and flow of the first half, it was the South Americans, behind outstanding exhibitions of their halves Tomás Cubelli and Nicolás Sánchez, who scored the only try of the spell and were within reach of that historic first victory over the All Blacks.

Frankly, they rocked this top lineup of Ian Foster, who looked like a shadow of the team that achieved back-to-back dominance wins over the Wallabies in Auckland and Sydney, before the coach decided to turn things around last week in Brisbane, and paid the price for it. .

So they were good enough to seal the deal. Bravo. You can only hope they never look back on this. Rugby desperately needs another superpower.

A few words about these All Blacks. This was a serious step backward for Ian Foster and his men, who have now had more bad than positive results this year. Now you must ask yourself some important questions. A major self-examination should be done.

For starters, is Jordie Barrett really a test-caliber right wing? He’s an excellent player, but if he’s not good enough to get his brother Beauden out of the fullback jersey, then maybe the selectors just need to make the tough decision and leave him out.

But it goes way beyond that. The pack had no teeth. The backs had no answer to that brilliant defense. Where was Plan B? Where were the settings?

They are questions, however, for another day. Right now let’s raise a glass for Argentine rugby. The tough guys kicked in when things got tougher.